University of Massachusets Athletics
2007 Women's Lacrosse Season Preview
February 19, 2007 | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 19, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. - A new chapter in UMass women's lacrosse history was begun in late August when Alexis Venechanos was named the new head coach of the Minutewomen. Venechanos has been a part of four of the last seven NCAA National Championships including the last two when she was an assistant coach for Northwestern.
She takes over a UMass program that has been on the rise after being one of the youngest programs in the Atlantic 10 for the last two years. Now, led by a strong upperclassman group, seasoned sophomores and a talented set of newcomers, Venechanos and the Minutewomen are poised to have a break out season.
"I am very excited for the spring season to start. Each player has improved the team by pushing her own limits," said Venechanos. "We have a great mix of young and experienced players on the team. I really like the energy and excitement we have as a team and if we continue to improve we should have a successful season."
The Minutewomen enjoyed a strong Fall Ball season and began the spring season with a training trip to Florida to take part in the Champions Challenge with Northwestern. Along with the practice time, UMass scrimmaged the U.S. Developmental and Elite squads before returning to Amherst. The Atlantic 10 coaches recognize the potential in the Minutewomen as well. Earlier this spring, UMass was picked to finish fourth in the league's Preseason Coaches Poll.
"I think we have come a long way since the beginning of the fall. Each player is definitely eager to learn and improve themselves and the team," said Venechanos. "I think our skills have improved since the fall and our confidence is building because of that. In Florida, we talked about things we can control -- making good decisions and working hard -- to help make things go our way."
Headlined by junior Kathleen Typadis (Medfield, Mass.), the Minutewomen return nearly 80 percent and four of their top five scorers from a season ago. Typadis has led the Minutemen in goals in each of her first two seasons and is on the verge of cracking the UMass top-10 career scoring list this season.
But offensive talent alone will not carry the team. The Minutewomen return three experienced defenders in senior co-captain Erica Shapiro (Norfolk, Mass.), junior Julie Papaleo (Manlius, N.Y.) and sophomore Jackie Rosenzweig (Massapequa, N.Y.).
Shapiro was in the midst of her best season to date last year before going down with a knee injury against Boston College. Papaleo has started 28-of-33 career games, while Rosenzweig was a 2006 A-10 All-Rookie selection.
In the cage, redshirt senior Lauren McCarthy (Derry, N.H.) returns as the squads starting goalie. McCarthy came on strongly at the end of the 2006 season and was a major reason for UMass making its return to the A-10 Tournament.
Having a well-rounded team will be a key characteristic this season as once again the Minutewomen will face a very competitive schedule. Four of UMass' opponents are ranked in the preseason top-20 polls and the Minutewomen will face two-time NCAA Champion Northwestern and NCAA Finalist Dartmouth.
Homefield could be a true advantage for the Minutewomen in the league season as four of the six A-10 games are at home. For the first time ever, UMass will play its home games in McGuirk Alumni Stadium which features a brand new FieldTurf surface.
Veteran Leadership
Last season UMass was one of the youngest teams in the Atlantic 10 with 17 underclassmen. Now, with experienced seniors such as McCarthy, Shapiro, and midfielder Samantha Sepulveda (Freeport, N.Y.), the Minutewomen are looking to turn their previous growing pains into success.
"Our seniors have been through a lot. Lauren Erica and Sam are very passionate about UMass lacrosse. They have really stepped up and taken more of a leadership role their senior year," said Venechanos.
Along with the senior class, UMass returns six juniors who are a seasoned bunch.
"We have a good nucleus coming into the season, and I think the team playing a lot of minutes together early in their careers is going to help us," said Venechanos. "I think they are really confident in each other. A lot of players were young, so they were still trying to find themselves, but for the most part we have players returning to every key position and that will help us to move forward."
The upperclassmen understand what it takes to make the A-10 Tournament and are keeping that in mind this season.
"The returning group is very dedicated. Coming off last season's finish, I think this team is re-energized and ready to build on that success," said Venechanos. "We are taking that step to be a great team this year. We were a good team last year, but the willingness to be a great team will rely on the ability of our players to step up. They need to use each other to build their confidence and make this team work."
Strong Finish To 2006
The Minutewomen ended the 2006 season on a very strong note winning four of their last five regular-season games to qualify for the four-team A-10 Tournament. That energy has stayed with the team throughout the offseason and UMass is looking to keep improving in 2007.
"We are hoping to use that energy from the late season surge last year and extend it throughout the whole season. We would also like it to be more consistent. We want to bring that passion and consistency to every game," said Venechanos. "Our non-conference schedule is pretty good, so hopefully we can get some wins early on to boost our confidence going into the A-10's. I think we need to be more consistent with things we can control. I am looking forward to seeing that develop throughout the year."
Keeping consistent in games will be a true key to the season. The young UMass squad struggled with that at times last season.
"I think this group can win with consistency, but it is going to have to come with experience in game situations," said Venechanos. "We try to make practices game-like, to stimulate game situations, but you have to have experience to put teams away and beat them. We try to keep the intensity of practices high so that they will be easier than games."
Attacks
Typaids is the top returning attack this season. She tallied a team-leading 43 goals last season and has a 24-game scoring streak in place to start the year.
Along side Typadis is sophomore Kaytlin McCormick (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) who was the second-ranked scorer on the team last year with 31 goals.
"Kathleen improved a lot in the fall. She was definitely a force in the last two seasons, but we were trying to get her to become more multi-dimensional," said Venechanos. "Kaytlin will be another force for us again. She has a knack for being around the ball a lot and when she has the ball in the eight, she is unstoppable."
Sophomore Meghan Reddy (Salem, N.H.), junior Kristina Twichell (Fayetteville, N.Y.) and junior Melynda Zwick (Holland, Pa.) are the other top-returners on attack.
Reddy had a good rookie season last year and will handle the team's draws this season.
Twichell really came on towards the end of the 2006 season scoring 14 of her 19 points in the later half of the year. Twichell can play both the attack and midfield and will see time in both positions this year.
Zwick is the `quarterback' of the offensive attack. She has good field vision and has a knack for finding her open teammates.
Sophomore Claire Mancini (Hillsborough, Calif.) and sophomore Julie Pasquantonio (Plainville, Mass.) round out the returning group of attackers.
Midfield
UMass has three key returners in the midfield highlighted by Sepulveda, sophomore Holly Drown (Nashua, N.H.), and junior Jeannette Villapiano (Ocean Township, N.J.).
Sepulveda has the most experience of the group having played in 49 career games. She is one of the fastest players on the team and has the ability to score as evident by her four goal outburst at Hofstra last season.
"Sam is very speedy," said Venechanos. "She will bring the ball up the field and link the attackers to the defense."
Drown had a strong rookie season last year and is a well-rounded player. "Holly will definitely step up. She is a work horse and has worked extremely hard last year and in the off-season," said Venechanos. "She will be runs the midfield for us, plays well off the draw circle, and is a good defender. She will be a threat for us."
Villapiano has shown continued improvement over the last two seasons. She uses her size to her advantage and had a career year last season improving from eight goals as a freshman to 22.
Freshman Merritt Cosgrove (Carisbad, Calif.) will add to this group. "Merritt is getting better every day. She is a great athlete, and will do a lot for us this season," said Venechanos.
Defense
For the first time in several seasons, the UMass defense is not highlighted by any one strong `man-to-man' defender such as Kristin St. Hilaire and Jackie Nesbitt.
The Minutewomen do return a trio of strong defenders who bring a lot of experience with them. Papaleo, Rosenzweig, and Shapiro are the top returning defenders.
"I think our defense is more of a unit this year. We don't have any take-away defenders or one girl that will dominate the ground balls, but I think we have a strong, smart defense," said Venechanos.
Papaleo has started 28-of-33 career games on the back row and was integral in the final part of last season.
Coming back off a knee-injury, Shapiro returns this season ready to pick off where her season ended last year.
Rounding out the top returners will be Rosenzweig who was named to the A-10 All-Rookie team last year.
Also adding to the group will be junior Alana Jakas (Rochester, N.Y.) and freshman Ashley King (Shoreham, N.Y.).
In goal, McCarthy will be the starter in her final campaign and will be backed up by sophomore Jamie-Lee Whiteway (Billerica, Mass.).
"Lauren and Jaime-Lee have been working very hard in the off-season and they will be ready for the challenge of this season," said Venechanos.
Schedule
A tough non-conference schedule, four home Atlantic 10 games, and a game against two-time defending National Champion Northwestern highlight the UMass women's lacrosse 2007 schedule. The Minutewomen open the 17-game regular season on Feb. 21 at Holy Cross.
The game against Northwestern will take place in Venechanos' hometown of Yorktown, N.Y., and proceeds will benefit the Friends of Jaclyn Murphy Foundation.
UMass will have to wait until March 7 before playing at home when they face Dartmouth in McGuirk Stadium at 4 p.m.
