ALBANY, N.Y. – The #9 UAlbany field hockey team will begin the 2016 season with a three-game homestand, starting with a pair this weekend against Hofstra on Friday, August 26th at 3 p.m. and against Bryant on Sunday, August 28th at 1 p.m. on the Alumni Turf.
Attendance to UAlbany field hockey games is free at the Alumni Turf. Each game will be broadcast online for free on AmericaEast.tv.
UAlbany comes into the season ranked at #9 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) in the preseason poll. Hofstra is currently receiving votes in the poll. UAlbany, Hofstra and Bryant are all opening the season this weekend, with Bryant playing Colgate on Friday.
UAlbany enters the weekend as the two-time defending America East Tournament champion, earning a spot in last season's NCAA Tournament and finishing 19-3 overall. Hofstra went 14-6 last season, finishing in the CAA semifinal round while NEC-representative Bryant went 3-16 overall in 2015.
UALBANY UNANIMOUSLY PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN AMERICA EAST EAST DIVISION: UAlbany was unanimously predicted to win the conference's East Division in the 2016 season in the preseason coaches poll. It is the fourth straight season where UAlbany was picked #1 in the preseason poll. It is the second time UAlbany was selected #1 in the East Division in as many years that the America East has been split into two divisions.
UAlbany received all four possible first place votes, with coaches unable to vote for their own team, to earn 16 points in the poll to be at the top of the East Division. Maine got the other first-place vote for 13 points in the East Division, with the poll rounding out with New Hampshire at 10 points, Vermont at 6 points and UMass Lowell at 5 points.
THE NCAA'S POINTS LEADER RETURNS: UAlbany's Paula Heuser, the 2014 Honda Award winner for field hockey, currently stands as the active leader in NCAA Division I in points scored.
She stands with 194 points in her collegiate career off 80 goals and 34 assists. Last season, she set new UAlbany records with 80 points and 34 goals, adding 12 assists. She has at least 45 points in each of her first three seasons with the Great Danes.
BOTTINO COMPETES WITH U-21 USA: Anna Bottino competed with the U-21 USA indoor field hockey team in 2016, competing in numerous events during the year. She is only one of two representatives on the U21 team from the state of New York.
With UAlbany, Bottino was the team's second leading scorer last year with 15 goals and 12 assists. She enters her junior season with 26 goals and 16 assists in her collegiate career.
APPROACHING 200 SAVES: Maxi Primus, UAlbany's starting goalkeeper the past three seasons and the program's all-time wins leader with 53, stands with 182 saves in goal, just 18 away from 200.
Her 182 saves ranks sixth all-time in UAlbany history. She is just 16 away from tying Marisa Maze, who had 198.
GERMAN INGENUITY: UAlbany sports four players from Germany, the most the team has had in one season.
Paula Heuser and Maxi Primus have been starters for UAlbany each of the last three seasons at midfield and goalkeeper respectively while Frederike Helmke made the All-Rookie Team last season. Joining the team this season is Viola Von der Mühlen, a state champion in Germany in the U16 and U18 levels.
The German players make up four of the team's five international student-athletes, rounded out by Megan Ma from Canada.
MICHELLE SIMPSON ELECTED TO UALBANY HALL OF FAME: Former standout player and current assistant coach Michelle Simpson will be inducted into the UAlbany Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2016.
The two-time All-American finished her career with 101 points off 37 goals and 27 assists and helped win the program's first America East Tournament title as a player and the next four as an assistant coach.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: The Hofstra Pride returns its top two scorers from last season, led by senior forward Claudia Marin Samper, who notched 19 goals and 16 assists last season, while classmate Stella Schoen had 17 goals and seven assists. Junior Carys Swan was the primary starter in goal last season, holding a 2.50 goals allowed average and saving 65.3%.
The Bulldogs are led by senior forward Victoria Danby, who had nearly half the team's goal total with 12 in 2015, adding a pair of assists. In the midfield, Emily Perryman had five goals and three assists as a freshman last season. Marissa Elizardo started 17 games as a freshman last year, saving 64.5% and allowing 3.08 goals a contest.
