CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Headed into the final week of the regular season, Boston University's Sheena Berry (Edinburgh, Scotland/Univ. of Edinburg) and Maine's Stephanie Gardiner (Vancouver, British Columbia/Crofton House School) led their teams to big wins to capture America East player and rookie of the week, respectively. View complete weekly release in PDF.
Berry provided all the scoring in the Terriers' 2-0 upset of No. 6 Connecticut at Jack Barry Field on Wednesday. The senior scored in the eighth and 14th minutes for her third and fourth goals of the seaon. The win ended the Huskies' seven-game win streak in the series between the New England rivals and it marked the first time UConn had been shut out in over two years.
Gardiner recorded a goal and an assist in a crucial win over Vermont Sunday. The rookie posted a team-high three shots in the contest and scored the gamewinner off a giveaway deep in Vermont territory. This is Gardiner's second rookie of the week this season.
All six teams are still in contention for the four-team America East Field Hockey Championship November 7-9 with just one game remaining. Albany and New Hampshire will compete head-to-head for the top seed and the right to host the tournament. Face-off between the Great Danes and the Wildcats begins Sunday, November 2 at 12 p.m. in Durham, N.H. Two other crucial America East games take place Saturday when Fairfield travels to face Maine at 11:30 a.m., while Boston University and Vermont clash in Burlington at 1 p.m.
Team Notebooks:
UAlbany (9-9 overall, 3-1 in America East) defeated America East Conference rival Boston U., 1-0, in the team’s only game last week... Senior defender Michele Polizois (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) score the lone goal of the game... Polizois recorded her team-leading 12th goal and fifth gamewinner of the season on a penalty corner with 3:45 left to play... Senior midfielder Michelle Simpson (Middlesbrough, England/Univ. of Teesside) and junior defender Jess Lindsey (Norristown, Pa./Methacton) both assisted on the goal... Polizois has recorded 105 shots in 18 games this season and has also recorded five assists for 29 total points... Lindsey, who has recorded 11 assists this season, moved into first place on the UAlbany career assists chart... She has now amassed 36 assists in her three-year career... Senior goalkeeper Ashley Ross (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) recorded her fourth shutout of the season... Ross has tallied 87 saves for a .750 save percentage and a 2.18 goals against average... The Great Danes have outshot their opponents 289-181 this season... A win over New Hampshire in the final regular season game of 2008 will grant UAlbany first place in the final standings and the right to host the America East tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2001.
Boston University (8-9, 2-2 America East) posted its second win over a top-10 team this season with a 2-0 triumph over No. 6 Connecticut on Wednesday at Jack Barry Field... The win ended the Huskies' seven-game win streak in the series between the New England rivals and it marked the first time UConn had been shut out in over two years (Sept. 3, 2006)... In a battle for first place in the America East standings, the Terriers dropped a 1-0 road contest to Albany on Saturday, ending their run of four straight regular-season league crowns... Senior Sheena Berry (Edinburgh, Scotland/Univ. of Edinburgh) tallied both goals against the Huskies, scoring in the eighth and 14th minutes to give the Terriers an early lead... Freshman Kiley Allosso (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox) earned her first collegiate point with an assist on Berry's game-winner... Juniors Gabby Hajjar (Ottawa Hills, Ohio/Ottawa Hills) and Haley Robinson (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) picked up assists on Berry's second tally... Sophomore Kim Kastuk (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) stopped all five shots on goal that she faced against the Huskies to pick up her fifth shutout of the season. She also made five saves in the loss to Albany... Senior Lizzie Perreault (Teaticket, Mass./Falmouth) recorded a pair of defensive saves in the win over UConn... The Terriers will honor their three-member senior class on Wednesday (Oct. 29) when cross-town rival Harvard visits Jack Barry Field in BU's final home contest of the season... BU closes the regular season at Vermont on Saturday (Nov. 1).
