No. 14 Field Hockey Matches All-Time Single Season Record for Wins, Advances to League Final to Face UNH

BOX SCORE | AE CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

ALBANY, N.Y. – With its 11th-straight win, No. 14 University at Albany field hockey (17-2) downed No. 4 seed Fairfield (7-12) 2-1 on Thursday to take a spot in the America East Final. The top-seeded Great Danes will meet New Hampshire (10-11) for the America East NCAA automatic qualifier for the third consecutive year.

“The conference tournament inspires teams, and that can show in a variety of ways,” said head coach Phil Sykes. “I was disappointed we didn't capitalize on our opportunities in the first half, and I think our confidence was a bit down at halftime. Scoring the first goal proved to be very important. Certainly we're very familiar with UNH in this [conference final] situation, and have a lot of respect for their quality of play. It should be a good game.”

On a cold and rainy day in Albany, Fairfield came out fired up and ready to pull an upset. The Stags took an early shot in the fifth minute, catching the UAlbany defense off-guard. Maxi Primus came out of the cage to make the save.

In a back-and-forth game early on, the Purple & Gold made the most of its time on the offensive end. Laura Page weaved through the Fairfield midfield to put a shot on goal, followed by two shot-and-save sequences from America East Rookie of the Year Anna Bottino and classmate Kelsey Briddell.

After re-entering the game just two minutes prior, Kelly Bonner narrowly missed the go-ahead goal mid-way through the period. The senior forward hit the post from close range with the Fairfield keeper sliding over.

On its second penalty corner of the game, Fiori Van Rijswijk inserted to Pahila Arnold. Arnold put a shot on net, but Fairfield's Caitlin Bennett managed the save. The rebound came out to Molly Mariano, but the freshman also had her attempt saved.

Arnold and Page each tallied one more shot on goal to wrap up the half. UAlbany entered the break with a 3-0 penalty corner advantage and a 10-1 edge in shots.

UAlbany began the second half pressing the Fairfield defense. The effort paid off, setting up a penalty corner just two minutes into the period. On the team's fourth penalty corner of the game, Paula Heuser finally broke through to give the Purple & Gold a 1-0 lead. The sophomore scored her 26th goal of the season on an insert from Van Rijswijk and a stop by Page.

But a 1-0 lead wasn't enough, as Fairfield rebounded to score seven minutes later. On its only penalty corner of the game, the Stags made it count to tie the game with less than 10 minutes gone in the half.

With the rain picking up at Alumni Turf, play became more aggressive in a deadlocked 1-1 game. UAlbany couldn't put three additional penalty corner attempts on net.

A yellow card assessed to Fairfield gave the Great Danes a one-player advantage for five minutes late in the game. An intentional foul in the circle set up a penalty stroke for Heuser. The two-time America East Midfielder of the Year buried the shot to put UAlbany back in the lead 2-1.

Fairfield had plenty of time to even the score, and a yellow card on the Great Danes with just three minutes left put the lead in limbo. UAlbany kept possession through the midfield for the remaining three minutes to secure a victory.

Already the winningest single-season goalie in program history, Maxi Primus recorded her 17th win in the cage with three saves.

Paula Heuser scored two goals to increase her single-season point total to 63. The sophomore has 108 career points to date, ranking second in Division I program history and 10 points shy of the top spot.

Laura Page is four assists away from becoming the all-time UAlbany leader in career assists. The junior has 47 to her credit.

In their 17th victory of the season, the 2014 Danes have matched their all-time record in single-season wins. The 1997 Division II UAlbany squad went 17-2 en route to winning the Division II ECAC Championship.

-###-