University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Lacrosse Battles Vermont On Wednesday, Harvard On Saturday
February 27, 2007 | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 27, 2007
UMass (1-1) at Vermont (0-0)
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 • 3 P.M. (ET)
Moulton Winder Field (3,000) • Burlington, Vt.
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Streaming Audio/Video: None
UMass (1-1) at Harvard (0-0)
Saturday, March 3, 2007 • 1 P.M. (ET)
Jordan Field (1,500) • Cambridge, Mass.
GameTracker: None
Streaming Audio/Video: None
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Minutewomen Face Vermont, Harvard
• UMass continues its four-game road swing to open the 2007 season heading to Vermont on Wednesday and Harvard on Saturday. The Minutewomen are coming off a huge 13-11 win over No. 16 Boston University last Saturday and look to keep the momentum rolling. For Vermont, Wednesday's game will be the Catamounts first of the season. Harvard will open its season on Wednesday when the Crimson face Holy Cross.
• In Monday's edition of the InsideLacrosse.com Poll, UMass was listed under the receiving votes section. The Minutewomen earned five votes effectively ranking them 24th nationally. Holy Cross was also receiving votes.
• UMass is 9-2 all-time against Vermont having won the last eight straight meetings. Vermont's last win against UMass was on April 23, 1994 in Amherst. UMass defeated the Catamounts 16-9 last season.
• This will be the 30th all-time meeting between UMass and Harvard on Saturday. All-time, UMass is 12-17 against the Crimson but have won three of the last five meetings. Harvard owned the series from April 15, 1988 until March 10, 2001. In that span, the Crimson won 12 straight.
Streaks Halt Against Boston Univ.
• With the win over Boston University, UMass ended several significant streaks.
• UMass ended a 22-game home win streak for the Terriers which dated back to the 2004 season.
• UMass ended a four-game losing skid to BU.
• UMass earned its first win against a Top-20 team since defeating No. 19 Temple 3-2 for the A-10 Championship on May 7, 2000.
• UMass snapped a 10-game losing skid against ranked teams.
Typadis, However, Maintains Streak
• Junior Kathleen Typadis continues her 26-game scoring streak after three goals at Boston University. The last game she did not score in was back on April 10, 2005 against Saint Joseph's.
• She has also started 37 consecutive games highlighted by 28 multi-point games, 27 multi-goal games, and 14 hat tricks.
• Of those 37 career games, Typadis has been held scoreless just three times.
Happy Birthday To You...And You...And You...And You!
• Junior Melynda Zwick celebrated her birthday on Tuesday, Feb. 27 - the day UMass departed campus on its way to Vermont. The Minutewomen have celebrated six birthdays in the shortest month of the year: Samantha Sepulveda (2/3), Jillian and Katharine Liposkey (2/14), head coach Alexis Venechanos (2/23), assistant coach Angela McMahon (2/24), and Zwick (2/25).
Freshman Firsts
• Several UMass freshmen made their collegiate debuts at Holy Cross in the season-opener.
• Stephanie Hopkins scored her first career goal and started at attack. Merritt Cosgrove drew her first collegiate start in the midfield, while Ashley King started on defense. King posted two groundballs, while Cosgrove recorded two draw controls in their first games as Minutewomen.
Boston University Recap
• Melynda Zwick scored four goals, Holly Drown scored three and added two assists, and Kathleen Typadis scored three and added an assist as UMass upset No. 16 Boston University on Saturday. The win snapped an amazing 22-game home win streak for the Terriers and was UMass' first win against BU since the 1998 season. For Alexis Venechanos the win today was her first as a head coach.
• The Minutewomen scored six unanswered goals in the second half to take an 11-7 lead before the Terriers rallied back late. Goalkeeper Lauren McCarthy was strong once again between the pipes holding the Terriers at bay during their late rally and making 12 saves in the game. McCarthy made a save with just over a minute remaining in the game that allowed UMass to gain possession and run out the clock after BU had cut the lead to two. McCarthy earned her first career win against the Terriers despite battling the flu.
• BU controlled much of the first half of play jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead and then taking a 7-5 edge into intermission.
