The Lock Haven University field hockey team is set to open Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) play at Massachusetts on Friday, September 14 at 2 p.m.
 
Setting the stage:
The Bald Eagles enter Friday's conference opener with a 4-2 overall record. Host-UMass is 2-4 overall and Friday's clash marks the A-10 opener for the Minutewomen as well. Lock Haven is 1-1 on the road while UMass is 0-3 at home on the season.
 
Massachusetts was picked second in the A-10 preseason coaches' poll, while Lock Haven was slotted at No. 5. Last season, UMass downed LHU, 2-1 (9/14/17) in Lock Haven. LHU is 1-9 all-time vs. UMass with the lone win coming at home in 2015 (W, 2-0).
 
1-1 last week:
Lock Haven went 1-1 last week. After opening the weekend with a narrow 3-2 loss at local-rival Bucknell on Friday (Sept. 7), LHU responded in a big way Sunday (Sept. 9), and rolled past visiting Colgate, 6-1.
 
Perfect at home:
The win over Colgate helped LHU move to a perfect 3-0 at home. Through the three wins at home, LHU has outscored its opponents 15-2.
 
Smith, A-10 Player of the Week:
On Monday (Sept. 10), Alyscia Smith was named this week's A-10 Co-Player of the Week. It marked the second straight week where a Lock Haven player had been named the conference's player of the week. Smith, a senior-midfielder, led Lock Haven to a 6-1 win on Sunday (Sept. 9) vs. Colgate. She recorded a natural hat trick of sorts as she scored the first three goals of the game on the way to a lopsided win that helped the Bald Eagles remain perfect at home this season (3-0).
 
LHU's 2018 A-10 Players of the Week:
Tamia Roach (co), September 4
Alyscia Smith (co), September 10
 
Goals coming:
On the season – through six games – Lock Haven has scored 20 goals, more than any other A-10 team. Eight players have scored for LHU including Alyscia Smith and Tamia Roach, who both have four goals. The Bald Eagles 3.33 goals per game rank 10^th in Division I.
 
Rudy's march to 600:
To date, LHU head coach Pat Rudy has collected 597 career wins and is now just three wins away from hitting the 600-win mark, an accomplish only achieved by two other coaches in the history of college field hockey. Rudy's 597 wins are third all-time. She entered the season ranked among the top-20 all-time in win percentage as well and is already one of the winningest coaches of all-time. The win over Cornell this season marked Rudy's 350^th win at LHU, her alma mater. In January ('18), she was inducted into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Hall of Fame.
 
Where the stat leaders rank:
GOALS: A. Smith, T. Roach, 4 goals each | tied for third most in A-10
POINTS: A. Smith, 12 points | second most in A-10
GAA: B. DeAngelis, 1.33 | ranks second in A-10
 
Up next:
The Bald Eagles will hit the road again next weekend for a pair of games. On Friday, September 21, LHU will head to LIU Brooklyn (4 p.m.), before traveling to Hofstra for a Sunday (September 23; 12 p.m.) match. It will mark the first ever meeting with LIU Brooklyn and the first meeting with Hofstra since 1987, the only meeting prior.