ALBANY, N.Y. - The #17 UAlbany field hockey team is set for another big weekend at home with UMass Lowell and #14 Liberty visiting Alumni Turf.
 
During the Hall of Fame weekend, the Great Danes will honor the 2014 team alongside the UAlbany Hall of Fame Ceremony on the evening of Friday, September 27.
 
The final weekend of the season with two home games, UAlbany hosts their 2023 co-regular season champion, UMass Lowell, on Friday, September 27, and top-15 competitor, Liberty, on Sunday, September 29.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UMass Lowell at #17 UAlbany
DATE: Friday, September 27
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 6-1, 1-0 America East; UMass Lowell 4-3, 0-0 America East
SERIES RECORD: 13-2, UAlbany leads
STREAM: AE.TV
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
 
#14 Liberty at #17 UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, September 29
TIME: 12:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 6-1, 1-0 America East; Liberty 4-3, 0-1 Big East
SERIES RECORD: 0-0, first meeting
STREAM: AE.TV
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
 
*records as of 9.26
 
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

• In a one-game weekend, the Great Danes defeated UC Davis to open conference action, 1-0.
• Senior Alison Smisdom totaled one assist and one goal in the 2-0 shutout.
• Graduate student Charlotte Triggs scored the second goal in the game.

 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• After four weeks of competition, including two big wins at #7 Harvard and against Drexel, UAlbany has increased their preseason ranking from 20 to 17th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's (NFHCA) poll.
• Overall, the Great Danes' sole loss on the season is to currently ranked #6 Ohio State. They have defeated Ohio (9.1), Merrimack (9.6), Cornell (9.8), #7 Harvard (9.13), and Drexel (9.15). Most recently, they opened conference play with a win over UC Davis.
• 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 12 goals, from seven contests, and 25 points. Her 1.71 goals per game is currently leading the nation. She is also third with 3.57 points per game and tied for fourth with three defensive saves.
• On the assist, Floor de Ruiter is third in the nation with 1.14 per game (seven total).
• Sophomore Mara Küskes is not far behind with five assists - good enough to tie for 12th in the nation (.71/g).
• 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). Küskes is right behind de Ruiter in 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.

 
ABOUT UMASS LOWELL

• The River Hawks are 4-3 on the season after trading results back and forth with wins and losses.
• Opening the season with a 6-0 win over Merrimack (8.30), UML went on a three-game road trip with a win at Brown (9.6) and losses to #5 Duke (9.1) and Bucknell (9.8).
• Tallying two shutouts, one over Stonehill (9.13) and one against Wake Forest (9.22), the River Hawks' most recent loss came at UMass in overtime (9.15).
• Madison Leeper leads the team with five goals for 10 points. 
• Just behind her, Karlijn Kerkhof and Karli Penrod have totaled nine points each. Kerkhof has scored three goals with three assists while Penrod has four goals and one assist.
• Mirthe Gans leads the team with four assists.
• The River Hawks are playing two goalies with approximately the same playing time. Christina Calandra has started all seven games with 210 minutes of action. Marie Oliemans follows with just under 209 minutes in goal.

SERIES AGAINST THE RIVER HAWKS

• UAlbany leads the all-time series, 13-2.
• During the 2023 season, UMass Lowell was the only America East team to defeat the Great Danes in the regular season.
• In the one-goal game that was tied at halftime, the River Hawks scored the only goal in the second half for the win.
• Current senior Isabella Del Vecchio scored one of UAlbany's two goals.

 
ABOUT #14 LIBERTY

• Voted 11th in the NFHCA Preseason Poll, the Flames are currently 14th after a week that saw two losses to #19 Old Dominion (9.20) and #2 UNC (9.22).
• After opening the season with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Indiana, Liberty defeated Kent State (9.1) with shutouts against William & Mary (9.13) and #4 Duke (9.15).
• The Flames' first loss of the season was to #3 Virginia (9.8).
• With seven different goal-scorers, Martu Cian leads the team with four. Tuti Dell Anna and Josefina Tomasi follow with three goals each.
• Three student-athletes, Lou Combrinck, Reagan Underwood, and Dara Semmartin, hold a team-high two assists.
• Michaela Skinner has been the sole goalie for the Flames throughout the 2024 season. She has a 1.93 goals against average and a .641 save percentage.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE FLAMES

• This is the first meeting of Liberty and UAlbany.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UAlbany and Vermont lead the conference with one AE win each - both of which were against UC Davis.
• Of those who have not begun league play yet, Maine and UMass Lowell lead with above .500 records. Both teams have won their most recent contest.
• Bryant (3-4) and New Hampshire (2-6) follow with their respective records.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • UMass Lowell at UAlbany, 2 pm
  • New Hampshire at Bryant, 3 pm
  • Vermont at Maine, 3 pm
• Sunday
  • Maine at Fairfield, 12 pm
  • Liberty at UAlbany, 12 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Northeastern, 12 pm
  • Bryant at Dartmouth, 1 pm
  • Stonehill at Vermont, 2 pm
  • Providence at New Hampshire, 2 pm
  • California at UC Davis, 4 pm

 
UP NEXT
The Great Danes will prepare for a split weekend with a road game at Hofstra and a home game against UConn.
 
Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany field hockey by following the team on X, Instagram, and Facebook.