Field Hockey Heads To A-10 Tournament This Weekend

Nov. 1, 2007

AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts field hockey team (11-8, 6-1 A-10), coming off its best regular season in recent memory, heads to Philadelphia this weekend to compete at the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Saint Joseph's Finnesey Field. The Minutewomen, co-regular season champions of the conference with number one seed Temple (at 6-1, receive the number two seed in the tournament by virtue of the Owls 2-1 win over UMass on October 12. Richmond (6-12, 5-2) gets the three seed, while the host Hawks (9-8, 4-3) get the four seed.

The 2007 regular season marked a changing of the guard in the A-10 as UMass and Temple shared the regular season title, ending Richmond's run of five straight. The Spiders also picked up their first two conference losses in their last 49 games. One of those came at the hands of the Minutewomen, 1-0, on October 21. While UMass' lone A-10 loss was to Temple, the Owls one loss came October 5 to Richmond, 2-1.

Last Time vs. Richmond
On Senior Day in Amherst, Nicole Phelan (North Andover, Mass.) scored on a penalty stroke at the 27 minute mark to lead the Minutewomen to the 1-0 victory. The defense played a stellar game, limiting the Spider attack to only two shots. Becky Letourneau (Greenfield, Mass.) picked up the shutout in goal, stopping those two shots, including a spectacular diving save off a penalty corner with just three minutes remaining. UMass outshot the Spiders 12-2 in the game.

Last Time vs. Temple
On October 12 in Philadelphia, Temple's Kasey Ruth scored her second goal of the game with 2:39 left to break a 1-1 tie and give the Owls a 2-1 victory over UMass at Geasey Field. The Minutewomen's lone goal came from Katie Kelly (Dedham, Mass.) and was assisted by Cher King (Christ Church, Barbados). It was a very even match-up with the Owls edging out the Minutewomen in shots, 9-8, and penalty corners were tied at seven a side.

Last Time vs. Saint Joseph's
Christine Rodgers (Leominster, Mass.) knocked in a rebound late in the first half and that was all UMass needed as they defeated Saint Joseph's,1-0, on October 14 at Finnesey Field. It was the first career goal for the sophomore forward. The Minutewomen outshot the Hawks, 10-7, in what was a defensive struggle.

A Season to Remember
It has been a special season for UMass, going 11-8 overall with a conference record of 6-1. 2007 has proven to be the most successful season for any of the current Minutewomen and you would have to look back to 2000 to find a one as good. Along with new head coach Justine Sowry, 2007 brought a whole new attitude to UMass field hockey. After winning just six games in 2006, this season's team mixed experienced veterans with some talented newcomers to post 11 wins, six of them coming in the A-10.

Most A-10 wins in school history.

Most regular season wins (11) since 2000 (16).

Best conference winning percentage (.857) since 2000 (1.000).

Getting Defensive
Undoubtedly the strength of this year's club has been the defense. With three experienced seniors in Erin O'Brien (Annandale, Va.), Kristina DoRosario (Oakville, Ontario) and Phelan, and one freshmen phenom in Jaime Bourazeris (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) across the backline, the Minutewomen have fielded the top defense in the conference.

Led A-10 in shutouts (9), goals against average (0.94), and shots allowed (7.2 per game).

Second in the country in shutouts per game (0.46), behind only #1 North Carolina.

Fewest goals allowed by UMass (18) since 2000 (12).

Allowed only two goals in A-10 play.

O'Brien (team captain) and DoRosario (defensive captain) have played every minute of the 2007 season.

What a Difference a Year Makes
Along with new head coach Justine Sowry, 2007 brought a whole new attitude to UMass field hockey. After winning just six games in 2006, this season's team mixed experienced veterans with some talented newcomers to post 11 wins, six of them coming in the A-10.

Win total has increased from six to 11.

Conference record went from 3-4 to 6-1.

Shots allowed per game dropped from 14.2 to 7.2.

Goals allowed dropped from 56 to 18.

Spreading the Wealth
The UMass offense began the year as virtually a one-player show, but has become a very diversified attack. King started the season red hot for the Minutewomen, scoring five the team's first eight goals. That stretch included back-to-back game-winners in 1-0 wins over Sacred Heart and Rutgers. Since then, eight separate players have scored the last 20 UMass goals.

The last seven UMass goals have been scored by six different players.

10 different Minutewomen have scored this season.

11 different Minutewomen have assisted on goals this season.

Peaking At The Right Time

After starting the season 5-6, UMass went 6-2 to close the regular season. The Minutewomen have outscored the opposition 13-3 over that span.

Success Breeds Success
When putting together her staff, Sowry, who has won two World Cup gold medals, brought in coaches from some of the most successful in the country. In fact, the last five NCAA National Championships are represented by UMass' coaches.

Assistant Coach Kelly Dostal is a member of the US National Team and had a stellar career at Wake Forest where she earned All-American honors and three national championships (2002-04). She was named Honda Award winner in 2004, the highest collegiate athletic honor in the country.

Assistant Coach Chrissy Needham played at UConn from 1997-2001 where she was a four-time NFHCA All-Academic honoree and helped lead the Huskies to a #1 ranking in 1999. Last season she won a state title coaching Greenwich High School in Connecticut.

Volunteer Assistant Kristina Edmonds enjoyed a superb career at Maryland, where she graduated from in 2006. She helped lead the Terps to the 2005 and 2006 national titles and earned second team All-American honors her senior season.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics

Related Videos