ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany field hockey team readies for a split weekend against two nationally ranked opponents.
GAME INFORMATION
#19 UAlbany at #20 UMass Lowell
DATE: Friday, October 13
TIME: 3:00 PM
SITE: Wicked Blue Field - Lowell, Mass.
RECORDS: UAlbany 9-3, 5-0 America East; UMass Lowell 10-3, 3-1 America East
SERIES RECORD: 13-1, UAlbany leads
STREAM:
AE.TV
STATS:
GoRiverHawks.com
#3 UNC at #19 UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, October 15
TIME: 12:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 9-3, 5-0 America East; UNC 9-2, 3-0 ACC
SERIES RECORD: 5-0, UNC leads
STREAM:
AE.TV
STATS:
UAlbanySports.com
*records as of 10.12
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
- The Great Danes extended their win streak to five and remained undefeated in conference play.
- Winning 6-2, UAlbany hosted UC Davis on Friday.
- A four-goal third quarter featuring a hat trick from junior Alison Smisdom proved to be the difference.
- Freshman Axelle Werbrouck scored two goals and junior Isabella Del Vecchio scored a goal. Five Great Danes tallied assists in the victory.
- Hosting Stanford on Sunday, UAlbany held strong for a 1-0 shutout.
- Del Vecchio scored the only goal of the game with a tip into the net on a junior Floor de Ruiter pass from outside the circle.
GREAT DANE REWIND
- In the most recent NFHCA Coaches Poll, UAlbany is ranked 19th in the nation.
- Starting the year with a 3-2 loss in double overtime to UMass, the Great Danes answered with a shutout win over Stonehill (Aug. 27).
- UAlbany fell to the current number-six team in the nation, Iowa (Sept. 3).
- The Great Danes won back-to-back games against Hofstra (Sept. 8) and Cornell (Sept. 10).
- UAlbany split the weekend defeating Towson (Sept. 16) before falling to Drexel in shootouts (Sept. 17).
- The Great Danes are undefeated in conference play with victories over California (Sept. 22), Bryant (Sept. 24), Maine (Sept. 29), UC Davis (Oct. 6), and Stanford (Oct. 8).
- Alison Smisdom leads the team with 34 points and 15 goals.
- Senior Charlotte Triggs trails Smisdom with four goals and 10 points.
- Freshman Mara Küskes holds the team-high in assists with seven.
- Seeing a wide range of Great Danes contributing to the score, over half of the field players (10 total) have notched at least one goal or assist.
- In goal, junior Lara Behn leads with a 1.13 goals against average and a .721 save percentage in 637 minutes.
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
(As of October 12)
- The Great Danes have four student-athletes currently ranked in the national (NCAA Division I) stats:
- Alison Smisdom
- 3rd - 1.25 goals per game
- 3rd - 2.83 points per game
- Mara Küskes
- T13th - 0.58 assists per game
- Lara Behn
- T1st - 1.000 goalie win-loss percentage
- 15th - 1.130 goals against average
- T39th - .721 save percentage
- Blanca Orsola
- T26th - 0.50 assists per game
IN THE AMERICA EAST
(As of October 12)
- The Great Danes have leaders in each of the seven offensive and four goalie stat categories:
- Shots/Game
- Shots on Goal/Game
- Goals/Game
- Assists/Game
- Points/Game
- Game-Winning Goals/Game
- Defensive Saves
- Goals Against Average
- Save Percentage
- Shutouts/Game
- Saves Per Game
WORK AS A TEAM, WIN AS A TEAM
(As of October 12)
- In the nation, UAlbany ranks:
- 10th - 2.92 goals per game
- 11th - 7.42 penalty corners per game
- T12th - 4 defensive saves
- T13th - .750 winning percentage
- T13th - 8.00 points per game
- 17th - 2.17 assists per game
- 17th - 2.72 scoring average
- 17th - 1.32 scoring margin
- T22nd - 0.25 shutouts per game
- The Great Danes' rank in the conference:
- 1st - 10.33 shots on goal per game
- 2nd - 1.42 scoring margin
- 2nd - 1.50 goals allowed per game
- 2nd - 1.396 goals against average
- 3rd - .690 save percentage
- 3rd - 15.58 shots per game
- 3rd - 8.00 points per game
ABOUT #20 UMASS LOWELL
- In the most recent NFHCA Poll, UML is ranked 20th in the nation.
