ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany field hockey team is set to close the regular season with two games at home this weekend.
 
Masks are required for all fans not fully vaccinated.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UC Davis at UAlbany
DATE: Friday, October 29
TIME: 1:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 7-8, 4-2 America East; UC Davis 6-8, 1-5 America East
SERIES RECORD: 4-0, UAlbany leads
STREAM: AE.TV
STATS: UAlbanySports.com   
 
California at UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, October 31
TIME: 12:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 7-8, 4-2 America East; California 9-4, 5-1 America East
SERIES RECORD: 2-0, California leads
STREAM: AE.TV
STATS: UAlbanySports.com    
 
*records as of 10/27
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• The Great Danes opened the season with a 5-1 win over Colgate (8/27) before falling 2-1 against Fairfield (8/29).
• UAlbany beat Wagner (9/3), 4-1, for its first road game of the season but followed it up with three losses to UMass (9/5), No. 9 Penn State (9/10), and Columbia (9/12). During the final weekend of pre-conference games, the Great Danes earned a victory over Cornell (9/17) and a loss against No. 1 Michigan (9/18).
• To open America East play, UAlbany bested Vermont in a 3-2 overtime win on September 26.
• The Great Danes won three-straight conference teams in one-goal games - Stanford (10/8), New Hampshire (10/10), and UMass Lowell (10/15) - before falling to Monmouth (10/22).
• Senior Robyn Murray scored the first goal of the season on August 27.
• Freshman Alison Smisdom leads the team with 26 points from 11 goals and four assists. The freshman scored her first career hat trick at Wagner.
• Sophomore Lara Mortz follows with nine points from three goals, including the game-winning goal against UMass Lowell (10/15), and three assists.
• Half of the field players (nine student-athletes) have contributed at least one point, with eight different goal scorers.
• In net, freshman Lara Behn leads the goalies with a .694 save percentage and a 1.84 goals against average in 718:55.
• The Great Danes have totaled 190 shots and 102 penalty corners in 15 games.

 
2021 GREATS

• Freshman Alison Smisdom has tallied three America East weekly awards and one UAlbany Athlete of the Week honor.
  • After earning her first career hat trick (at Wagner, 9/3), Smisdom was named the America East Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week as well as the UAlbany Female Athlete of the Week.
  • The first year earned her second conference Rookie of the Week award after scoring one game-winning goal, in overtime, and assisting the game-tying goal at Vermont (9/26).
• Freshman Floor de Ruiter tallied her first America East Rookie of the Week honor after scoring the game-winning goal against Stanford (10/8) with the game-tying goal against New Hampshire (10/10)
• Most recently, sophomore Lara Mortz was named the UAlbany Female Athlete of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal against UMass Lowell (10/15).

 
ABOUT UC DAVIS

• The Aggies hold a 6-8 overall record with a 1-5 conference record.
• Before the conference season began, UC Davis found victories over Saint Louis (9/7), Ohio (9/8), Bellarmine (9/10), and Brown (9/19) with losses against No. 10 Liberty (8/27), Dartmouth (8/29), and No. 4 Northwestern (9/17). 
• The Aggies opened the conference season with two overtime games in one weekend - a two overtime loss at UMass Lowell (9/24) and a one overtime victory at New Hampshire (9/26).
• Following its overtime win, UC Davis saw four losses to Stanford (10/1), Vermont (10/8), No. 25 Maine (10/10), and California (10/17).
• Most recently, the Aggies beat Stanford (10/26) in a non-conference contest.
• Madison Theodore leads the team with 14 points, including a team-high five goals and a team-high four assists.
• Shea Gavin follows with 10 points from four goals and two assists.
• Izzy Porco has tallied six defensive saves on the season.
• Kalli Wagnon has seen all but 15 minutes in goal with a 2.81 goals against average and a .643 save percentage.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE AGGIES

• The Great Danes own a 4-0 lead in the all-time series. 
• Most recently, UAlbany beat UC Davis with a slim 3-2 margin during the 2020-21 season. 
• Current student-athletes Robyn Murray and Lara Mortz scored the goals in the March contest. Murray tallied the first two with Mortz taking the game-winning goal.

 
ABOUT CALIFORNIA

• The Golden Bears hold a 9-4 overall record with a 5-1 conference record.
• Before the conference season began, California saw victories over No. 25 Stanford (8/27), Dartmouth (9/5), Towson (9/10), and Brown (917) with losses against No. 10 Liberty (8/29), No. 7 Maryland (9/12), and No. 4 Northwestern (9/19).
• The Bears opened the conference season with two wins at New Hampshire (9/24) and UMass Lowell (9/26).
• California fell to No. 25 Maine (10/8) before winning three-straight conference matchups, 2-0 - Vermont (10/10), UC Davis (10/17), and Stanford (10/22).
• Anne Van Hoof leads the lead with 10 points with a team-high five goals. 
• Kiki de Bruijne is the team's top assister, owning four assists.
• Eight Golden Bears have tallied at least one goal with five scoring multiple goals. 
• Cato Knipping leads the two goalies with 630:21 in net, compiling a 1.24 goals against average and a .764 save percentage.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE GOLDEN BEARS

• California owns a 2-0 lead in the all-time series. 
• Most recently, the Bears beat the Great Danes during the 2020-21 season.
• Their first meeting was an overtime match in 2008.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• As of October 27, four teams have clinched a spot in the America East tournament - Maine, California, UAlbany, and Monmouth.
• Maine leads the conference with a 6-1 record, followed by California at 5-1.
• Monmouth and UAlbany are tied for third with a 4-2 America East record.
• Vermont sits in the fifth-ranked spot with a 3-4 conference record. 
• Stanford and New Hampshire are tied for sixth with a .333 winning percentage (2-4).
• UMass Lowell and UC Davis round out the conference with 1-5 records.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEKEND
Friday

• UC Davis at UAlbany, 1 pm
• Vermont at UMass Lowell, 2 pm
• California at Monmouth, 2 pm
• Stanford at New Hampshire, 3 pm

Sunday

• UC Davis at Monmouth, 11 am
• California at UAlbany, 12 pm
• Fairfield at Vermont, 12 pm
• Stanford at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
• Maine at New Hampshire, 1 pm

 
UP NEXT

• The Great Danes will begin the postseason with the America East tournament, set to begin on November 4 and conclude on November 7.

For more information on the University at Albany field hockey team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanyfh
Instagram - @ualbanyfh
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyFH