CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Senior forward Megan Shea (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) from University of New Hampshire earned her second-straight America East field hockey Player of the Week honor, while Boston University newcomer Jacinda McLeod (Whangarei, New Zealand/Whangarei Girls) took home the Rookie of the Week for the Terriers. Both awards are for the period ending October 18.
Shea earned her second-straight honor, and third of the season, with a goal and two assists to give UNH a split against Boston U. and #9 Boston College last weekend. Against BC, she netted the game-winning tally to break a 2-2 tie in the 55th minute, giving the Wildcats a 3-2 victory. She finished the contest with three shots on goal. In both games during the week, Shea helped give the Wildcats early leads of 1-0 with an assist 46 seconds in the game vs. the Terriers and another assist at 3:22 vs. the Eagles.
McLeod led the Terriers to a 3-1 victory at Harvard on Wednesday, scoring two goals and adding a late defensive save to keep the Crimson from making a comeback. On Saturday against New Hampshire, McLeod and the Boston U. defense held the Wildcats without a shot in the second half, allowing the Terriers to post a 2-1 come-frome-behind victory and remain undefeated in conference play. McLeod is the second straight Terrier freshman to take home the Rookie of the Week award.
Past the halfway mark of the conference season, University at Albany and Boston U., each with 3-0 league records, have both clinched America East Championship berths. The Great Danes and Terriers meet in Cambridge, Mass. this Saturday at 5 p.m., with the winner having a leg up on the top seed for the four-team tournament and hosting rights. Other league games this weekend include Vermont at Maine Saturday at noon and Fairfield at New Hampshire beginning at 1 p.m. the same afternoon.
Team Notebooks:
#18 UAlbany (11-3 overall record, 3-0 record in America East) went undefeated last week with a 2-0 win over America East Conference foe Vermont and a 4-0 victory over crosstown-rival Siena… Christina Patrick (Reading, Pa./Reading Catholic) and Alysia Hough (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) scored the Great Danes’ goals against Vermont… Patrick took an assist from Tegan Brown (Victoria, Australia/Berwick), while Hough’s goal was unassisted… Four different players notched goals against Siena, led by Inge Baijens (Rotterdam, Holland/Gemini College) and Suzy Clephane (Auckland, New Zealand/Diocesian/Bethlehem), who each scored a goal and added an assist… Megan Springmeyer (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) and Jess Lindsey (Norristown, Pa./Methacton) also scored in the game… Goalkeepers Christine Hoffman (Mertztown, Pa./Brandywine Heights) and Kristi Troch (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) continue to split time in the cage for the Great Danes… Hoffman played both first halves, making one save, while Troch came into both games in relief at halftime, stopping two shots… The Great Danes outshot their opponents 48-7 this week, including a 33-0 differential against Siena… UAlbany also held a 24-4 advantage in penalty corners… The Great Danes will be in action on Saturday, visiting conference rival Boston U. at 1 p.m.
Boston University (7-8, 3-0 AE) turned in an impressive two-win week, posting a 3-1 road victory over Harvard on Wednesday before rallying for a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at home against New Hampshire on Saturday to remain undefeated in conference play… Freshman Jacinda McLeod (Whangarei, New Zealand/Whangarei Girls) was the standout performer against the Crimson, tallying two goals and coming up with a late defensive save… Junior Maryette Stuart (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) added her third goal of the year in the victory over Harvard and senior Nikki Lloyd (Kent, England/Bromley) assisted on each of the Terriers' first two goals… After allowing the Wildcats to score in the opening minute of Saturday's contest, Boston U. scored in the 52nd and 61st minutes to pull off the win… Sophomore Kali Cardoza (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) scored her first goal of the season on an assist from redshirt freshman Rachael White (Norfolk, Va./Maury) and freshman Nicole van Oosterom (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Chilton Saint James School) provided the game-winner off a rebound in front of the cage… Boston U. did not allow UNH to record a shot in the second half… Junior Amanda Smith (Avon, Conn./Avon) earned both wins in goal, making two saves in each contest… The Terriers will take a three-game win streak into their match on Wednesday (Oct. 21) at No. 7 Connecticut before hosting No. 18 Albany on Saturday (Oct. 24) in a battle for first place in the America East standings.
