ALBANY, N.Y. - The #13 UAlbany field hockey team is headed on the road for Hofstra before hosting #8 UConn.
Sunday, October 6, will be the Great Danes' mental health awareness contest. The Hidden Opponent (THO), a student-athlete-centered mental health awareness organization, will be in attendance along with other organizations with a similar mission. A representative from THO will be featured before the contest.
To help spread awareness and build positivity, the Hidden Opponent will host a Positivity Chalk Walk event ahead of Sunday's contest. Fans will be able to write positive messages, in chalk, along the path leading to the field hockey field beginning 30 minutes before the start of the game.
GAME INFORMATION
#13 UAlbany at Hofstra
DATE: Friday, October 4
TIME: 3:00 PM
SITE: Cindy Lewis Stadium - Hempstead, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 8-1, 2-0 America East; Hofstra 2-6, 0-2 CAA
SERIES RECORD: 11-1, UAlbany leads
STREAM:
FloLive
STATS:
GoHofstra.com
#8 UConn at #13 UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, October 6
TIME: 1:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 8-1, 2-0 America East; UConn 9-1, 2-0 Big East
SERIES RECORD: 7-0, UConn leads
STREAM:
AE.TV
STATS:
UAlbanySports.com
*records as of 10.3
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
- The Great Danes continued what is now an eight-game win streak with wins over UMass Lowell (9.27) and #14 Liberty (9.29).
- Against UAlbany's Co-Regular Season AE Champion from 2023, senior Floor de Ruiter led with one goal and one assist in the 2-1 victory. Senior Blanca Orsola scored the first goal of the contest.
- In Sunday's matchup, freshman Lotje Ligthart scored the first goal with senior Alison Smisdom tallying her third hat trick of the season to follow.
- The Great Danes' wins over the River Hawks and the Flames helped increase their ranking from 17th to 13th in the most recent NFHCA Coaches Poll.
GREAT DANE REWIND
- Halfway through the 2024 season, UAlbany is ranked eighth in the NCAA RPI rankings.
- Overall, the Great Danes' sole loss on the season is to currently ranked #4 Ohio State. They have defeated Ohio (9.1), Merrimack (9.6), Cornell (9.8), #7 Harvard (9.13), Drexel (9.15), and #14 Liberty (9.29) as well as conference opponents - UC Davis (9.22) and UMass Lowell (9.27).
- UAlbany has collected two wins past regulation. Both contests were against Ivy League foes - Cornell in shootouts and Harvard in the first overtime.
- Alison Smisdom leads the team with 15 goals, from nine contests, and 31 points. Her 1.67 goals per game is currently leading the nation. She is also third with 3.44 points per game and tied for fourth with three defensive saves.
- On the assist, Floor de Ruiter is third in the nation with 1.00 per game (nine total).
- A Great Dane currently leads the conference in all field player statistics - Smisdom (shots, shots on goal, goals, points, game-winning goals & defensive saves) and de Ruiter (assists).
- Lara Behn is UAlbany's starting goalkeeper. She has played all but 30 minutes on the season, including helping the Great Danes to a win over Cornell with two saves in three shootout attempts against the Big Red.
WORK AS A TEAM, WIN AS A TEAM
(As of October 3)
- In the nation, UAlbany ranks:
- 6th - .889 winning percentage
- T6th - 5 defensive saves
- 7th - 9.33 points per game
- T7th - 3.22 goals per game
- T8th - 2.89 assists per game
- 9th - 3.07 scoring average
- 11th - 1.59 scoring margin
- The Great Danes' rank in the conference:
- 1st - 9.33 points per game
- 1st - 3.22 goals per game
- 1st - 2.89 assists per game
- 1st - 10.44 shots on goal per game
- 2nd - 14.56 shots per game
- 2nd - 1.56 goals against per game
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
(As of October 3)
- The Great Danes have four student-athletes currently ranked in the national (NCAA Division I) stats:
- Alison Smisdom
- T1st - 1.67 goals per game
- 3rd - 3.44 points per game
- T4th - 3 defensive saves
- Floor de Ruiter
- T3rd - 1.00 assists per game
- T43rd - 1.44 points per game
- Lara Behn
- 6th - .889 goalie win-loss percentage
- 36th - 1.58 goals against average
- Mara Küskes
- T28th - .56 assists per game
IN THE AMERICA EAST
(As of October 3)
- The Great Danes have leaders in each of the seven offensive and two of the four goalie stat categories:
- Shots on Goal/Game
- Shots/Game
- Goals/Game
- Assists/Game
- Game-Winning Goals/Game
- Points/Game
- Defensive Saves
- Goals Against Average
- Shutouts/Game
ABOUT HOFSTRA
- The Pride is 2-6 on the season with two losses in conference play.
