No. 5 Field Hockey Holds Lafayette Without a Penalty Corner in 3-1 Victory
BOX SCORE
EASTON, PA.- Defending NFHCA National Player of the Year Paula Heuser converted on two penalty corners, helping the No. 5 University at Albany field hockey squad to a 3-1 win at Lafayette (5-4) on Friday night. The Danes will travel to Monmouth (3-5) for a game on Sunday.
“I thought all-in-all our defense was awesome today,” said head coach Phil Sykes. “We were unlucky to not have a more sizeable margin in the final score, but that's the nature of playing on the road. We did a tremendous job of controlling the backfield, and Jaclyn Hibbs played particularly well on our backline in this important road win.”
UAlbany got the game off to a quick start, as the Purple & Gold earned its first penalty corner less than two minutes in. Freshman Megan Ma fired a shot wide on the insert from Fiori Van Rijswijk.
Sykes made a critical substitution at the 12-minute mark, as Camryn Dias entered the game to assist on the first goal. Five minutes after subbing in for fellow freshman Rachel Billig, Dias tallied her first career point on an assist to Liza Morgan. Dias penetrated the defense on the right side to find Morgan in the circle, who buried a shot to the upper left. Morgan has now scored in two-straight games.
Looking for the right combination against the Danes, Lafayette called on its bench early and often. UAlbany stuck to the game plan, recording its second penalty corner with five minutes left in the first half. The familiar combination of Van Rijswijk, Laura Page and Heuser made the score 2-0 UAlbany in the 30th minute.
The Leopards made an attempt on net late in the period, but Maxi Primus made the save to preserve a 2-0 lead at the break. The teams combined for just four shots in the opening 35 minutes.
With a fresh 35 on the clock, Lafayette took an early crack at Primus, but the junior swung in for the save in the first five minutes. Sophomore Kelsey Briddell used her speed up front to put a UAlbany attempt on target, but the score remained 2-0.
The third penalty corner for the Purple & Gold proved to be the charm, as Van Rijswijk, Page and Heuser with the finish put the Leopards in a 3-0 hole in the 45th minute.
Five additional penalty corners for the Danes came up empty, as Lafayette put one goal on the board with less than 10 minutes to play.
The three-goal, five-assist performance in Easton, Pa., marked a season-high for UAlbany in assists and points with 11. Of the eight shots attempted by the Danes, seven were on goal.
On the defensive end, UAlbany did not allow a penalty corner for the first time this season. Primus made two saves for her 40th career victory in the cage. She is six wins shy of becoming the winningest goalkeeper in program history.
No. 5 UAlbany field hockey (6-1) pays a visit to West Long Branch, N.J., on Sunday to face Monmouth (3-5) at 1:00 p.m.
