ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany field hockey team heads on the road this weekend as they take on Towson and Drexel.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
#20 UAlbany at Towson
DATE: Saturday, September 16
TIME: 1:00 PM
SITE: TU Field Hockey Complex - Towson, Md.
RECORDS: UAlbany 3-2, 0-0 America East; Towson 3-2, 0-0 CAA
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, Towson leads
STREAM: FloSports
STATS: TowsonTigers.com
 
#20 UAlbany at Drexel
DATE: Sunday, September 17
TIME: 1:00 PM
SITE: Buckley Field - Philadelphia, Pa.
RECORDS: UAlbany 3-2, 0-0 America East; Drexel 4-2, 0-0 CAA
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, Drexel leads
STREAM: FloSports
STATS: DrexelDragons.com
 
*records as of 9.14
 
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

• The Great Danes hosted Hofstra for a 3-0 shutout victory on Friday (Sept. 8).
• With all goals going unassisted, junior Floor de Ruiter, freshman Mara Küskes, and junior Alison Smisdom each scored a goal.
• In the second contest of the weekend, UAlbany visited Cornell for a 3-2 decision in shootouts.
• Scoring went back and forth with Smisdom scoring each goal in regulation. 
• After two scoreless overtime periods, graduate student Hannah Mangan took over in net to help the Great Danes to a victory.

 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• With a 3-2 record on the season, the Great Danes are ranked 20th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Poll. 
• Starting the year with a 3-2 loss in double overtime to UMass, currently ranked 18th, the Great Danes answered with a shutout win over Stonehill (Aug. 27).
• UAlbany fell to the current number one team in the country - Iowa - on Sunday, Sept. 3.
• Most recently, the Great Danes won back-to-back games against Hofstra (Sept. 9) and Cornell (Sept. 10).
• Alison Smisdom leads the team with 10 points and four goals.
• With a team-high shooting percentage (.400), sophomore Sophia Schoonmaker follows Smisdom with two goals and four points. Senior Charlotte Triggs is tied with two goals and four points.
• Seeing a wide range of Great Danes contributing to the score, five total student-athletes have notched four points with Mara Küskes, Floor de Ruiter, and junior Blanca Orsola tallying one goal and two assists each.
• In goal, junior Lara Behn leads with a 1.07 goals against average and a .750 save percentage in 225 minutes. Graduate student Hannah Mangan follows with a 1.77 goals against average and a .625 save percentage in 101 minutes.

 
FIRST POINTS

• Mara Küskes scored her first career goal against Hofstra on Friday.

 
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE

• The Great Danes have three two student-athletes currently ranked in the national (NCAA Division I) stats:
  • Alison Smisdom
    • T26th - 0.80 goals per game
    • T26th - 2.00 points per game
  • Lara Behn
    • T1st - 1.000 goalie win-loss percentage 
    • 14th - 1.065 goals against average 
    • T29th - .750 save percentage

 
IN THE AMERICA EAST

• The Great Danes have leaders in each of the six offensive and three goalie stat categories:
  • Shots/Game
    • 1st - 5.20 - Alison Smisdom
    • T23rdth - 1.60 - Floor de Ruiter
  • Shots on Goal/Game
    • 4th - 2.80 - Alison Smisdom
    • 20th - 1.20 - Floor de Ruiter
  • Goals/Game
    • T5th - 0.800 - Alison Smisdom
  • Assists/Game
    • T23rd - 0.4 - Alison Smisdom, Blanca Orsola, Mara Küskes, Floor de Ruiter
  • Points/Game
    • T3rd - 2.00 - Alison Smisdom
  • Game-Winning Goals
    • T5th - 1 - Blanca Orsola, Delphine Le Jeune, Floor de Ruiter
  • Defensive Saves
    • T2nd - 1 - Alison Smisdom, Charlotte Triggs
  • Goals Against Average
    • 1st - 1.065 - Lara Behn
  • Save Percentage
    • 1st - .750 - Lara Behn
  • Shutouts/Game
    • 1st - .200 - Lara Behn

 
WORK AS A TEAM, WIN AS A TEAM

• In the nation, UAlbany ranks:
  • T8th - 2 defensive saves
  • T8th - 0.40 shutouts per game
  • T28th - .600 winning percentage
  • T30th - 2.40 goals per game
  • 32nd - 0.72 scoring margin
  • T33rd - 6.60 points per game
  • T37th - 2.17 scoring average
  • T38th - 1.80 assists per game
  • T39th - 6.20 penalty corners per game
  • 43rd- .704 save percentage
• The Great Danes' rank in the conference:
  • 1st - 1.60 goals against average
  • 2nd - .704 save percentage 
  • 4th - 12.8 shots per game
  • 4th - 7.8 shots on goal per game

 
ABOUT TOWSON

• The Tigers started the year with a 3-2 record.
• Towson opened the season with a split weekend by falling to Appalachian State (Aug. 25) before beating Davidson College (Aug. 27). 
• They continued their slate by taking down Saint Louis (Sept. 1) and Bellarine (Sept. 3)
• Most recently, the Tigers lost to Bucknell, 7-4 4-7 (Sept. 8).
• Sarah Hatfield leads the team with four goals and eight points.
• Annie Keele is tied with Hatfield's eight points with a team-high two assists.
• Madisyn Howard has tallied the team's lone defensive save.
• Tessa Scheenstra is the Tiger's starting goalie, playing every minute while owning a 0.625 save percentage and a 2.81 goals against average.

SERIES AGAINST THE TIGERS

• Towson owns a 1-0 series lead over the Great Danes.
• The Tigers won, 2-1, the last time the two teams faced off on October 26, 2001.

 
ABOUT DREXEL

• The Dragons opened their season with a split weekend, beating Bucknell (Aug. 25) before falling to La Salle (Aug. 27).
• Drexel went on a three-game win streak beating Appalachian State (Sept. 1), Queens (Sept. 3), and Rider (Sept. 8). 
• Most recently, Drexel lost on the road to Penn (Sept. 10).
• Natali Foster leads the Dragon in all major stat categories - 16 points, five goals, and six assists.
• Val Van Hellemont trails Foster with four goals and 10 points.
• Megan Hadfield has started all six games as goalie; boasting a .750 save percentage and a .83 goals against average.

SERIES AGAINST THE DRAGONS

• Drexel leads the all-time series, 1-0.
• The two teams played against each other in 2001 for a 2-1 Dragon win.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UAlbany is tied with New Hampshire and UMass Lowell for first in the conference with a 3-2 record.
• Bryant and California trailing by just one game with an even 3-3 record.
• Vermont sits one game under .500 (2-3).
• Maine and Stanford are tied with a 2-4 record.
• UC Davis rounds out the conference with one win.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • Stanford at New Hampshire, 2 pm
  • Northeastern at UMass Lowell, 3 pm
  • UC Davis at Maine, 3 pm
  • Stonehill at Bryant, 3 pm
  • Vermont at Iowa, 4 pm
• Saturday
  • UAlbany at Towson, 1 pm
  • Merrimack at Vermont, 2 pm
• Sunday
  • Bryant at Wake Forest, 12 pm
  • Stanford at Maine, 12 pm
  • UC Davis at New Hampshire, 12 pm
  • UAlbany at Drexel, 1 pm
  • Massachusetts at UMass Lowell, 2 pm

 
UP NEXT: The Great Danes will begin conference play hosting California (Sept. 22) before going on the road to face Bryant (Sept. 24).
 
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