ALBANY, N.Y. – The #19 UAlbany field hockey team improved to 3-0 in America East play with a dominant 6-1 victory over Vermont on the Alumni Turf on Friday afternoon.
UAlbany (8-4, 3-0 AE) earned its highest scoring offensive output of the season against Vermont (6-6, 0-2 AE), netting three goals in each half and outshooting the Catamounts 29-4.
“I am very happy with our overall team effort, and it is good to by 3-0 in the conference,” said UAlbany head coach Phil Sykes. “Our momentum is getting better and better.”
Paula Heuser netted two goals for UAlbany in the first half with Anna Bottino, Kelsey Briddell, Molly Mariano and Dana Bozek each adding one apiece. Briddell added an assist for three points. Maxi Primus earned the victory with one save and no goals allowed in the first half with Melissa Nealon finishing the game with one save in the second half.
For Vermont, Lauren Tucker had the team's lone goal on a penalty corner in the 64th minute. Lena Benwood got the loss in goal with 11 saves and six goals allowed.
UAlbany earned a trio of penalty corners in the opening minutes, firing five shots at the cage in the first nine minutes but not connecting.
Heuser got the ball into the half-circle in the 13th minute. Dribbling around, she shot and scored in inside the right post for the 1-0 UAlbany lead.
UAlbany continued to pressure with penalty corners, with three shots from Frederike Helmke being wide.
UAlbany had several players in the box in the 30th minute as Jaclyn Hibbs found Bottino next to the cage. Bottino with a quick swing scored past Benwood to put UAlbany up by two.
In minute 33, Hibbs put two shots on the cage, with a diving Benwood stopping each. Heuser on a third attempt, running inside the half-circle, scored the shot to make it 3-0 UAlbany, the eventual halftime score.
While down a player off a green card, Briddell got on a breakaway and stepped into the half-circle. She fired a hard ground ball shot inside the left post for the goal for a 4-0 UAlbany advantage.
Bottino nearly got her second goal with a set shot to the cage, with a Vermont player saving the shot. Vermont counter with a whip shot Rachel Picchi, seeing a diving Nealon stop the ball.
Minute 52 saw Emily Fraser come down the end line towards the cage. She passed off to Mariano in the half-circle for the shot and score close range as UAlbany led 5-0.
Tucker picked up her goal in the 64th minute off a penalty corner set up by Olivia Hurd and Carla Godsman to pull the visitors within four.
In the final minute of play, a penalty corner from Briddell went to Bozek on the left-center part of the half-circle. The swing resulted in UAlbany's sixth goal and the eventual 6-1 victory.
UAlbany will host a non-conference game to complete a three-game homestand, taking on Lafayette on Sunday, October 9th at 2 p.m.
