ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany field hockey team will travel to Vermont to wrap up the regular season.
GAME INFORMATION
#19 UAlbany at Vermont
DATE: Friday, October 27
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: Moulton Winder Field – Burlington, Vt.
RECORDS: UAlbany 11-5, 7-1 America East; Vermont 8-8, 4-3 America East
SERIES RECORD: 24-5, UAlbany leads
STREAM:
AE.TV
STATS:
UVMAthletics.com
*records as of 10.26
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
- On Friday, the Great Danes hosted conference opponent, New Hampshire.
- Despite trailing early, UAlbany scored three consecutive goals to earn the 3-1 victory.
- Assisted by junior Blanca Orsola and freshman Mara Küskes, junior Alison Smisdom scored on a penalty corner.
- Junior Floor de Ruiter and sophomore Sophia Schoonmaker both recorded unassisted goals.
- The Great Danes defeated Lehigh for a four-goal shutout on Sunday.
- Küskes and de Ruiter scored in the first quarter to give UAlbany an early lead.
- Junior Isabella Del Vecchio scored two goals to extend the lead in the second half - both assisted by Smisdom.
- In a team effort, the Great Danes did not concede a single shot on goal on their way to the win.
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 won their first five conference games with victories over California (Sept. 22), Bryant (Sept. 24), Maine (Sept. 29), UC Davis (Oct. 6), and Stanford (Oct. 8).
- Falling in consecutive games, UAlbany conceded losses to #20 UMass Lowell (Oct. 13) and #3 UNC (Oct. 15).
- Most recently, the Great Danes earned victories over New Hampshire and Lehigh.
- Alison Smisdom leads the team with 17 goals and 40 points.
- Mara Küskes trails with three goals and nine assists for 15 points.
- With a wide range of Great Danes contributing to the score over half of the field players (11 total) have notched at least one goal or assist.
- Smisdom has totaled three defensive saves on the season.
- In goal, junior Lara Behn leads with a 1.48 goals-against average and a .672 save percentage in 810 minutes.
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
(As of October 26)
- Great Danes have four student-athletes currently ranked in the national (NCAA Division I) stats:
- Alison Smisdom
- 6th - 2.50 points per game
- 7th - 1.06 goals per game
- T18th - 3 defensive saves
- Mara Küskes
- T15th - .56 assists per game
- Blanca Orsola
- T20th - .53 assists per game
- Lara Behn
- 7th - 1.06 goals per game
- T9th - .800 goalie win percentage
- 28th - 1.481 goals against average
IN THE AMERICA EAST
(As of October 26)
- 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
- Defensive Saves
- Goals Against Average
- Save Percentage
- Shutouts/Game
- Saves/Game
WORK AS A TEAM, WIN AS A TEAM
(As of October 26)
- In the nation, UAlbany ranks:
- T12th - 2.94 goals/game
- 13th - 7.50 penalty corners/game
- T14th - 5 defensive saves
- 17th - 2.78 scoring average
- T18th - 8.00 points/game
- T18th - .688 winning percentage
- 22nd - 1.24 scoring margin
- T22nd - .25 shutouts per game
- T23rd - 2.12 assists/game
- The Great Danes' rank in the conference:
- 1st - 10.81 shots on goal/game
- 2nd - 1.63 opponent scoring average
- 2nd - 7.50 penalty corners/game
- 2nd - 16.56 shots/game
- 2nd - 1.63 goals against average
- T2nd - .250 shutouts/game
ABOUT VERMONT
- Vermont claims an 8-8 record on the season and is 4-3 in conference play.
- Beginning the season with a win against Sacred Heart (Aug. 25). The Catamounts were then soundly defeated by #8 Syracuse (Aug. 27).
- Following a victory against Lafayette (Sept. 1), Vermont had a three-game losing skid with losses to #3 Northwestern (Sept. 5), Boston University (Sept. 10), and #1 Iowa (Sept. 15).
- After defeating Merrimack (Sept. 16), the Catamounts entered conference play with a loss to New Hampshire (Sept. 22).
- Earning their first conference victory against California (Sept. 24), Vermont was bested by #18 UMass Lowell (Sept. 29), #12 Boston College (Oct. 1), and Stanford (Oct. 6).
- Most recently, the Catamounts are on a four-match win streak after claiming victories against UC Davis (Oct. 8), Bryant (Oct. 13), Maine (Oct. 20), and Colgate (Oct. 22).
- Sophia Lefranc leads the team with 23 points from nine goals and five assists.
- Alina Gerke is Vermont's highest goal-scorer with 10 while Maddie Moran claims a team-best seven assists.
- Claiming a .625 save percentage with a 2.52 goals against average in 214 minutes played, Ila Gunner has been the Catamounts' primary goalkeeper.
SERIES AGAINST THE CATAMOUNTS
- UAlbany leads the all-time series, 24-5.
- Most recently, the Great Danes defeated Vermont in double-overtime, 2-1, on September 30, 2022.
- Charlotte Triggs scored an equalizer late in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.
- Less than two minutes into the second overtime, Floor de Ruiter scored the game-winning goal during a penalty corner with an assist from Alison Smisdom.
- Each of the Great Danes' last four contests against the Catamounts have been one-goal games.
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST
- UAlbany and New Hampshire share the top of the conference ladder with both sides owning a 6-1 record.
- One game behind, UMass Lowell trails in third after tallying five wins and one loss.
- Vermont and California both hold three losses. The Catamounts hold the slight edge with four wins to the Golden Bears three.
- Maine sits one game under .500 with a 3-4 record.
- Stanford and UC Davis are tied with a .167 win percentage (1-5).
- Bryant rounds out the conference and is still looking for their first league victory.
- UAlbany, New Hampshire, and UMass Lowell will hold the top three seeds in the America East Tournament. Vermont, California, and Maine will round out the six competing in the tournament.
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK
- Friday
- California at New Hampshire, 2 pm
- UC Davis at UMass Lowell, 3 pm
- Stanford at Bryant, 3 pm
- UAlbany at Vermont, 3 pm
- Sunday
- UC Davis at Bryant, 12 pm
- California at Maine, 12 pm
- Stanford at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
- Columbia at New Hampshire, 1 pm
UP NEXT: The Great Danes will compete in the America East Tournament. With a one or two seed, UAlbany will earn a bye and begin competition on Friday, November 3. If they get the third seed, the Great Danes will begin play on Thursday, November 2.
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