• Three players scored hat tricks today led by the career-high four goals from Zwick. Holly Drown also recorded a career-high five points with three goals and two assists. The three goals for Typadis extended her scoring streak to 26 consecutive games and was her 14th hat trick. She needs just four more goals to crack the all-time career scoring list.
2007 Could Be A Record Year
• Several Minutewomen are looking to etch their names in the UMass record books this spring. Most notable is Kathleen Typadis who will move into the all-time scoring lists for points and goals.
• Typadis needs just four goals to move into a 10th-place tie for career goals scored. She needs just 22 points to move into that all-time list. She is also tied for seventh in career draw controls with 60.
• Lauren McCarthy ranks fourth all-time in career saves with 334. If she follows her career average this season, then she will be ranked No. 2 all-time behind Jen Nardi.
• Defenders Julie Papaleo and Jackie Rosenzweig are close to making the all-time caused turnovers chart. Papaleo has 26 for her career and Rosenzweig had 18. Kerri Connerty ranks 10th all-time with 28.
• Midfielders Samantha Sepulveda and Jeanette Villapiano will join Typadis in the draw control category. Sepulveda has 56 draw controls for her career which ranks 10th, while Villapiano has 42.
Coming Back Strong
• The Minutewomen return nearly 80 percent of their scoring and four of the top five offensive threats for 2007. Defensively, UMass has several experienced players anchored by goalie Lauren McCarthy.
• Nine starters return for UMass as well including junior attack Kathleen Typadis and sophomore midfielder/attack Kaytlin McCormick who led the team in goals and points last season.
• The midfield will be led by senior co-captain Samantha Sepulveda who adds speed in the transition game and is excellent on draw controls.
• All told, UMass returns nine upperclassmen. Four sophomores saw significant game time last season as rookies making this a fairly experienced team.
UMass Tabbed Fourth In A-10 Preseason Coaches Poll
• UMass was picked to finish fourth overall in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll as voted on by league coaches. The Minutewomen are looking to build upon their momentum from a season ago where they won four of their final six regular season games and qualified for the A-10 Conference Tournament.
• Richmond was picked to win the title this season followed by Duquesne and Temple who tied for second. George Washington and St. Bonaventure were picked to finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while La Salle and Saint Joseph's were predicted to finish in a seventh-place tie.
Minutewomen Head To Disney World For Champions Challenge
• UMass got a head start on its preseason training in late January with a trip to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex to take part in the Champions Challenge hosted by U.S. Lacrosse. The Minutewomen spent the time in the Sunshine State gearing up for the season with two-a-day practice sessions and capped the week with an exhibition against the U.S. Developmental and Elite Teams on Sunday before returning to Amherst.
• The week began on Tuesday, Jan. 23 when the team flew down to officially start the 2007 season. "It was great to be able to practice in the great weather down in Florida," said new head coach Alexis Venechanos. "We had some pretty intense practice sessions, but I think we were able to put in a lot of our concepts and got a good head start on the season."
• The team concluded the trip on Sunday with exhibition games against the U.S. Developmental Team and the U.S. Elite Team.
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 eight team members call the state home.
• Head coach Alexis Venechanos is a native of Yorktown as well.
• Stephanie Hopkins, Alana Jakas, Ashley King, Katylin McCormick, Julie Papaleo, Jackie Rosenzweig, Samantha Sepulveda, and Kristina Twichell are all from New York.
Happy 25th Anniversary!
• This is the 25th anniversary 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
• Four of this season's 17 scheduled opponents are ranked in the IWLCA and InsideLacrosse.com Top-20 Polls: Northwestern, Boston University, Dartmouth, and Richmond.
• UMass will face both NCAA Finalist in Northwestern and Dartmouth. Northwestern is the back-to-back defending national champion.
• Five teams on the schedule last season made the NCAA Tournament: Boston University, Dartmouth, Holy Cross, Northwestern and Richmond. BU won the America East, Holy Cross won the Patriot League and Richmond won the A-10 conference titles. New Hampshire fell to BU in the America East Championship game.
