CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- University of New Hampshire sophomore midfielder Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) helped lead the Wildcats to two wins last week, and a jump up in the national polls, to earn the America East Player of the Week for the period ending February 28. A pair of Terriers, senior goalkeeper Rachel Klein (Forest Hill, Md./Roland Park) and freshman attack Danielle Estrasco (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), garnered the defensive player and rookie of the week awards, respectively.
Rausch tallied nine points with six goals and three assists in two games last week, including a 9-8 win over then-no. 16 Dartmouth. She also contributed three ground balls, two caused turnovers and three draw controls on the week. In the season opener against Holy Cross, Rausch recorded career highs in both goals (4) and points (5). Against the Big Green, the sophomore helped UNH build a 5-2 halftime lead with a pair of assists, then helped the 'Cats maintain that lead with a pair of second-half goals.
Klein helped lead the Terriers to a season-opening win over Atlantic-10 preseason favorite UMass in Amherst last week. Last year's second-team goalkeeper played the entire 60 minutes, making eight saves and recording a save percentage of 50 percent. Klein, a senior, also registered three ground balls and a caused turnover in the winning effort.
In her collegiate debut, Estrasco recorded four points on three goals and an assist against UMass last Wednesday in a tight 10-8 ballgame. The rookie also contributed two ground balls, two draw controls and one caused turnover.
Team Notebooks:
UAlbany (0-0, 0-0 AE) had their opening two games postponed due to snow… Hofstra will be played on March 1 at 3:30 p.m., while the Marist contest has yet to be rescheduled… UAlbany returns 16 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year's 9-8 squad… The Great Danes recorded their first winning campaign since 2000, posted the program’s first-ever win over a top-20 team, and advanced to the conference semifinals … The Great Danes host three teams this season who qualified for NCAA post-season play, including UMass, Colgate and Boston U.… Kayla Best (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) enters the season with a 46-game, goal-scoring streak, the second-longest mark among Division I players… Best, a second-team all-region and first-team all-conference midfielder, is fifth on the school’s career scoring list with 147 points (119G, 28A)… Nikki Branchini (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) was named to the all-conference first team for the second straight year… The all-region midfielder ranked seventh among the NCAA leaders in draw controls (3.82 pg)… Jodi Battaglia (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst Central) earned first-team all-league honors and was one of three players with 40-plus points (38G, 5A)… Mel Rorie (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) was third among the AE leaders with four game-winning goals… The second-team all-league midfielder totaled 40 goals and eight assists.
Sophomore Katie Oliverio scored five goals to lead visiting Louisville over the Binghamton women's lacrosse team (0-1, 0-0 AE) 19-8 on a snowy Friday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The game swung back and forth and junior Beth Moore knotted the game at five with a free position goal with 9:14 to go in the first. However, Louisville scored seven unanswered goals, including three from Oliverio to put the game beyond the reach of the Bearcats. Also scoring for the Bearcats were juniors Siobhan Menz and Lis Zuern with two apiece and junior Lisa Illig with one. Each chipping in one goal each were freshmen Kimberly McGeever and Casey Bulman. Bulman, appearing in her first game at the Division I level scored within the first minute she appeared in the game. The Cardinals enjoyed a 39-19 shot advantage and won the draw control battle 19-10. Binghamton stays home for the second game of the season when they welcome UConn to the Bearcat Sports Complex on Sunday, March 7 at noon.
No. 10/11 Boston University (1-0, 0-0 AE) won its season opener for the eighth time in the last nine years, posting a 10-8 victory at Massachusetts on Wednesday… The Terriers never trailed in the contest and scored the final three goals of the first half in a span of just 35 seconds to take a 7-3 halftime lead… Senior Traci Landy (Seaford, N.Y.) scored a game-high four goals on seven shots and gathered a team-best three draw controls… Freshman Danielle Estrasco (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied three goals and an assist in her collegiate debut and also earned two ground balls and two draw controls… Senior goalkeeper Rachel Klein (Forest Hill, Md.) stopped half the shots she faced, making eight saves in the win… Senior McKinley Curro (Amherst, N.H.) scored a pair of goals…Boston U. had seven caused turnovers by seven different players… The Terriers will play their first two home games of the season this week, beginning with the home opener against Brown on Wednesday (March 4) at 4 p.m… William & Mary will visit Nickerson Field on Sunday (March 7) for a 1 p.m. contest.
UMBC (2-2, 0-0 AE) dropped a pair of home games to nationally-ranked opponents last week… The Retrievers fell to No. 11 Loyola, 7-4, in their home opener on Wednesday… Sophomore attack Emily Coady (Westminster, Md./Westminster) scored three of UMBC’s four goals for her second hat trick of the season… Senior goalie Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep) recorded a season-high nine saves… It was the fewest goals scored by UMBC since an 11-4 loss at New Hampshire on March 22, 2008, but also the fewest goals allowed in a loss since falling to Monmouth, 7-5, on April 4, 2003… The Retrievers fell to 13th-ranked Vanderbilt, 17-10, on Saturday… The 17 goals allowed equal the total goals scored by UMBC’s previous three opponents combined… Junior midfielder Amanda Pappas (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) led the Retrievers with three goals, while Coady and junior midfielder Ashley Stodter (Silver Spring, Md./Good Counsel) tallied two apiece… Coady extended her goal-scoring streak to eight games dating back to last season… Quick recorded eight saves in the game… Pappas leads the Retrievers with 14 goals and 15 points in four games this season… The Retrievers travel across town to face No. 18 Towson on Wednesday, then host Fesno State on Friday.
No. 14 UNH (2-0, 0-0 AE) opened the 2010 season Feb. 24 with a 10-4 victory at home against Holy Cross, then defeated 16th-ranked Dartmouth College, 9-8, also at home… UNH had lost 15 consecutive games to Dartmouth dating back to a road win in 1991; the Wildcats last defeated the Big Green in Durham in 1990… Michael Daly (UNH ’90) won his debut as UNH head coach with the victory vs. Holy Cross… The Wildcats are 2-0 for the first time since 1994… Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna) recorded career highs in both goals (four) and points (five) against Holy Cross… Jo Jo Curro (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) tallied career highs in both goals (three) and points (five) against Dartmouth… Shaunna Kaplan (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) had a strong opening week with five points vs. HC and two against DC… Jenny Simpson (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) recorded her first collegiate point with a goal vs. Holy Cross… Ally Stager (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) helped secure the one-goal victory vs. Dartmouth when she collected a ground ball in the defensive zone with just over one minute remaining in the game… Kate Gunts (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) and the ‘Cats almost shut out Holy Cross in the second half; the Crusaders scored with 51 seconds remaining to spoil that.
Stony Brook (1-3, 0-0 AE) lost to American, 14-10, on Saturday afternoon… The Seawolves jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led 7-3 at halftime helped by two goals each from freshman Jessica Romano (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and sophomore Jackie Hughes (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside)… Junior Melissa Cook’s (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) team-leading 11th goal gave Stony Brook its biggest lead of the game, 10-5, but American rallied to score nine unanswered goals the rest of the game… The Seawolves travel to take on Johns Hopkins on Wednesday afternoon at 1 pm… It will be the first-ever meeting against the Blue Jays.
The Vermont Catamounts (0-0, 0-0 AE)will try to open the 2010 schedule on Wednesday at Dartmouth at 3 p.m. UVM was scheduled to begin on Saturday at Penn State, but the game was postponed due to weather conditions limiting Vermont's travel to State College, Pa.