UNH Edged 3-2 in America East Championship Game

Sunday, November 10

Albany, N.Y.

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

(10-10, 4-2AEC)

Vermont

(11-8, 3-3AEC)

Vermont

New Hampshire

Photo by: Alex Miller

11/10/2024 4:04:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

ALBANY, N.Y. – Sophomore Kathelijne Knuttel (Groningen, Netherlands) and freshman Faye Meijer (Purmerend, Netherlands) both scored a goal in Sunday's America East championship game, but the University of New Hampshire field hockey team was edged 3-2 by the University of Vermont at UAlbany's Alumni Turf.

Freshman goalie Abby Johnson (Walpole, Mass.) was credited with four saves.

Knuttel was joined on the All-Championship Team by junior captains Tasmin Cookman (London, England) and Nicole Poulakis (Ajax, Ontario).

Brecken Calcari (St. Louis, Mo.) was named recipient of the Elite 18 award, which recognizes the student-athlete in the championship game with the highest cumulative GPA. Calcari is a business administration: marketing major with a 3.98 GPA

Vermont was led offensively by Meg Weyer's two goals and Merle Vaandrager made five saves.

UNH, runner-up in both the America East regular season and tournament, ends the season with a 10-10 record. Fourth-seeded UVM improves to 11-8 and advances to the NCAA tourney.

FIRST QUARTER

UNH earned a penalty corner 20 seconds into the game and Knuttel scored on a direct shot from the top of the circle inside the left post to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. The battery of insert Addison MacNeil (Brentwood, N.H.) and stick-stop Cookman set up the goal.
UVM recorded a 5-0 shot advantage the rest of the first quarter but Johnson made two saves to preserve the one-goal lead.

SECOND QUARTER

The Wildcats responded by outshooting the Catamounts 5-0 in the second quarter.
UNH converted another corner into a goal and 2-0 lead at 28:21. The battery of MacNeil to Cookman set up Meijer, but she flicked the ball back to the top-left, where Knuttel's low blast was stopped by Vaandrager. Meijer corralled the rebound in the middle of the circle and her reverse-stick shot went into the cage.

THIRD QUARTER

Ninety seconds into the second half, the ball trickled through to Calcari at the back post, but Vaandrager shifted to the left post to make the save and keep the Catamounts within two goals.
Weyer trimmed the deficit to 2-1 at 33:13 when she redirected Sophia Drees' shot from the top of the circle off a corner.
Marie Dijkstra scored on the next shot of the game to level the score, 2-2, at 35:30.

FOURTH QUARTER

UNH generated a 4-2 shot advantage and 6-1 edge in corners in the final 15 minutes, but it was Vermont that broke the deadlock.
Weyer scored on another redirection off a corner to give the Catamounts their first lead of the game, 3-2, only 25 seconds into the fourth quarter.
UNH responded immediately with a corner at the other end of the field, but Meijer's direct shot was blocked.
The Wildcats pulled Johnson in favor of an extra field player with 3:18 remaining and earned a corner 12 seconds later. Knuttel's drive on a direct shot from the top of the circle was turned aside by Vaandrager.
New Hampshire recorded a sequence of three consecutive corners in the final minute.
Meijer's shot attempt was blocked on the first corner and then again on the third corner with 19 seconds to play.

UNH NOTEBOOK

This was UNH's 12^th appearance in the America East championship game.
The Wildcats have won four titles – 1989, 1998, 2011, 2013 – and finished as runner-up nine times; there was no championship game in 1989.
Knuttel ends the season with 18 goals, which ranks ninth on UNH's list of single-season superlatives.
She tallied 41 points in 2024, which is tied for No 8 with Cookman (2023 season).
Knuttel extended her goal and point streaks to five games. She scored a goal in 14 of 19 games overall.
Meijer ranked third on the team in points (26) and fourth in goals (eight).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS