University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Set to Play No. 6 North Carolina
April 27, 2000 | Women's Lacrosse
April 27, 2000
TODAY'S GAME: The Minutewomen enter today's non-conference game against North Carolina with a 7-6 overall record. The Tar Heels enter the game with a 10-5 record and a No. 6 national ranking. This is the second time this season UMass has hosted a Top 10 team (Dartmouth came to Amherst ranked No. 9 on April 5).
UMASS vs. NORTH CAROLINA SERIES: Today's game will mark the first all-time meeting between UMass and North Carolina. The two teams have both played Virginia Tech this season. The Tar Heels defeated the Hokies 18-7 on April 2, while the Hokies defeated the Minutewomen 8-6 on April 14.
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS: North Carolina enters the game with a 9-5 record. UNC has a number of impressive wins over nationally-ranked teams, including a 14-13 overtime win over defending national champion Maryland. Other victories include an 18-7 win over Virginia Tech and a 12-5 victory over Virginia. The UNC offense is led by sophomore attacker Kellie Thompson who has netted 32 goals and 16 assists for 48 points. Senior midfielder Meghann Mohler (22g, 8a), freshman midfielder Betsy Gaines (19g, 7a), junior midfielder Amy Havrilla (20g, 3a) and sophomore midfielder Christine McPike (13g, 7a). The defense is anchored by sophomore goaltender Melissa Coyne.
UMASS ON A ROLL: The Minutewomen enter today's game having won five of their last six games, including victories over Duquesne, Temple and UConn. After opening the season with only two wins in its first seven games, UMass has really begun to turn it on down the stretch. When the final horn sounded this past Tuesday, April 25, the Minutewomen gained the 7-6 win over UConn and climbed over the .500 mark for the first time this season.
PAVLICK LEADING THE WAY: Senior midfielder Stephanie Pavlick (Blue Bell, Pa.) has scored 12 goals in the past four games to move into the team lead in scoring. Pavlick netted four goals in UMass' loss to Virginia Tech and followed it up with another four-goal outburst versus St. Joseph's. She added a goal and an assist in the 5-3 win over Temple on April 21 followed by a three-goal performance in the 7-6 win over UConn. Pavlick has now recorded a team-high 24 goals and five assists for 29 points. This is the second time in her four-year career that Pavlick has reached the 20-goal plateau. She also reached the feat during the 1998 season when she recorded 25 goals.
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING: When UMass defeated Temple 5-3 on April 21, it marked the first time the Minutewomen had defeated the Owls since 1980, in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Since losing the first game in the series Temple had compiled a 16-0-1 record versus UMass. The victory over Temple also marked the first-ever A-10 league loss suffered by the Owls in the regular season. Last year, Temple went 5-0 in league play and they entered the game with UMass sporting an identical 5-0 league mark.
A-10 TOURNAMENT: The 2000 Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse championship will be decided next weekend on Totman Field (May 6th and 7th). UMass will play host to the tournament which begins with semifinal games on Saturday, May 6, at noon and 2:30 p.m. The title game will be play on Sunday, May 7, at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised live by the Atlantic 10 Television Network.
