University of Massachusets Athletics
1997 UMass Field Hockey Season Recap
July 06, 1999 | Field Hockey
A new era was underway as the the 1997 field hockey season
began. Patty Shea returned to her alma mater to assume the coaching
vacancy left by the legendary Pam Hixon who departed to serve as the
U.S. National Team Coach on a full-time basis. Besides a new head
coach, the Minutewomen's dreams of an artificial turf field were
realized when they were greeted by bright green astroturf at Richard
F. Garber Field for preseason practice.
The season began with a win as the Minutewomen dismantled
California 8-1 in the opening game of the UMass/Phoenix Invitational
on Richard F. Garber Field on Sept. 6. Erica Johnston had four goals
for UMass, while junior newcomer Vicky Browne fueled the offensive
attack with four assists. The Minutewomen fell to Michigan State the
following day in the championship game.
A three-game road skid dampened the Minutewomen's spirits
heading into the final week in September. After defeating regional
rival Boston College for the 16th straight time and picking up a win
vs. Davis & Elkins, UMass dropped an overtime decision to James
Madison and consecutive 3-0 shutouts to Yale and Northeastern.
The Minutewomen rebounded to win two A-10 games, with a 5-0
shutout of Rhode Island and a thrilling 2-1 sudden death overtime win
over Temple. Trailing 1-0 with 1:35 remaining vs. the Owls, Erica
Johnston converted on a penalty corner goal to send the game into
overtime. Late-game heroics were then provided by Kerry Lyons who
netted the gamewinner on a pass from Laura Phelan.
The No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels roughed up the
Minutewomen on Oct. 4 by a 10-2 score, while Tobacco Road proved an
unfriendly host as the team fell to Wake Forest the next day. A 3-0
loss to Boston University, dropped the Minutewomen to 5-7 entering a
pivotal week vs. three top 10 teams.
In a four-day span, UMass knocked of the No. 8, 9 and 10 teams
in the country, defeating No. 9 Ball State, No. 10 Syracuse and
No. 8 Providence. The three upsets propelled the Minutewomen back
into the national rankings at the No. 16 spot in the next week's
poll. UMass won its fourth straight game, defeating La Salle 6-1 on
a career-best day by Kate Putnam who tallied two goals and two
assists.
The artificial turf at Richard F. Garber Field was
dedicated on Oct. 25, before UMass' game vs. Connecticut. Former
UMass standout and two-time All-American Kyle Rothenberger was
honored at the ceremony as UMass' 1997 Woman of the Year. The
hard-fought battle was won by the Huskies as UMass fell to its rival
2-1. The Minutewomen bounced back the next game though, picking up a
3-1 win over Dartmouth.
The regular-season Atlantic 10 title came down to a
Halloween showdown with upstart West Chester. After finishing the
1996 season with an 0-5 conference record, the Golden Rams reversed
its record and clinched the 1997 regular-season A-10 title with a 1-0
win over the Minutewomen. Despite outshooting West Chester 27-10,
all-conference goalie Heather Vearling made 24 saves to highlight
the Golden Rams' efforts. UMass closed the regular season with a 1-0
win over St. Joseph's to earn the second seed in the Atlantic 10
Tournament.
The Minutewomen dominated the A-10 tournament from start to
finish. UMass defeated Temple in the semifinal round 4-0, allowing
just one shot and no penalty corners to send the Owls packing and
setting up a championship game vs. West Chester. UMass' stellar play
continued in the final as the Minutewomen avenged their one
conference defeat with a convincing 3-1 win. Erica Johnston was
named the tournament's most outstanding player for her four-goal, one
assist performance over the weekend, including three goals in the
championship game. She was joined on the all-tournament squad by
Vicky Browne, Sharon Hughes, Amy Ott, Kristen Schmidt and Zowie
Tucker.
UMass earned its 15th NCAA Tournament bid and faced Big 10
champion Penn State in the first round. The Minutewomen fell to the
Lady Lions by a 5-3 count to end their season at 13-10 overall.
Erica Johnston scored two goals in the game to run her season total
to 24, the fourth-highest in school history. Vicky Browne ended the
season with a team-leading 13 assists which ranked eighth
all-time.
The postseason honors were plentiful for the Minutewomen,
as the team's on and off the field accomplishments were dutifully
noted. Erica Johnston was named a second-team All-American and was
also named to the Northeast All-America first team and Atlantic 10
All-Conference team. Amy Ott and Kate Putnam were both named to the
Atlantic 10 All-Conference team and Northeast All-American second
team, while Sharon Hughes was also a Northeast All-America second
team pick. Senior captain Jen Gutzman was recognized as a GTE-CoSIDA
Academic All-District selection in addition to being named to the
Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference team alongside Putnam and Chrissy
Millbauer.
