ALBANY, N.Y. - The #20 UAlbany field hockey team is set for the first home weekend of 2024.
 
In their first weekend at Alumni Turf, the Great Danes will host Merrimack on Friday and Cornell on Sunday.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Merrimack at #20 UAlbany
DATE: Friday, September 6
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 1-1, 0-0 America East; Merrimack 0-1, 0-0 NEC
SERIES RECORD: 4-0, UAlbany leads
STREAM: AE.TV
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
 
Cornell at #20 UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, September 8
TIME: 1:00 PM
SITE: Alumni Turf
RECORDS: UAlbany 1-1, 0-0 America East; Cornell 0-0, 0-0 Ivy League
SERIES RECORD: 10-3, UAlbany leads
STREAM: AE.TV
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
 
*records as of 9.5
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany opened the season with a ranking in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's preseason poll.
• Ranked 20th, the Great Danes headed to play #14 Ohio State in the first game of the season.
• Sophomore Mara Küskes scored the first goal of the contest but it was the Buckeyes earning the victory on their turf.
• UAlbany continued the weekend with a neutral matchup against Ohio at the Ohio State field hockey field.
• Senior Alison Smisdom notched a hat trick, the fifth of her career, to lead the Great Danes against the Bobcats.
• Freshman Eva Jenniskens tallied her first collegiate goal to open the game.
• The Great Danes combined to win, 4-0, with each of the four goals coming during penalty corners.

 
2023 AWARDS
Conference: America East (AE); NFHCA Region: Northeast

• NFHCA Northeast Coaching Staff of the Year
• Lara Behn
  • AE Second Team All-Conference
  • AE All-Academic
• Floor de Ruiter
  • NFHCA First Team All-Region
  • AE First Team All-Conference
  • AE All-Academic
  • AE All-Championship Tournament
• Mara Küskes
  • AE All-Rookie
• Blanca Orsola
  • NFHCA Second Team All-Region
  • AE Second Team All-Conference
• Alison Smisdom
  • NFHCA First Team All-America
  • NFHCA First Team All-Region
  • AE Midfielder of the Year
  • AE First Team All-Conference
  • AE All-Academic
  • AE All-Championship Tournament
• Charlotte Triggs
  • AE All-Championship Tournament

 
ABOUT MERRIMACK

• The Warriors opened the season with a 6-0 loss at UMass Lowell. 
• Merrimack tallied two shots against the River Hawks. Kaitlyn Welsh put her shot on goal for UML's single save.

SERIES AGAINST THE WARRIORS

• This will be the first meeting between the teams as Division I opponents.
• UAlbany and Merrimack have met four times before - all before the Great Danes became a Division I school.
• From 1995-1998, the Great Danes beat the Warriors four times - once each season.

 
ABOUT CORNELL

• The Big Red is set to open their season this weekend.
• Before visiting the Great Danes at Alumni Turf, Cornell will compete at UConn on Friday.
• Cornell returns 19 letterwinners from a team that ranked among the best nationally in scoring defense while breaking team records in Big Red history.
• Losing their 2x All-American Caroline Ramsey, Cornell has a hole that could be filled by NFHCA All-Region honoree Grace Leahy, a junior who stood directly behind Ramsey in Ivy League rankings with 11 goals in 2023.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE BIG RED

• In what is proving to be an annual matchup, the Great Danes lead the all-time series, 10-3.
• The two teams have gone head-to-head three times in the last three years with UAlbany coming away with one-goal victories.
• In 2021, Charlotte Triggs was the lone goal-scorer in a 1-0 decision.
• Alison Smisdom scored on a penalty stroke in what proved to be the game-winning goal in 2022.
• Most recently, the teams went to shootouts in Ithaca in 2023. In a close contest to the end, Floor de Ruiter, Mara Küskes, Charlotte Triggs, and Delphine Le Jeune all made their shootout attempts. The Great Danes took shootouts, 4-3, for a final 3-2 score.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • Vermont at Michigan State, 1 pm
  • Merrimack at UAlbany, 2 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Brown, 2 pm
  • New Hampshire at Quinnipiac, 2 pm
  • La Salle at Bryant, 3 pm
  • Hofstra at Maine, 3 pm
  • Northeastern at UC Davis, 6 pm
• Saturday
  • Vermont vs Ohio, 1 pm
• Sunday
  • Sacred Heart at Bryant, 12 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Bucknell, 12 pm
  • Lafayette at New Hampshire, 12 pm
  • Cornell at UAlbany, 1 pm
  • Central Michigan at Maine, 1 pm
  • Kent State at UC Davis, 5 pm

 
UP NEXT
The Great Danes will prepare for the first split week of the season. After traveling to play Harvard on Friday (Sept. 13), they will host Drexel on Sunday (Sept. 15).
 
Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany field hockey by following the team on X, Instagram, and Facebook.