The UNH field hockey team went to Boston last Friday to open up the weekend against #23 ranked BU at New Balance field. Coming off a tough road trip down to Maryland and American University, the Wildcats looked to turn things around heading into their second weekend.
In the first quarter, the game started out slowly with some great defense being displayed on both sides. BU finished the quarter with only two shots on net to UNH’s zero. Neither team had a corner in the period.
In the second quarter, UNH started the quarter fast, having their first shot-on-goal come in the first minute of the quarter from senior defender Nicky Bajus. However, BU quickly collected themselves and converted their first corner into a goal to go up 1-0. This would remain the lead going into the second half. BU controlled the shots-on-goal with six to UNH’s four, and also won the corner battle with four to UNH’s three.
Three minutes into the second half, UNH would allow BU to score another goal on a corner, putting them in a 2-0 hole. UNH would continue to put the pressure on their opponent the rest of the quarter, relentlessly getting shots-on-goal to no prevail.
At the start of the fourth quarter, UNH was still down 2-0. At this point, the tide had clearly turned in favor of the ‘Cats, as they were really pressuring BU in the offensive end. UNH would finally breakthrough with eight minutes left in the quarter as sophomore forward Finn Caron scored on a tip from junior midfielder Isabelle Danahy. In the final eight minutes of play, the Wildcats were shutout with no shots or corner attempts. BU locked them down and showed why they are ranked so high.
After the tough loss at BU, UNH came home to end the weekend on Sunday against Holy Cross for their home opener on Memorial Field.
The ‘Cats started the game as hot as they finished the last, generating the first scoring chance three minutes into the game. Holy Cross quickly countered but UNH got on the board first and Bloem van den Brekel scored 10 minutes into the match with a shot from the top of the circle.
Holy Cross quickly grabbed momentum in the second quarter and went on the offensive with two corners that were all blocked by UNH. With five minutes left in the half, the ‘Cats were able to convert a corner into a goal as sophomore forward Tia Raspante capitalized, going up 2-0 on the Crusaders. UNH held off a couple scoring tries by Holy Cross to keep them scoreless through two periods.
In the beginning of the third quarter, UNH started hot with a great scoring opportunity on a corner that was knocked away. Midway through the same quarter, Holy Cross was able to trim the deficit to one, scoring on a redirected pass from the far-right side of the field.
Much like the second, UNH was able to once again put pressure on the Crusaders early in the fourth quarter. They used this energy to fend off a couple of Holy Cross scoring chances late in the game.
UNH’s defense did outstanding the rest of the way, with Holy Cross’s offense being suffocated for the vast majority of the quarter. This 2-1 effort gave the ‘Cats their first win at home in 2019.
Next weekend, the UNH Field Hockey team will have a pair of home games as they take on #18 ranked Stanford University on Friday at 6 P.M. and Brown University on Sunday at 3 P.M. The Wildcats certainly have their work cut out for them, but they look to continue to enhance their win column as they get into the bulk of their schedule.