- The CAA member began the season with three consecutive losses to #18 Old Dominion (9.1), Maine (9.6), and Central Michigan (9.7).
- Hofstra earned their first win in shootouts over Sacred Heart (9.13) before adding a second against LIU (9.15).
- Most recently, the Pride fell to CAA opponents, Monmouth (9.20) and Delaware (9.27), as well as Wagner (9.22).
- Teresa Karoff leads the team with three goals and two assists for eight points.
- Tara McNally is tied for the lead with two assists.
- Pilar Penaloza follows Karoff with one goal and one assist for three points.
- Pieke Roos is the Pride's starting goalkeeper with eight starts. She has nearly 500 minutes in goal with a 2.91 GAA and a .667 save percentage.
SERIES AGAINST THE PRIDE
- UAlbany leads the all-time series, 11-1.
- In their two most recent matchups, the Great Danes won without allowing a Pride goal.
- During the 2023 contest, UAlbany tallied a three-goal victory with Floor de Ruiter, Alison Smisdom, and Mara Küskes each scoring unassisted goals.
- In the delayed 2020 season, played in the spring of 2021, recent Great Dane graduate, Hannah Mangan, tabbed her first career shutout in the two-goal win.
ABOUT #8 UCONN
- Voted eighth in the most recent NFHCA Coaches Poll, the Huskies are currently 9-1 with two conference wins.
- Opening the season with five consecutive wins over #13 Saint Joseph's (8.30), New Hampshire (9.1), Cornell (9.6), #9 Rutgers (9.8), and Brown (9.12), UConn's only loss of the season was at #7 Harvard (9.15).
- Having won their last four contests - Temple (9.20), Yale (9.22), Georgetown (9.27), and Delaware (9.29) - the Huskies will play Villanova before facing UAlbany on Sunday (10.6).
- Five Huskies have earned double-digit points.
- Juul Sauer leads with 21 from nine goals and three assists. Sophie Perschk (7g, 5a), Madi Herb (5g, 5a), Sol Simone (4g, 7a), and Sophia Ugo (4g, 3a) follow.
- Starting goalkeeper Natalie McKenna has played all but 35 minutes in the goal. She owns a 1.49 goals against average with a .725 save percentage.
SERIES AGAINST THE HUSKIES
- UConn leads the series, 7-0.
- With six regular-season losses, the Great Danes most recent contest against the Huskies was in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Semifinal contest.
- The eventual champion in 2014, UConn defeated the 2014 team, 1-0.
- Out of the seven losses, the 2008 team came the closest to winning with a 2-1 loss in overtime.
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST
- UAlbany leads the conference with two league wins and a .889 overall win percentage.
- Maine and New Hampshire follow with a 1-0 record in America East play.
- Vermont sits even with one loss and one win.
- UMass Lowell, Bryant, and UC Davis are looking for their first America East victory. The River Hawks and the Bulldogs each have one loss in conference play while the Aggies have two.
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK
- Friday
- UC Davis at New Hampshire, 2 pm
- Bryant at UMass Lowell, 3 pm
- UAlbany at Hofstra, 3 pm
- Sunday
- Brown at Bryant, 12 pm
- UC Davis at Maine, 12 pm
- LIU at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
- Northeastern at New Hampshire, 1 pm
- UConn at UAlbany, 1 pm
- Vermont at Dartmouth, 1 pm
UP NEXT
The Great Danes will prepare for a second consecutive split weekend with a home game against Bryant and a road game at Lehigh.
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