University of Massachusets Athletics
SEASON REVIEW: UMass Shows Great Improvement During 2006 Campaign
June 01, 2006 | Women's Lacrosse
June 1, 2006
2006 Season Review - 7-11 Overall, 4-3 A-10
• A-10 Tournament Semifinalists
• A-10 First Team: Jackie Nesbitt
• A-10 Second Team: Kerri Connerty, Kathleen Typadis*
• A-10 Rookie Team: Katylin McCormick*, Jackie Rosenzweig*
• A-10 Academic Team: Jackie Nesbitt, Erica Shapiro*
• A-10 All-Tournament Team: Jeannette Villapiano*, Kathleen Typadis*
• ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second-Team: Jackie Nesbitt
• IWLCA All-North Region: Jackie Nesbitt, Kathleen Typadis*
* denotes returner for 2007 season
UMass Shows Great Improvement During 2006 Campaign
• A strong finish to the 2006 season leaves a promising future in place for the UMass women's lacrosse team. The Minutewomen qualified for the Atlantic 10 Tournament and won four of its final six games to post its highest win total (7) since the 2003 season. It was also the seventh time in eight seasons affiliated with the A-10 that the team qualified for the four-team league tournament.
• Of the eight teams in the A-10, UMass was tied with Saint Joseph's for the youngest team with 17 underclassmen. With that in mind, UMass was led by sophomore Kathleen Typadis (Medfield, Mass.) and freshman Kaytlin McCormick (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) who were the team's top two scorers.
 UMass returns its two top scorers next season in Kathleen Typadis (left) and Kaytlin McCormick (right).  |
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• All told, UMass will return nearly 80 percent of its scoring for the 2007 season as four of the top five scorers will be returning.
• It was not all youth leading the way for UMass this season, however, as seniors Kerri Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) and Jackie Nesbitt (Springfield, Pa.) closed their careers on strong notes. Connerty moved into eighth all-time at UMass in points (132) and fifth all-time in assists (48) as the team's No. 3 scorer this year with 17 goals and 18 assists. Nesbitt anchored the defensive row with 38 caused turnovers and 46 groundballs. She ranked eighth nationally in caused turnovers and led the team in each category.
• The Minutewomen posted a 3-7 non-conference record with four of those losses coming at the hands of three ranked teams: Boston University, Dartmouth and Syracuse. Three other of UMass' opponents were listed in the final 2006 polls: Hofstra, New Hampshire and Holy Cross.
Postseason Honors
• UMass had players listed on seven different postseason teams following the 2006 campaign. Senior Jackie Nesbitt (Springfield, Pa.) was named to four different teams.
• A-10 1st Team: Jackie Nesbitt
• A-10 2nd Team: Kerri Connerty, Kathleen Typadis*
• A-10 Rookie Team: Katylin McCormick*, Jackie Rosenzweig*
• A-10 Academic Team: Jackie Nesbitt, Erica Shapiro*
• A-10 All-Tournament Team: Jeannette Villapiano*, Kathleen Typadis*
• ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second-Team: Jackie Nesbitt
• IWLCA All-North Region: Jackie Nesbitt, Kathleen Typadis*
* denotes returner for 2007 season
Leading The Minutewomen
• UMass was led offensively by sophomore Kathleen Typadis (Medfield, Mass.) and freshman Kaytlin McCormick (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.). Typadis led the team with 44 points on 43 goals, while McCormick was outstanding in her rookie season posting 31 goals, four assists, 39 groundballs, 27 draw controls and 13 caused turnovers - all of which are among the top-three on the team.
• Senior Kerri Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) was third with 35 points on 17 goals and a team-high 18 assists.
• Redshirt junior Lauren McCarthy (Derry, N.H.) started the bulk of the season in cage, but sophomore Krissy Anderson (Baldwin, N.Y.) played well in a mostly reserve role. Anderson picked up her first career win at Albany. Anderson was 3-3 this season, while McCarthy was 4-8.
• Defensively, senior Jackie Nesbitt (Springfield, Pa.) anchored the defensive back with 46 groundballs, 38 caused turnovers and 34 draw controls.
• As a team, UMass ranked 16th nationally in groundballs among 50 ranked teams. The Minutewomen collected on average 25.94 groundballs per game. The Minutewomen also ranked 42nd nationally with 11.5 draw controls per game.
• Individually, senior Jackie Nesbitt (Springfield, Pa.) ranked eighth in the NCAA with 2.11 caused turnovers per game.
Connerty Finishes Among All-Time Leaders
• Senior Kerri Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) moved up the all-time charts in UMass scoring history this season. She finished her career eighth all-time in career points (132) and fifth all-time in career assists (48). She was just four goals shy of the program's all-time top-10 in that category.
• Cari Nickerson is the all-time career leader in assists with 106. Connerty finished her four seasons with 84 goals, 48 assists, and 132 career points.
• Connerty carried a 17-game scoring streak into the 2006 season, but that came to an end at Dartmouth (3/8). In her career she tallied 24 multi-point games and seven hat tricks.
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QUICK NOTES...
• UMass' 7 wins was its most since going 11-8 in 2003. • UMass qualified for the A-10 Tournament for the 7th time in 8 seasons affiliated with the league. • With 4 wins in A-10 play, UMass won 3 more conference games than in 2005. • UMass loses just three starters for 2007 - two on offense and one on defense. • UMass will return 77.8 % of its scoring next season including four of its top five scorers. • UMass ended the 2006 season winning four of its final six games.
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Nesbitt Anchors Defense
• Senior Jackie Nesbitt (Springfield, Pa.) was been a mainstay over her career in the defensive back row starting 49th consecutive contests in 68 career games. In that span she collected 146 groundballs, 76 draw controls and caused 87 turnovers. She also tallied 12 goals and four assists for 16 points.
• Nesbitt finished the 2006 season ranked eighth nationally among 50 players ranked in caused turnovers with 2.11 per game.
• Nesbitt finished her career ranked among the all-time top UMass defenders in groundballs, caused turnovers, and draw controls (those became official NCAA statistics in 2001). She ranks second in all three categories.
• As proficient in the classroom as she was on the field, Nesbitt was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second-Team and the A-10 Academic All-Conference Team in 2006.
No Sophomore Slump For Typadis
• Sophomore Kathleen Typadis (Medfield, Mass.) had another terrific season as the offensive leader and go-to goal-scorer for the Minutewomen. She finished the season with 44 points on 43 goals. For her career, she has 79 goals in just 35 games - including 13 hat tricks.
• For her efforts this season, she was named to the IWLCA All-Region Team, the A-10 All-Conference Second-Team, the A-10 All-Tournament, and was twice named the league's Player of the Week.
• Her 43 goals this season now ranks as the fifth-best single scoring mark in UMass history. UMass assistant coach Tracey Drown and Marjorie Anderson hold the second-best single season scoring mark with 47 goals, while Pam Moryl holds the No. 1 spot with 51 goals in 1984.
• Going back to the 2005 season, Typadis has the longest active scoring streak on the team at 24 games.
• In her first career A-10 Tournament game, Typadis led UMass along with fellow sophomore Jeannette Villapiano (Ocean Township, N.J.) with two goals.
• Against La Salle (4/13) she tied her career-high of five goals - the sixth time in her career she has scored four-or-more goals in a game. It was the second time in her career high she scored five goals against the Explorers.
• In her two years at UMass, Typadis has now outscored assistant coach Tracey Drown who had 61 in her three-year career. Drown is the most recent All-American selection for the Minutewomen as she earned that honor in the 2004 season.
• Typadis was one point better in her sophomore season than her freshman campaign, but produced seven more goals in 2006 (43) than in 2005 (36).
• On her current scoring pace, Typadis could end her career as the second-highest goal scorer in UMass history at a 151 projected goals. Pam Moryl - who helped UMass to the first-ever women's lacrosse NCAA Championship in 1982 and two NCAA fourth-place finishes - holds the UMass record for career goals with 170. Richmond head coach Sue Murphy (1987-90) ranks second with 125 career goals.
Youth Movement
• UMass and Saint Joseph's are tied for the youngest teams in the A-10 this season. UMass has eight freshmen and nine sophomores for a total of 17 underclassmen. The Hawks have six sophomores and 11 freshmen.
• UMass' underclassmen account for 77.8 percent of its goals scored this season.
• St. Bonaventure and Duquesne will lose the most next season as they each have six seniors on their squads.
• The Bonnies, Richmond, and Temple have the most veteran squads with 11 upperclassmen for SBU and the Spiders and 10 for the Owls.
 Meghan Reddy (left) and Jackie Rosenzweig (right) each played key roles in the 2006 season as freshmen. |
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It's Not How You Start, It's How You Finish
• While it seems a cliche, the saying fits for the Minutewomen who started the season with a 3-7 record entering the conference schedule. After starting 0-2 in the league with losses to St. Bonaventure and Richmond, UMass won four of its last five regular season games.
• The Minutewomen were in a must win situation entering the last weekend of the regular season having to defeat Duquesne at home and then travel to Washington, D.C. to beat George Washington 40 hours later to qualify for the four-team league tournament.
Keys To Victory
• Several trends became apparent when looking at UMass' victories this season.
• Defensively, UMass held its opponents to just 9.15 goals per game on 34.4 percent shooting.
• Offensively, the Minutewomen hand out 3.8 assists per game compared to just 2.1 assists per game in losses.
• Possession is one of the largest factors as UMass has a 91-to-62 advantage in draw controls.
UMass Among The Atlantic 10
• UMass boasts the second best all-time record in league play among conference members. Temple holds the best record among league rivals at 46-5, while UMass is 32-19.
• UMass finished third in the conference in 2004 and fourth in 2006 with a 4-3 record each year.
• In this the eighth year affiliated with the league, UMass has one regular season title and one tournament title to its name (both in 2000) and has qualified every season but one (2005) for the A-10 Tournament.
UMass Picked Sixth In A-10 Preseason coaches Poll
• The women's lacrosse team was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 Conference entering the 2006 season as voted on by the league's coaches in a preseason poll. The Minutewomen tied for seventh in the A-10 in 2005 with a 1-6 conference mark.
• Temple was the top pick in the league, followed by the Richmond, George Washington and Duquesne/St. Bonaventure. La Salle and Saint Joseph's were picked to finish seventh and eighth, respectively.
• With the exception of 2005, UMass has finished no lower than third since 1999 in the conference highlighted by a tournament crown in 2000.
 Jeannette Villapiano had a breakout season for the Minutewomen. |
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Villapiano Stepping Up
• Sophomore Jeannette Villapiano (Ocean Township, N.J.) surpassed her freshman point toal with 27 points on 20 goals and five assists from her midfield position.
• Villapiano registered her first career hat trick against Boston College (4/1). She had her second career hat trick at La Salle (4/15) and her third against Temple (4/23).
• This season, she was one of the top point scorers on the team with seven multi-point games in her 13 played.
• Villapiano - who wears head coach Carrie Bolduc's No. 30 from her Syracuse days - had eight goals and two assists in her rookie campaign.
Anderson Making An Impression In Cage
• Sophomore Krissy Anderson (Baldwin, N.Y.) did not play one minute in 2005 as a freshman. In the loss this season to Boston University, she played in her first-ever game as a Minutewoman playing nearly the final six minutes. In those few minutes, however, fans received a glimpse of what was to come. Despite giving up a goal, Anderson made two strong saves to finish the game.
• Ten days later, Anderson picked up her first win as she relieved incumbent starter Lauren McCarthy. In just over 33 minutes of work, Anderson made six saves while allowing just three goals.
• The next game out at Syracuse, Anderson earned her first career start. Despite taking the loss, Anderson did make a career-high 16 saves. Impressive considering she had quite a bit of nervousness before the game ... "I was shaking when they called out the starting line-up ... it took a couple of shots before I got settled in."
Twichell Settling In
• Sophomore Kristina Twichell (Fayetteville, N.Y.) found her niche on offense this season with 13 goals and six assists which ranked fifth overall on the team.
• She scored in eight of her last 10 games including three-consecutive games of three points. She posted her first career hat trick in that span with three goals against St. Bonaventure (4/7).
• Twichell has now started the last 12 straight games. In her freshman season, she played in 11 games, starting five times, and recorded three points on one goal and two assists.
Fantastic Freshmen
• Holly Drown (Nashua, N.H.), Kaytlin McCormick (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), Jackie Rosenzweig (South Massapequa, N.Y.) and Meghan Reddy (Salem, N.H.) made big impacts to start their careers at UMass having found regular starting rolls.
• McCormick and Rosenzweig were each named to the inaugural A-10 All-Rookie Team.
• McCormick was the team's second-leading scorer with 35 points on 31 goals, while Reddy had 16 points and 27 groundballs.
• Reddy had a break-out game against Duquesne (4/28) scoring three goals in a 1-minute, 41-second span in the second half to bring UMass back from a 4-goal deficit. UMass won 12-11 in overtime.
• In Atlantic 10 action, McCormick was second behind Typadis with 17 points on 16 goals and an assist.
• Drown was a strong addition to the midfield both defensively and offensively. She had eight goals this season and started the first six games of the season before missing two games prior to the Vermont game with an inflamed ribcage. Coming off that injury, however, she tallied a career high three goals for her first career hat trick against Vermont (3/29) and started every game since.
• Rosenzweig started every game in the defensive back and had 19 caused turnovers which ranked second on the team.
McCormick Named A-10 Rookie Of the Week (2/27)
• Freshman Kaytlin McCormick (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) was been named the Atlantic 10 Lacrosse Rookie of the Week (2/27) following her performance at Holy Cross. McCormick tallied four goals, three in the second half, on five shots to lead the Minutewomen in her collegiate debut. Despite playing the game in nearly two inches of snow, she also collected four groundballs and caused three turnovers.
• McCormick was a 2005 graduate of Saratoga Springs where she was a two-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American. She also earned the honor for field hockey (2005) and was a First-Team Section 2 honoree in both field hockey and lacrosse (2004, 2005). She became the first female student-athlete at Saratoga Springs to be named a two-time All-American as well as Section 2 MVP.
A New York State Of Mind
• Despite being the flagship school of Massachusetts, the Minutewomen have several team members who hail from the Empire State. New York is the most represented state on this season's roster as seven team members call the state home.
• Head coach Carrie Bolduc is an Albany native, while assistant coach Jen Nardi is from Valley Cottage, N.Y.
• Kristina Twichell, Julie Papaleo, Jackie Rosenzweig, Alana Jakas, Samantha Sepulveda, Krissy Anderson, and Katylin McCormick are all from New York.
 UMass won the first NCAA Women's Lacrosse National Championship in 1982. |
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Happy 25th Anniversary!
• It was 25 years ago that UMass won the first ever NCAA Championship in women's lacrosse. The Minutewomen posted a 10-0 record during the 1982 season and defeated Trenton State for the title.
• During their title run, UMass defeated Boston University (18-0), Harvard (5-3), Dartmouth (13-3), New Hampshire (5-4), and Boston College (10-2).
• The Minutewomen followed their NCAA title with a pair of fourth-place finishes in 1983 and 1984.
No Easy Schedule
• Eight of this season's 17 scheduled opponents were ranked or received votes in the IWLCA Top-20 Poll: Dartmouth, Boston University, George Washington, Syracuse, Hofstra, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, and Temple.
