ALBANY, N.Y. - The #14 UAlbany field hockey team closes the regular season at home on Friday.
GAME INFORMATION
Vermont at #14 UAlbany
DATE: Friday, November 1
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 14-3, 5-0 America East; Vermont 7-7, 3-2 America East
SERIES RECORD: 25-5, UAlbany leads
STREAM:
AE.TV
STATS:
UAlbanySports.com
*records as of 10.31
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
- The Great Danes opened the weekend with a victory at Maine to clinch hosting rights for the America East Tournament.
- Scoring two goals with two different scorers, senior Blanca Orsola and freshman Eva Jenniskens each tallied a goal in the 2-1 victory on the road.
- On Sunday, UAlbany hosted senior day against Colgate for an 8-0 shutout win. Four seniors scored in the victory - Orsola, Alison Smisdom, Floor de Ruiter, and Isabella Del Vecchio.
- Graduate student Charlotte Triggs and sophomore Mara Küskes each scored a goal in the fourth quarter.
GREAT DANE REWIND
- Nationally ranked in the NFHCA Coaches Poll throughout the entire season, UAlbany is currently ranked 14th.
- Overall, the Great Danes' sole losses on the season are to three teams ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA RPI rankings - #7 Ohio State, #8 UConn, and #6 Boston College. They have defeated every other opponent for 12 total wins. Ranked wins come from #7 Harvard (9.13) on the road and #14 Liberty (9.29) at home.
- UAlbany has collected three wins past regulation. Both non-conference contests were against Ivy League foes - Cornell in shootouts and Harvard in the first overtime. The most recent overtime win came from a conference contest against New Hampshire.
- Alison Smisdom leads the team with 19 goals and 44 points. Her 1.12 goals per game and 2.59 points per game are good for fourth in the nation. On defense, she is tied for fourth with five defensive saves.
- On the assist, senior Floor de Ruiter leads the conference with .76 assists per game. She currently ranks top five in the nation.
- 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).
- Senior Lara Behn is UAlbany's starting goalkeeper. She has played all but 34 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 31)
- In the nation, UAlbany ranks:
- T3rd - .824 winning percentage
- T5th - 9 defensive saves
- 8th - 8.53 points per game
- 8th - 2.91 scoring average
- T8th - 3.00 goals per game
- 9th - 2.53 assists per game
- T9th - 1.60 scoring margin
- T17th - .35 shutouts per game
- The Great Danes' rank in the conference:
- 1st - 8.53 points per game
- 1st - 2.53 assists per game
- 1st - 1.35 goals against per game
- 2nd - 3.00 goals per game
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
(As of October 31)
- The Great Danes have three student-athletes currently ranked in the national (NCAA Division I) stats:
- Alison Smisdom
- 4th - 1.12 goals per game
- 4th - 2.59 points per game
- T4th - 5 defensive saves
- Floor de Ruiter
- T5th - .76 assists per game
- T46th - 1.35 points per game
- Lara Behn
- T6th - .824 goalie win-loss percentage
- 25th - 1.369 goals against average
IN THE AMERICA EAST
(As of October 31)
- The Great Danes have leaders in each of the seven offensive and two of the four goalie stat categories:
- Shots/Game
- Shots on Goal/Game
- Goals/Game
- Assists/Game
- Game-Winning Goals/Game
- Points/Game
- Defensive Saves
IN THE RECORD BOOK
- With many talented players, five current Great Danes are ranked in several locations in the record book. These numbers include statistics from this season alone or their career as a whole.
- Alison Smisdom
- 2nd - 172 career points
- 2nd - 73 career goals
- 4th - 19 goals in 2024
- 8th - 53 points in 2024
- T9th - 26 career assists
- Floor de Ruiter
- Blanca Orsola
- Mara Küskes
- Lara Behn
- 5th - 33 career wins
- T6th - 14 wins in 2024
- 7th - 8 career shutouts
- 9th - 162 career saves
- T9th - 1.56 career goals against average
ABOUT VERMONT
- The Catamounts are 7-7 on the season with a 3-2 conference record.
- After opening the season with four consecutive losses, UVM earned its first win in its home opener against Wagner (9.15).
- Defeating UC Davis in overtime (9.20), the Catamounts earned their first AE win in their first AE game on the season.
- Continuing the season, Vermont added non-conference wins over Stonehill (9.29) and Dartmouth (10.6) with league losses to Maine (9.27) and New Hampshire (10.11).
- UVM is currently on a three-game win streak with victories over UMass Lowell (10.18), Merrimack (10.20), and Bryant (10.25).
- Marie Dijkstra leads the team with eight goals. Three Catamounts follow with at least five goals each - Sophia Drees (7), Meg Weyer (5), and Lotte Kanters (5).
- In addition to the four student-athletes above, Sophia Lefranc joins the list for five Catamounts with at least 10 points on the season. Dijkstra leads with 23.
- Goalkeepers Ila Gunner and Merie Vaandrager have shared time in goal nearly in half. Starting seven games each, Vaandrager leads in minutes, goals against average, and shutouts while Gunner has the better save percentage.
SERIES AGAINST THE CATAMOUNTS
- UAlbany leads the all-time series, 25-5.
- Their most recent meeting was a 2-1 win in Burlington on October 27, 2023.
- Down 1-0 after three quarters of action, Sophia Schoonmaker and Isabella Del Vecchio scored in the final quarter for the game victory.
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST
- At the top of the conference, UAlbany and New Hampshire have clinched a bye in the America East Tournament.
- The Great Danes lead with five wins in five games. The Wildcats are close behind with four wins in five games.
- UMass Lowell, Maine, and Vermont have each clinched a spot in the tournament. Vermont is currently in third with a 3-2 record while Maine and UMass Lowell are tied with a 2-3 record.
- Bryant and UC Davis are competing for the final spot in the tournament. Bryant recently earned its first conference win over Maine in double overtime.
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK
- Friday
- Rutgers at UMass Lowell, 12 pm
- UC Davis at Bryant, 2 pm
- Vermont at UAlbany, 2 pm
- New Hampshire at Maine, 3 pm
- Sunday
- UC Daivs at UMass Lowell, 12 pm
- Hofstra at Vermont, 12 pm
UP NEXT
After the end of the regular season, the Great Danes will prepare to host the America East Field Hockey Championship Tournament on November 7-10.
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