ORONO, Maine – Following a dominating 9-1 performance over Holy Cross in the season opener last Friday, the No. 25 Maine Black Bears field hockey team is set to battle two nationally-ranked teams this weekend in No. 19 Boston University on Friday and No. 24 Ohio State on Saturday. Both games will be played at New Balance Field on the Boston University campus, with each game starting at 6:00 p.m.
 
No. 25 Maine at No. 19 Boston University | Watch | Live Stats | @UMaineFH
DATE: Friday, Aug. 31, 2018
TIME: 6 p.m.
SITE: New Balance Field
SERIES HISTORY: Boston University 30-6-0
        Last Meeting: 2016, 2-1 Boston University
        First meeting: 1985, Boston University 4-0
        Current streak: The Terriers have won eight straight since 2008.
        Note: Maine and BU competed  in the America East from 1985 to 2013.
 
About the #25 Maine Black Bears (1-0, 0-0 America East)
• In its lone game over opening weekend, No. 25 Maine dominated Holy Cross 9-1 on Friday at the UMaine Field Hockey Complex.
• The Black Bears overpowered the Crusaders in the shot column, owning a 34-4 edge in shots and an advantage of 28-2 on shots on goal.
• With the score at 2-1 in favor of Maine, Samantha Wagg tallied a 'natural hat trick' in under 13 minutes in the first half to spark a Black Bears 7-0 run.
• After the big game, Wagg leads the nation in goals per game (3.00) and points per game (6.00) while Casey Crowley is tops in the country in assists per game (3.00).
• The Black Bears as a team lead the nation in goals per game (9.00), assists per game (9.00), points per game (27.00) and penalty corners per game (18.00) after the first weekend.
• Maine's nine goals are the most scored in a game since the Black Bears put up 12 goals against Bryant virtually a year ago on Aug. 29, 2017.
• BU and Maine last met in the 2016 season, as BU grabbed a 2-1 win in Boston. Samantha Wagg scored the lone Black Bear goal on a penalty corner with less than two minutes to go in the game.
• The Black Bears and Buckeyes meet for the first time since 2008, when Ohio State beat Maine 4-0 at the Catamount Classic in Vermont.
 
About the #19 Boston University Terriers (2-0, 0-0 Patriot League)
• The No. 19 Terriers enter the contest 2-0 after defeating Northeastern 4-1 on Aug. 24 and downing UNH 4-0 on Aug. 26 to win the Wildcat Classic.
• Ally Hammel leads BU with eight points, scoring a goal against both the Huskies and Wildcats, along with tallying an impressive three assists against UNH.
• Alisa Connolly also recorded a goal in both games so far this season, as both Connolly and Hammel earned Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively in week one. Hammel was also honored with Longstreth / NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week.
• Through the first weekend of games, BU ranks sixth in the nation in goals per game (4.00), seventh in points per game (11.00) and 11^th in goals against average (.50).
• During the preseason the Terriers were picked to win the Patriot League, earning 14 of 20 first-place votes for 68 total points. BU won the Patriot League in 2017, defeating Bucknell 2-1 in the PL Championship game. After a 5-0 win over Fairfield in the NCAA Opening Round, the Terriers bowed out 3-1 to eventual NCAA Champion UConn.
• Hammel was named the PL Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while Connolly, Allie Doggett,  and Kiley Gallagher joined her on the preseason all-conference team.
 

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No. 25 Maine vs. No. 24 Ohio State | Live Stats | @UMaineFH
DATE: Friday, Sept. 1, 2018
TIME: 6 p.m.
SITE: New Balance Field
SERIES HISTORY: Ohio State, 5-2
        Last Meeting: 2008, Ohio State 4-0
        First meeting: 1990, Maine 4-1
        Current streak: OSU has won two consecutive since 2005.
        Note: Maine defeated Ohio State in 1990 (4-1) and 2004 (2-1).
 
About the #24 Ohio State Buckeyes  (1-1, 0-0 B1G)
• The Buckeyes opened the season with a grueling stretch against two top-10 teams in No. 9 Delaware and No. 8 Louisville. OSU lost to the Blue Hens at home 3-2 on Aug. 24, but took down the Cardinals 3-2 on Aug. 26 in Louisville.
• OSU trailed 2-0 to Louisville after 17 minutes in the first half, rallied with three second-half goals in the 43^rd, 67^th and 71^st minutes to complete the comeback.  
• Esther Clotet has found the back of the net twice this season, scoring in both games, while Whitney Harris, Sammy Stone, and Courtney Daniels have all tallied a score.
• Clotet, Casey Cole, and Kelsey Nolan were honored on the all-Big 10 preseason team.
• In goal, Ohio State has split time between both Ellen Westfall and Aaliyah Hernandez in each of the first two games.
• The opposition out-shot the Buckeyes in both contests, which includes marks of 18-7 by Delaware and 12-7 to Louisville.
• With an average of 3.50 assists per game, Ohio State ranks seventh in the country.
 
Following the two games against nationally-ranked foes in Beantown, Maine resumes game action next weekend, taking on Quinnipiac (Sept. 8) and Lafayette (Sept. 9). Both contests will be played at Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium.
 
-UMaine-