ALBANY, N.Y. - The #19 UAlbany field hockey team is set to face nationally-ranked Harvard in Massachusetts before returning home to host Drexel.
 
On Sunday, the Great Danes will welcome head coach Phil Sykes' first senior class for their 20th anniversary. Before the contest begins, there will be a short ceremony to celebrate the field hockey class of 2005.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
#19 UAlbany at #7 Harvard
DATE: Friday, September 13
TIME: 4:00 PM
SITE: Berylson Family Field Hockey Field - Cambridge, Mass.
RECORDS: UAlbany 3-1, 0-0 America East; Harvard 2-0, 0-0 Ivy League
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, Harvard leads
STREAM: ESPN+
INT'L STREAM: PrestoStream
STATS: GoCrimson.com
 
Drexel at #19 UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, September 15
TIME: 1:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 3-1, 0-0 America East; Drexel 2-2, 0-0 CAA
SERIES RECORD: 2-0, Drexel leads
STREAM: AE.TV
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
 
*records as of 9.12
 
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

• In the first weekend of action at Alumni Turf, the Great Danes went 2-0.
• Senior Alison Smisdom notched America East Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals against Merrimack, one goal against Cornell, and what proved to be the game-winning shootout against the Big Red. On defense, Smisdom added three defensive saves against Cornell.
• As a team, UAlbany defeated Merrimack, 8-0, on Friday before winning in shootouts over the Big Red on Sunday.

 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany opened the season with a ranking in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's preseason poll. After two weeks of competition, the Great Danes improved to 19th from 20th.
• Overall, the Great Danes' sole loss on the season is to currently ranked #8 Ohio State. They have defeated Ohio (9.1), Merrimack (9.6), and Cornell (9.8).
• Alison Smisdom leads the team with six goals, from four contests, and 12 points.
• Sophomore Mara Küskes and senior Floor de Ruiter lead with five assists each.
• A Great Dane currently leads the conference in four field player statistics - Smisdom (goals & defensive saves), freshman Eva Jenniskens (game-winning goals), Küskes (assists), and de Ruiter (assists). Smisdom adds second-place spots in shots, shots on goal, and points.
• 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.

 
FIRST POINTS

• Junior Makenna Lowe scored her first collegiate goal against Cornell.
• Freshman Lotje Ligthart earned her first collegiate goal against Merrimack before making her first collegiate assist against Cornell.
• Senior Isabella Del Vecchio and junior Sophia Schoonmaker notched their first goal of the season against Merrimack.

 
ABOUT #7 HARVARD

• The Crimson got their start on the road last weekend - William and Mary (9.6) and #18 Wake Forest (9.8).
• Winning in both contests, Harvard has yet to let a goal past their goalkeeper.
• Scoring a total of seven goals in two contests, the Crimson has five different players with one goal while Emily Bronkers leads with two.
• Fiene Orelemans owns the team-high with two assists.
• Tessa Shahbo is the team's main goalkeeper with 105 minutes in goal in two games.

SERIES AGAINST THE CRIMSON

• This will be the second meeting between Harvard and UAlbany.
• The first contest was in 2019 with the Crimson taking a 2-1 victory in overtime. Great Dane alum Lillian Hickey scored the first goal of the game.

 
ABOUT DREXEL

• The Dragons are 2-2 on the season after splitting both weekends of action.
• Opening against Sacred Heart (8.30) and #4 Maryland (9.1), the Dragons defeated SHU, 2-1, before falling to Maryland, 2-0.
•  Drexel continued its season with a win over Villanova (9.6) and an overtime loss to Yale (9.8).
• Anna Castaldo leads the Dragons with three goals while Kenzie Lever follows closely with two.
• Pien Elsen owns two assists to lead her team.
• Halle Geiger has stood in goal for all of 247:10 minutes of Dragons action, including overtime against Yale.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE DRAGONS

• Drexel holds the series lead, 2-0, over the Great Danes.
• In their most recent matchup, the Dragons earned a 4-3 win in shootouts in 2023. Alison Smisdom (x2) and Floor de Ruiter scored goals in regulation. UAlbany fell in the shootouts round, 3-2, after two overtime periods.
• The first meeting between the two teams was in 2001. The Great Danes lost, 2-1.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• Three teams have lost just one contest in the first two weeks of the season.
• Maine leads with one loss in five games while UAlbany is close behind with three wins in four games. UC Davis rounds out the top three with two wins in three games.
• New Hampshire and UMass Lowell sit even with two wins and two losses.
• Bryant (1-3) and Vermont (0-4) round out the league.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • Stanford at UC Davis, 3 pm
  • New Hampshire at Iowa, 3 pm
  • UAlbany at Harvard, 4 pm
  • Maine at Boston College, 5 pm
  • Stonehill at UMass Lowell, 6 pm
• Saturday
  • New Hampshire vs Delaware, 2 pm
• Sunday
  • Wagner at Vermont, 12 pm
  • Maine at Boston U, 1 pm
  • Drexel at UAlbany, 1 pm
  • UMass Lowell at UMass, 1 pm
  • UC Davis at California, 6 pm
• Tuesday
  • Merrimack at Bryant, 3 pm

 
UP NEXT
The Great Danes will have next Friday off before hosting their first conference game of the season - UC Davis (Sept. 22).
 
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