CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The playoff picture is a lot clearer after last week's slate thanks to Player of the Week Whitney Frates (Woodstock, Vt./Kimball Union). The senior forward led New Hampshire to two conference victories to guarantee the Wildcats will enter the 2011 America East Championship on November 4 and 6 as the top seed and host. Rookie of the Week for the period ending October 23 goes to Fairfield University freshman back Felicitas Heinen (Munich, Germany).
The Wildcats clinched at least a share of the regular-season title, but Boston U. clinched the tournament's two seed and also put itself into position to possibly share that crown. University at Albany and University of Maine will round out the field of four but seeds will not be decided until after this week's final regular-season games.
Frates scored five of the team's seven goals, including both game-winning goals, in two America East wins. She notched a hat trick on the road against Boston U. earlier in the week, including the game-winning tally with 58 seconds remaining in OT. Frates also scored the first two goals in a 3-0 win over Maine on Friday. The senior now has 50 points on the season.
Heinen scored her sixth goal of the season in a conference win at Vermont on Saturday. Her goal, during a corner set piece, tied the game at one-all in a 2-1 victory. She placed three shots on net for the game. Heinen now owns 14 points on the season with six goals and two assists.
Team Notebooks:
No. 15 Albany (12-6, 2-2 AE) saw its four-game win streak end with double overtime loss at No. 16 Boston U. on Saturday... With the loss, Albany falls to 0-5 against nationally-ranked teams this season... The Great Danes forced the extra frames with a late rebound goal from Corrine McConville (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton). McConville had three shots in the game... Goalkeeper Kristi Troch (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) made five saves in the 86:29 minute effort... The Great Danes will wrap-up regular-season play on Sat., Oct. 29th as they host New Hampshire at 1 p.m... Albany will pay tribute to its two seniors and graduate student prior to gametime with the Wildcats.
No. 16 Boston University (9-8, 3-1 AE) completed a busy week that included three games in five days in addition to the resumption at halftime of a key conference match on Monday... All four opponents were ranked 17th in the nation or higher... On Saturday, senior Kate Murphy (Millbury, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) scored the game-winner in double overtime to lift Boston U. to a 2-1 triumph over No. 15 Albany... Murphy also scored Boston U.'s lone goal in a 2-1 loss at No. 4 Connecticut on Wednesday... The Terriers dropped a 4-1 contest to crosstown rival and 17th-ranked Northeastern on Sunday and also fell, 4-3, in overtime to No. 8 New Hampshire on Monday in a battle for first place in the conference... Junior Jacinda McLeod (Whangarei, New Zealand/Whangarei Girls) tallied seven points on the week with three goals and an assist... Junior Macey Gaumond (Warren, Mass./Quaboag) recorded three assists on the week and classmate Tabi Hatch (Green Lane, Pa./Towson) tallied a goal and an assist... Sophomore Ysi Schieb (Molendinar, Australia/A.B. Paterson College) picked up her first collegiate points with two assists on the week... Freshman goalkeeper Valentina Cerda (Santiago, Chile/Deutsche Schule Santiago) totaled 20 saves over the course of the four contests... All eight of the Terriers' losses this season have come against teams ranked 17th in the nation or higher... With the win over Albany, the Terriers have clinched the No. 2 seed for the America East Championship and would earn a share of the regular-season title if they defeat Fairfield and Albany tops New Hampshire on Saturday.
Fairfield (9-7, 1-3 AE) picked up its first conference win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Vermont on Sat., Oct. 22... Senior forward Marit Westenberg (The Hague, Netherlands) scored the game-winning goal against Vermont this past weekend... Westenberg also had an assist earlier in the game, when Fairfield tied it up at one a piece on a goal by freshman defender Felicitas Heinen (Munich, Germany)... Westenberg continues to hold the top spot on the team with 18 points breaking down to seven goals and four assists... Heinen earned her sixth goal of the season over the weekend at Vermont when she tied the score at one-all. Heinen now owns a total of 14 points on the season... Fairfield will play back to back days on its home field to finish off their season... On Sat., Oct. 29 the Stags will finish conference play against Boston U. at 2 p.m... The following day, the team will face Liberty University at 11 a.m. on the Fairfield campus.