- The River Hawks hold a 10-3 record on the season and are 3-1 in conference play.
- UMass Lowell started the year beating LIU (Aug. 25), 5-1, but was then held scoreless by #11 Saint Joseph's (Aug. 27).
- With victories against Merrimack (Sept. 1) and Central Michigan (Sept. 9), UML was brought down by #1 Iowa (Sept. 10).
- The River Hawks followed with four non-conference wins against Northeastern (Sept. 15), #18 UMass (Sept. 17), Brown (Sept. 24), and Bucknell (Oct. 1).
- Entering conference play, UMass Lowell defeated Maine (Sept. 22), Vermont (Sept. 29), and California (Oct. 6).
- Most recently, New Hampshire took a one-goal win, 1-0, for the River Hawks' first league loss of the year.
- Madison Leeper leads the team with nine goals and 21 points.
- Karli Penrod and Mirthe Gans are tied for the team-high in assists with five.
- Christina Calandra and Marie Oliemans have split time in goal both playing 390 minutes. Calandra has started 11 games with a 0.684 save percentage and 1.85 goals against average while Oliemans has recorded a 0.871 save percentage with a 0.62 goals against average.
SERIES AGAINST THE RIVER HAWKS
- UAlbany leads the all-time series, 13-1.
- In the most recent contest, UAlbany won, 3-1, at home, in 2022.
- In the matchup, returning student-athlete Alison Smisdom tallied two goals and a defensive save with Blanca Orsola recording an assist.
ABOUT #3 UNC
- In the most recent NFHCA Poll, North Carolina is ranked third in the nation.
- The Tar Heels own a 9-2 record and have won all three of their conference matches.
- UNC began the year narrowly defeating #4 Michigan, 3-2, before falling to #7 Iowa in overtime (Aug . 26-28).
- Winning their next three games, UNC defeated #5 Penn State (Sept. 1), #10 Princeton (Sept. 3), and Old Dominion (Sept. 10).
- The Tar Heels began conference play with back-to-back shutouts against #4 Louisville (Sept. 15) and #17 Wake Forest (Sept. 22).
- They continued their season with victories over Appalachian State (Sept 24), #13 Saint Joseph's (Oct. 1), and #11 Boston College (Oct. 6).
- In their most recent match, UNC lost in double overtime to #10 Liberty, 2-1.
- Charly Bruder leads the team with eight goals and 17 points.
- The Tar Heels have three players who have recorded four assists - Ryleigh Heck, Pleun Lammers, and Romea Riccardo.
- Maddie Kahn has been UNC's starting goalkeeper recording a .765 save percentage and 0.88 goals against average in 548 minutes.
SERIES AGAINST THE TAR HEELS
- UNC is 5-0 against the Great Danes.
- The last time these teams met, UAlbany lost at home in 2021.
- In a combined effort, goalies Lara Behn and Hannah Mangan totaled eight saves against 14 shots on goal in the Tar Heels' shutout victory.
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST
- New Hampshire and UAlbany remain at the top of the table as the only undefeated teams in conference play.
- UMass Lowell and Maine are tied with three wins. The River Hawks hold the slight lead with one loss to the Black Bear's two.
- Vermont and California are tied with a .400 record.
- UC Davis, Stanford, and Bryant round out the conference.
- The Aggies and the Cardinal each hold one win while the Bulldogs are still looking for their first league victory.
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK
- Friday
- Maine at New Hampshire, 2 pm
- Vermont at Bryant, 3 pm
- UAlbany at UMass Lowell, 3 pm
- Saturday
- California at UC Davis, 4 pm
- Sunday
- Fairfield at Maine, 12 pm
- Merrimack at New Hampshire, 12 pm
- UNC at UAlbany, 12 pm
UP NEXT: UAlbany will return home for two matches throughout homecoming weekend. Hosting New Hampshire on Friday (Oct. 20), Lehigh will visit for Senior Day on Sunday (Oct. 22).
For more information on the University at Albany field hockey team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanyfh
Instagram & Threads - @ualbanyfh
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyFH
