No. 12 Field Hockey Starts West Coast Tour at Pacific, Visits No. 8 Stanford on Sunday on Pac-12 Network
PACIFIC LIVE STATS | PACIFIC LIVE STREAMSTANFORD LIVE STATS | PAC-12 NETWORK
ALBANY, N.Y. – University at Albany field hockey (4-1) travels across the country this weekend for a pair of games in the Golden State. The Great Danes take on University of the Pacific in Stockton for the first time since 2004 on Friday, before facing the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto on Sunday.
A pair of 2-1 results gave the Purple & Gold a 1-1 week last week. UAlbany proved the better team for 60 minutes in a contest at No. 5 Syracuse, but fell 2-1 to the Orange on Saturday. Phil Sykes's squad rebounded for a 2-1 win at Cornell on Sunday. Junior Fiori Van Rijswijk notched the gamewinner against the Big Red.
Sophomore Paula Heuser recorded her 62nd career point last weekend, and is already less than halfway from becoming the Division I program career record holder in the category, just five games into her second season. The all-time record was set by UAlbany Hall of Fame member Tovah Atwell at 158 points.
SCOUTING UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC
| Friday, Sept. 12, 8:00 p.m. ET | at Pacific (3-3, 1-1 NorPac) |
| Series tied 1-1 |
| Last Result: L, 1-3, Sept. 2, 2004 |
All three of Pacific's losses this season have been decided by one goal. The Tigers fell 2-1 to Liberty and then-No. 18 Delaware on opening weekend. Andy Smith's squad also lost 1-0 to former America East powerhouse Boston University on Sept. 7. Pacific tallied three wins against Vermont, Appalachian State and most recently Dartmouth.
The Tigers open a brand new field hockey facility against the Great Danes on Friday. Pacific will also host the NorPac Championships.
Sophomore transfer Ali Campos is the leading point-scorer for the Tigers with 14. She has scored half of the team's 14 goals in six games. Freshman goalkeeper Laura Pujade has allowed nine goals for a goals against average of 1.56.
SCOUTING NO. 8 STANFORD
| Sunday, Sept. 14, 2:00 p.m. ET | at No. 8 Stanford (5-0) |
| Stanford leads series 4-1 |
| Last Result: L, 1-2, Sept. 29, 2013 |
Phil Sykes reunites with former teammate and friend Steve Danielson, an assistant at Stanford again this season. The Cardinal came to Albany in 2013, and took a 2-1 victory back to Palo Alto. Heuser scored the Purple & Gold's only goal of that contest to tie the score at one. The Great Danes had their chances late with seven penalty corners in the last 20 minutes and a 26-9 shooting advantage.
In 2014, Stanford is out to a 5-0 start, with a pair of 1-0 wins over America East foes Maine and New Hampshire. The Cardinal has only allowed one goal so far this season in a 4-1 win against Liberty on opening weekend.
The Cardinal are five-time NorPac West regular season champions with eight returning starters from 2013. Stanford was upset by Liberty in the NorPac final last season.