No. 13 Maine (15-3, 2-2 AE) split over the weekend, dropping a 3-0 decision at #10 New Hampshire before turning around and shutting out Rutgers in a neutral site game held at UMass, 3-0... The win is Maine's 15th of the season, its most wins since going 15-6 in 2003... Senior Kelly Newton (Vancouver, British Columbia) continued to build on her record-breaking season as she tallied her 23rd assist of the season and her 49th point of the season, both building on school record marks she has already set this season... The shutout victory was goalkeeper Brittany Fleck's (Vancouver, British Columbia) third of the season and the seventh of her career... A couple firsts went down for Maine in the loss to #10 New Hampshire. It was the first time the Black Bears have lost on the road all season and also the first time they had been shutout since August 29, 2010, a 3-0 loss at UConn... The win over Rutgers was Maine's fourth of the season on a neutral playing surface; the Black Bears are now 4-0 in neutral site contests... Maine continues to build on its record-breaking goal-scoring season as it has now outscored the opposition 82-29 this season... With Fairfield knocking off Vermont on Saturday, the Black Bears have now clinched a spot in the America East Tournament for the fourth year in a row... Maine will honor its seven seniors in its final regular season game of the 2011 season, a 1 p.m. match-up with Vermont on Sat., Oct. 29.
No. 10 UNH (14-3, 4-0 AE) extended its America East conference winning streak to 11 games with a 4-3 overtime victory at 15th-ranked Boston U. and a 3-0 win against 13th-ranked Maine on Senior Day… UNH will be the top seed in the America East Championship tournament for the second consecutive year… UNH broke the single-season points record of 170 established in 2009; the 2011 Wildcats have amassed 172 points… Whitney Frates (Woodstock, Vt./Kimball Union) matched her career high of three goals vs. Boston U. and that included the game-winning goal with 58 seconds remaining in overtime… Frates scored two more goals vs. Maine to increase her 2011 point total to 50 to become just the third Wildcat to reach that mark… Katherine Nagengast (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) made six saves vs. Maine to record her third shutout of the season and the team’s fifth overall this season; Maine had entered that game ranked No. 1 in the nation in offense… Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) also scored a goal on Senior Day… Rausch had climbed to No. 3 on the program’s all-time points list with a goal at Boston U.; she currently has 122 points (46g, 30a)… In addition to Frates, Nagengast and Rausch, Kendall Deck (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Kyle Lyons (White River Junction, Vt./Kimball Union) and Jess Sweeney (Accord, N.Y./Rodnout Valley) were honored on Senior Day… The Wildcats play the last of five consecutive games vs. nationally-ranked teams Saturday at Albany… The ‘Cats are 3-1 during the current stretch and 5-3 vs. nationally-ranked teams this season.
Vermont (6-10, 0-4 America East) lost its only game of the week, falling to Fairfield at home on Saturday 2-1… Prior to the contest Catamount seniors Allison Barnaby (Hampton, N.H./Governor Dummer Academy), Emily Bastiaanse (Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial), Sarah Becque (Westborough, Mass./Westborough), Holly Davis (Greene, N.Y./Greene), Lauren Goracy (Glen Gardner, N.J./Voorhees), Alana Izzo (Stowe, Vt./Stowe) and Mackenzie Williams (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) were honored before playing in their final home game… Sophomore Colleen Slaughter (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) opened the scoring when she tallied her team-high eighth goal of the season 15:11 into the contest. Barnaby started the play when she carried the ball into the circle on the right side, sending a pass to Slaughter who snuck a shot just inside the far post… Catamount keeper Stephanie Zygmunt (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) made four saves in the game, while Becque earned two defensive saves… Vermont wraps up the season this Saturday when it travels to face Maine starting at 1 p.m.