Fairfield University (4-13 overall, 1-3 America East) finished up its home schedule over the weekend, coming up short against New Hampshire and Yale. The Stags have won all four of its games this year at University Field. Fairfield will try for its first road win this weekend when it finishes up the regular season at Maine...Emily Janis moved fifth place all-time at Fairfield with 16 career assists after posting a pair last weekend. She is tied for the team lead in that category with five, and is the team's co-leading scorer with 15 points. Freshman Marit Westenberg is also at 15 points, netting a team-leading six goals in 17 games...Emily Janis will play in her 75th career game this weekend when the Stags take on Maine.
Maine (5-9, 2-2 America East) defeated Vermont 2-1 in Burlington on Sunday afternoon...Maine was led by freshman Stephanie Gardiner (Vancouver, British Columbia/Crofton House School) who had a goal and an assist...Kelly Newton (Vancouver, British Columbia/Crofton House School) had the first goal on a redirection on a Gardiner shot...Gardiner scored the game-winner off a giveaway deep in Vermont territory...Brittany Fleck (Vancouver, British Columbia/Crofton House School) made three saves in net for Maine...Newton leads the team with 23 points this season while Gardiner is second with 19...Maine returns to action on Saturday as the Black Bears host Fairfield at 11:30 a.m....The game is Senior Day for Nicole Emery (Winthrop, Maine/Winthrop), Gigi Niekrash (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) and Kim MacDonald (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich)...The Black Bears then travel to take on Holy Cross on Sunday at 1 p.m.
New Hampshire (8-9, 3-1 America East) recorded its third consecutive conference win with a 4-2 victory at Fairfield last Saturday to secure a berth in the upcoming America East Championship tournament and keep the Wildcats tied atop the league standings... The winner of the Nov. 2 regular-season finale between UNH and Albany (at UNH’s Memorial Field) will play host to the tourney... It will be the team’s 13th league tourney appearance in head coach Robin Balducci’s 18-year tenure... Leah Boody (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) recorded a career-high three points with a goal and an assist vs. the Stags; she has tallied a point in four of the last five games... Sarah Craigue (Concord, N.H.) matched her career high of two assists that she established earlier this season... Freshmen Whitney Frates (Woodstock, Vt./Kimball Union Academy) and Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) are the first UNH rookies to record 20+ points in a season since Karen Geromini finished with 37 in 1983; Frates is second on the team with 22 points and Rausch is tied for third at 20... With the four-goal output vs. Fairfield, the Wildcats scored more than three goals in a game for the fifth time this season; they did not tally four or more goals in a game during the entire 2007 season... UNH’s 44 goals marks the team’s highest total since the ’03 Wildcats potted 49 goals ... The ?Cats yielded just six Fairfield shots and that tied the lowest total by a UNH opponent this season.
Vermont (9-8, 1-3 America East) split a pair of home games on the week, as the Catamounts defeated Hofstra 3-0 on Friday and then fell to Maine 2-1 on Sunday ... Against Hofstra three different Catamounts scored, while sophomore Joanna Berger (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck) led the way with a goal and an assist ... Junior Megan Maynard (Waterbury Center, Vt./Harwood) scored Vermont’s first goal of the day, her team-high ninth of the season ... Senior Wendy Carbone (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) tallied her third of the year, as Vermont is 3-0 when she scores this season ... Junior Kristen Heavens (Harwinton, Conn./Lewis Mills) earned her second straight shutout in goal for the Cats, stopping all nine shots that she faced ... With an assist, senior Kim Striegler (Whitney Point, N.Y./Whitney Point) moves into a tie for seventh place all-time at Vermont with 14 for her career ... On Sunday Striegler scored the Cats’ only goal off a penalty corner with assists going to Carbone and senior Jen Angers (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) ... The loss snapped a nine-game home winning streak for the Catamounts dating back to last year ... The Catamounts wrap up the regular season on Saturday when they host Boston University in a key America East contest starting at 1 p.m. It will also mark the final home game for Catamount seniors Lauren Burke (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac), Maegan Luce (Hartford, Vt./Hartford), Angers, Carbone and Striegler.