WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Freshman Frederike Helmke made her scoring debut in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon, converting on the game-winner in No. 5 University at Albany's (7-1) 1-0 victory at Monmouth (3-7). Her first career goal comes in just her third appearance for the Purple & Gold.

“This was an interesting game, and we definitely had some adversity to overcome today,” said head coach Phil Sykes. “We were very calm under pressure down two players late in the game, even though the Hawks were coming down on us a little bit. I'm proud of the way our defense maintained its composure.”

Sykes & co., hit the ground running in the first half, racking up four shots on four penalty corners in the opening 15 minutes. Liza Morgan had her attempt saved at the goal line by a Monmouth defender, while Paula Heuser fired on target but couldn't find the back of the cage.

Helmke nearly made it 1-0 in the early going, but her shot on a penalty corner insert from Fiori Van Rijswijk clipped the post. Moments later, a second corner resulted in another shot and save for Heuser.

With a 6-0-penalty corner and 6-1 shot advantage in the first 25 minutes of the first half, the Hawks responded with its first shot on goal and three unanswered corners of its own. The UAlbany defense held its ground late in the period, but a late yellow card assessed to Morgan left the Danes shorthanded to open the second stanza.

Despite 11 shots and 10 penalty corners between the team in the first 35 minutes, the pace slowed significantly in the final period. Neither squad registered a shot in the opening 20 minutes.

After defensive leader Jaclyn Hibbs was handed a yellow card in the 58th minute, UAlbany adjusted to account for the loss of Hibbs for the next five minutes. Shortly after the yellow to Hibbs, freshman Rachel Billig was also hit with a yellow card, putting the Danes down two players with the score still tied 0-0.

Playing keep away in the midfield, the Purple & Gold rallied forward as Hibbs was released from the penalty area. Van Rijswijk inserted to Heuser on a corner, who was again denied by the Hawks goalkeeper with eight minutes to play. UAlbany took nine of its 10 shots in the game off of penalty corners.

The effort finally paid off in the 63rd minute, as Van Rijswijk hit Helmke for the short corner. The freshman buried her shot, good for the win and her first career goal.

Maxi Primus captured her second shutout and seventh win of the season with four saves in the cage. The junior has 20 career clean sheets to her credit.

Senior Fiori Van Rijswijk now leads the team in assists with seven. She has recorded six assists in the last four games.

The No. 5 Great Danes (7-1) return to Alumni Turf this weekend to open America East Conference play. UAlbany hosts Vermont (2-8) on Friday at 2:00 p.m., followed by New Hampshire (4-5) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.