The Fairfield University (4-11, 0-3 AE) field hockey team comes off a three-game week, dropping decisions to Lehigh in overtime, Maine at home, and at Yale. Both Maine and Yale received votes in the October 13 NFHCA poll. The Stags have played three top- 20 teams (UConn, Drexel, Albany) and five teams that received votes in the October 13 ranking… Fairfield fell to 1-1 in overtime play after dropping a 3-2 decision at Lehigh last Wednesday. The team won its other overtime contest with a 5-4 decision against Ball State… Freshman goalkeeper Maddy Sposito (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) made her debut against Yale on Sunday, making two saves in 35 minutes of work. She yielded to Caitlin O’Donnell (Flourtown, Pa./Mount St. Joseph) in the second half, as O’Donnell made eight saves in her 35 minutes. O’Donnell is five saves away from hitting 100 on the season, averaging just under seven saves per game… Marit Westenberg (Netherlands/Maeriant Lyceum) leads the team in scoring with 12 points, all coming off six goals. She is one of five Fairfield players in double figures this season, joining Carly McCullough (11 points), Melanie Leo (11 points), Anne Nieuwenhuis (10 points), and Molly Byrnes (10 points). Byrnes (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) and McCullough (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) are the only seniors among the group.
Maine (11-4, 2-1 AE) picked up its second conference win of the year on Saturday afternoon in Fairfield, Conn. when they downed the Stags 4-3… Courtney Veinotte (Canaan, Maine/Skowhegan) notched two goals in the victory for Maine… Veinotte now has scored two goals in her last two games and has seven total goals on the season… Lelia Sacre (North Delta, B.C./Syracuse) scored her fifth goal of the season and added her eighth assist on Saturday against Fairfield...Sacre is second on the team with 59 shots behind only Kelly Newton’s (Vancouver, B.C./Crofton House School) 64 shots… Veinotte’s second goal on Saturday was the teams’ 64th score of the season which breaks the team record for team goals scored in a season, downing the old record of 63 that was set in 1996… The Black Bears are out shooting their opponents this season 317-153 and out scoring their opponents 66-27… Maine is led on offense by sophomore’s Newton, Jocelyn Mitchell (Kanata, Ontario/Earl of March Secondary) and Stephanie Gardiner (Vancouver, B.C./Crofton House School)… Newton and Mitchell are tied for the team lead with 16 goals a piece, just five goals short of the record for goals in a season by a single player which stands at 21… Newton has 41 total points on the season which includes her team-leading nine assists, while Mitchell has four assists and 36 points… Maine’s keeper Brittany Fleck (Vanocuver, B.C./Crofton House School) is 11-4 in the cage for the Black Bears with 71 saves and a 1.81 GAA… The Black Bears return to action next weekend when they face two America East opponents in Vermont on Saturday in Orono and Providence on Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire.
New Hampshire (9-6, 1-2 AE) split a pair of games against Boston schools last weekend with a 2-1 road loss to Boston University and a 3-2 victory at home vs. ninth-ranked Boston College… UNH has won four of its last five games… The win vs. BC marked UNH’s first win against a nationally-ranked team since the 2002 season… Player of the Week Meg Shea (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) extended her point-scoring streak to 15 games with an assist vs. BU and a goal – the game-winning tally – and an assist vs. BC… Shea has 19 goals and six assists this season, and that matches her previous three-year totals… Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) has scored a goal each of the last four games and has 21 points this season to surpass last year’s rookie total of 20… Whitney Frates (Woodstock, Vt./Kimball Union Academy) has compiled 22 points in ’09 and that is one less than last season’s rookie total… Kate Collins Smyth (Parteen, County Clare/Ireland/Crescent Comprehensive) has exceeded her rookie output with 11 points this year… Kara Connolly (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland), who tallied four points in her initial two years as a Wildcat, has a goal and six assists for eight points in 2009… UNH has had the same starting lineup in 14 of 15 games… With nine victories, the Wildcats have tied last year’s total, and the ‘Cats also had nine wins in ‘07… UNH’s Senior Day is this Saturday, Oct. 24, against Fairfield.
Vermont (1-13, 0-3 AE) dropped its only game of the week, falling to #18 Albany on the road, 2-0… The Great Danes held a slim 1-0 lead for most of the contest until tacking on a late goal… Senior Kristen Heavens (Harwinton, Conn./Lewis Mills) made eight saves for the Catamounts… Vermont sophomore Sarah Becque (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) earned her team-best sixth and seventh defensive saves of the season, as she is among the national leaders in the category… Becque entered the week second in the nation in defensive saves… The Cats have played four ranked teams this year… Vermont returns to action on Saturday when it travels to face Maine starting at 12 p.m.… UVM will then return home to host Columbia on Sunday… Vermont’s final three games of the regular season will all take place at home.
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