No. 6 Field Hockey Opens America East Play with Vermont and New Hampshire at Alumni Turf this Weekend

ALBANY, New York - The campaign for the 2015 America East title begins this weekend for No. 6 University at Albany field hockey (7-1), with home games against Vermont (2-8) and New Hampshire (4-5). UAlbany hosts Vermont on Friday at 2:00 p.m., followed by UNH at 1:00 p.m., on Sunday.

THE 411 IN THE 518
Despite a one-spot drop in the NFHCA National Poll, UAlbany has built a three-game winning streak in the last two weeks. The Danes have a pair of home games this weekend, followed by a four-game road swing. Phil Sykes’ squad will not return to Alumni Turf until Oct. 20 after Sunday.

Last weekend, the Purple & Gold downed Lafayette 3-1 and Monmouth 1-0 on the road. Frederike
Helmke scored her first career goal with the game-winner against the Hawks. With the game-winning assist, Fiori Van Rijswijk has at least one assist in the last four games. She leads the team in assists with seven, and ranks fourth nationally in assists per game (0.88).

A new conference line-up in 2015 means the Danes will face each of the East Division America East opponents twice. UAlbany and Vermont will meet in Burlington again on Oct. 18, while the Durham, N.H., face-off is set for Oct. 25.

THE OUTLOOK: VERMONT (2-8) | Friday, Oct. 2, 2:00 p.m. | Albany, N.Y.
LIVE STATS | AMERICA EAST TV
Last we met: W, 5-1, Burlington, Vt., Oct. 31, 2014
Tale of the Tape:

• UAlbany ended Vermont’s 2014 season last year in Burlington with a 5-1 victory
• The Danes scored four first-half goals to secure an undefeated America East regular season and the No. 1 seed for the 2014 league tournament
• The Danes with the win reached a new all-time program record for consecutive victories with 10
• The Purple & Gold recorded its six-straight win in the series against the Catamounts on Halloween last year
• Vermont is 2-8 on the season with wins against Siena and Sacred Heart
• The Catamounts lost five straight before downing Siena 3-0 at home on Sept. 20
• Most recently, Vermont fell in one-goal decisions to Bryant and Quinnipiac

Series Record: UAlbany leads 12-5
2014 Record: 3-15 (1-4 AE)
Top Offensive Player: Molly Higgins, Sr., F (6a, 2a)
In the Cage: Lena Benwood, So. (3.27 GAA, .702 sv%)
THE OUTLOOK: UNH (4-5) | Sunday, Oct. 4, 1:00 p.m. | Albany, N.Y.
LIVE STATS | AMERICA EAST TV
Last we met: W, 5-0, Albany, N.Y., Nov. 8, 2014 (America East Championship)
Tale of the Tape:

• Perhaps one of the most storied America East field hockey rivalries, The Danes shut out UNH 5-0 in the America East title game last season
• The win marked a program-best 18 victories in a single season
• The Danes and Wildcats have met in the America East postseason for the last seven seasons
• The Wildcats enter Sunday’s contest having won their last two games, both 2-1 victories against Providence and UMass Lowell
• Robin Balducci’s squad is 0-5 on the road so far in 2015
• With a win on Sunday, UAlbany would regain the lead in the all-time series

Series Record: Series tied 9-9
2014 Record: 9-12 (4-1 AE)
Top Offensive Player: Meg Flatley, Sr., F (4g, 2a)
In the Cage: Melissa Rize, So. (2.87 GAA, .649 sv%)