UNH hosts AE tournament

The University of New Hampshire will play host for the America East Field Hockey Championship this weekend from Nov. 2-4. The two semifinals will be played on Friday, when No. 1 seed UNH takes on No. 4 seed Fairfield University at 2 p.m., followed by No. 2 Albany taking on No. 3 Maine at 5 p.m.. 

The Wildcats earned the top seed after finishing 5-0 in America East Play and boast an overall record of 11-7. They are riding a four-game winning streak going into the tournament and have won six of their last eight games. The Wildcats finally get to play on their home turf after the decision to cancel all home games was reversed. 

The Wildcats defeated Fairfield on Sept. 28 in a 3-2 game that went into double overtime. The ‘Cats have plenty of experience playing in high-pressure games, with a record of 5-3 in games that go into either overtime or double-overtime. 

The Wildcats received 11 America East awards, including Megan Bozek being named Defensive Player of the Year, as well as Bozek, Casey Pohlmeyer and Emma Erler being selected to the All-Conference First Team. 

Hannah Richard and Kellie Joyce were named to the All-Conference Second Team, while Meg Flatley, Chandler Giese and Lynne Lehman were named to the All-Rookie Team. Bozek, Pohlmeyer, Giese and Flatley were all unanimous selections. 

Erler was also selected to play in the Senior Game, which will be held on Nov. 17 at Old Dominion University. 

The coaching staff was named Coaching Staff of the Year for the third year in a row, and the award was the fifth for head coach Robin Balducci, who is assisted by Meg Shea and Ross Gorham. 

The Wildcats are trying to win their second consecutive conference title, something they’ve never accomplished in their history. UNH is hosting the tournament for a third consecutive year after having never hosted it before. 

Since the beginning of the 2010 season, UNH is 17-2 against America East opponents and have a home record of 11-1 in that span. 

The championship game will be held on Sunday, Nov. 4 at Memorial Field at noon. The winner earns an automatic qualifying berth in the NCAA tournament.