No. 13 Field Hockey Seals No. 1 Seed, Hosting Rights for America East Tournament With Eighth-Straight Win
BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y. – A quick start for No. 13 University at Albany field hockey (14-2, 4-0 AE) sent No. 20 Maine (10-7, 3-1 AE) packing on Saturday afternoon in a 3-0 victory. The Great Danes earn sole possession of first place in the league, including at least a share of the regular season title, the No. 1 seed in the tournament and hosting privileges in two weeks.
“That was a big game for us,” said head coach Phil Sykes. “Maine had won a number of games in a row, and so have we, so we were very worried about this game. I was proud of how we stepped up to the challenge and came out to play early on in the game.”
Sophomore Paula Heuser was the difference-maker early for the Purple & Gold. The sophomore midfielder weaved through the circle to set up UAlbany's first penalty corner. The Germany native made the opportunity count on an insert from Fiori Van Rijswijk and a stop by Laura Page moments later. The Great Danes took a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the game.
Kelly Bonner had a shot go wide left, but the Purple & Gold kept up the pressure on Maine, forcing a turnover shortly after. On the ensuing penalty corner, Amy Nicklin set up a give-and-go on a stop from Laura Page. Heuser fired into the bottom right corner for her 21st goal of the year, good to give UAlbany a 2-0 lead.
Maine continued to struggle generating a shot on the offensive end, as tackles in the circle by Jaclyn Hibbs and Jordyn Homyak prevented the Black Bears from getting on the board.
After recovering a poor pass by Maine through the midfield, Page went nearly the length of the field without challenge from a defender. The junior sent a shot down the middle of the circle to give Phil Sykes's squad a 3-0 lead at the break. The score from Page was her first of the season.
The Black Bears did not go away quietly, taking two early shots as the Great Danes started the second half down a player. Sykes took a timeout to regroup, but Maine managed to earn its first penalty corner with 25 minutes left. On a second attempt 10 minutes later, Maxi Primus slid across the goal line to preserve the shutout.
The shutout was the ninth of the year for Primus, as well as her 14th win in the cage.
UAlbany out-shot Maine 14-4, and went 2-for-2 on its penalty corner opportunities in its eighth consecutive victory.
The Great Danes will earn at least a share of the America East regular season title, in addition to hosting the tournament as the No. 1 seed on Nov. 6 & 8. The Purple & Gold travel to Vermont on Halloween for its final America East game of the season.
Paula Heuser's four-point performance leaves her two points shy of setting a new all-time single season points record with 49. She is already the all-time single-season leader in goals, and has 21 to her credit this season. The national leader in points per game, Heuser has 94 points for her two-year career.
Laura Page's two assists against Maine are two short of the all-time single-season record. She has 18 assists so far in 2014 and 42 in her career.
UAlbany field hockey (14-2, 4-0 AE) takes a break from league play tomorrow with a 2:00 p.m., contest at Yale.
