No. 11 Field Hockey Avenges 2013 America East Final in 4-2 Win at New Hampshire
BOX SCORE
DURHAM, N.H. – University at Albany field hockey (11-2, 2-0 AE) left Memorial Field with an important 4-2 win against New Hampshire (3-10, 1-1 AE) on Friday afternoon. The Great Danes defeated the Wildcats in a rematch of the 2013 America East Tournament Final, and downed UNH in Durham for the first time since 2012.
“We came out with good energy today, and created good opportunities for ourselves early,” said head coach Phil Sykes. “I'm happy this year that we have a high standard of play, and I thought it was a good effort for us on the road.”
The Great Danes earned the game's first shot, coming on the counterattack. Amy Nicklin recovered a loose ball in the UAlbany end and nearly went the length of the field before passing off to Laura Page. Page found Anna Bottino down the middle of the circle, but Bottino fired high.
With UAlbany continuing to step up its defensive pressure, Kelly Bonner forced a turnover deep in UNH territory. Heuser picked up where Bonner left off, eventually shooting wide left of the Wildcat cage.
Page persisted through the midfield, distributing the ball well off of UNH turnovers. The sophomore midfielder intercepted a pass and found Pahila Arnold for a shot, but the defending America East Rookie of the Week missed wide right.
The Purple & Gold finally found its breakthrough in the 12th minute. Arnold deflected a Wildcat pass, which was picked up by Kelsey Briddell. The freshman went down the right end line to connect with Echo Bretz in front of the net for the goal, and a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats did not go away quietly in the first half, mounting a three-penalty corner charge shortly after the first UAlbany goal. Maxi Primus and the Great Danes defense kept UNH at bay and headed the other way.
Making UAlbany's first penalty corner count, Paula Heuser clocked a stop by Laura Page into the lower left corner to take a 2-0 lead. Fiori Van Rijswijk inserted to also earn an assist on the play.
In the second half, Heuser had her way in the midfield, as the sophomore charged down the field despite several UNH defenders. Heuser found Molly Mariano on the right side, whose shot hit the post. The ensuing rebound fell to Bonner, who made a diving shot right past the Wildcat goalie. Bonner notched her second goal of the season, unassisted.
UAlbany kept rolling, as another penalty corner opportunity gave the Great Danes a 4-0 lead with less than 20 minutes left. An insert by Van Rijswijk and stop by Page saw a Heuser shot blocked, but Heuser tracked down the rebound and put another shot on net. The midfielder scored her 18th goal of the season.
The Wildcats were looking for a comeback attempt after scoring with 14 minutes left. UNH inserted a penalty corner, but Jordyn Homyak blocked the ensuing shot just inside the circle.
UNH continued to earn penalty corners, and put one past UAlbany with 3:46 remaining in the second half.
Paula Heuser led the Great Danes with two goals. The sophomore has scored 18 goals this season to go with seven assists for 43 total points. She is three points shy of besting her rookie single-season total, and eight away from setting a new UAlbany single-season record.
The Purple & Gold wraps up its road trip in New Hampshire at Dartmouth (3-6, 2-1 Ivy) tomorrow with a 2:00 p.m. tilt.