• Only six games this season will be at home for UMass. The game against Northwestern will be held in Yorktown, N.Y. and is technically a home game.
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.
Scouting Vermont
• Vermont was picked to finish sixth out of seven teams in the 2007 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• For the second straight year, Vermont will be one of the youngest squads in the league. Third-year head coach Jen Johnson has added 13 freshmen to go along with nine sophomores this season, making the UVM roster loaded with 22 underclassmen on the 30-player roster.
• The Catamounts return America East All-Conference Second Team selection Kristen Millar and America East All-Rookie pick Jennifer Maher to the team.
• Millar, the team MVP in 2006, was the top freshman in the country in draw controls per game, ground balls per game and assists per game. Overall she ranked second nationally in draw controls, fifth in ground balls and 15th in assists. She also ranked among the top 50 players in Division I in points per game.
• Maher also had a terrific season and teamed with Millar and the rest of the freshmen class to account for 56 percent of the team's points and 52 percent of the teams' goals this year. She netted 27 goals, tying Millar for the rookie record for most goals in a season and added eight assists for 35 points to finish third on the team in scoring.
• Vermont finished the year with a record of 6-11 overall, the most wins since the 2002 season and a two-game improvement over the 2005 record, head coach Jen Johnson's first year at the helm of the program.
Scouting Harvard
• Harvard finished the 2006 season with a 5-11 overall record and a 3-4 record in the Ivy League to finish tied for fifth. The Crimson return 18 letterwinners and eight newcomers.
• Natalie Curtis returns as Harvards leading scorer after notching 37 goals and three assists last year. Along with Curtis, the No. 2 and No. 3 scorers of Kaitlin Martin and Caroline Simmons return as well. Martin tallied 23 goals and nine assists, while Simmons had 21 goals and 12 assists.
• Defensively, the Crimson will be going with freshman Katherine Martino between the pipes as she is the only goalkeeper listed on the 2007 roster.
• Harvard returns an experienced group of midfielders and defenders as well in 2007.
• Tegan Leonard is in her third year now as assistant coach at Harvard after serving at UMass in a similar position under for Minutewoman head coach Carrie Bolduc.
Home Games Now At McGuirk Alumni Stadium
• The Minutewomen will host six home games this season beginning March 7 against Dartmouth. All home games will now be played in McGuirk Alumni Stadium, weather permitting, marking the first time ever that women's lacrosse has been played in the facility. All home games will feature live streaming video for free and live stats.
• If there is incliment weather on the day of or prior to a scheduled contest, home games may revert back to Garber Field.
10 Sign Early With UMass
• First-year head coach Alexis Venechanos announced today that the University of Massachusetts women's lacrosse team has signed 10 newcomers to National Letters of Intent during the Early Signing Period. This is Venechanos' first recruiting class as head coach of the Minutewomen after coming to Amherst from Northwestern where she helped the Wildcats to back-to-back NCAA Championship titles.
• The Minutewomen will welcome Aimee Dixon (North Andover, Mass.), Lindsay Hagerty (Andover, Mass.), Shanaz Kerr (Milton, Mass.), Jackie Lyons (Rocky Point, N.Y.), Kara Oloskey (Duxbury, Mass.), Kelly Radigan (Fayetteville, N.Y.), Kelsey Schreiner (Sherborn, Mass.), Haley Smith (Ijamsville, Md.), Colleen Speth (Evanston, Ill.), and Courtney Szawlowski (Leeds, Mass.) for the 2008 season.
• "I am thrilled to introduce the Class of 2011 as they are the first class in the New Era of UMass Women's Lacrosse," said Venechanos who has a total of four NCAA Championship titles to her credit (two as a player at Maryland and two at Northwestern. "These 10 student-athletes will bring a strong work ethic on and off the field to the along with speed, athleticism and passion for the game. We have been able to add players that will make an impact in all of the positions of attack, midfield, defense and goaltending. With the strong support from our administration, the continued involvement of our great alumnae, the return of a talented group of veterans and the addition of these 10 gifted student-athletes, the future is very bright for UMass."
• The class is highlighted by three All-Americans (Lyons, Smith, Speth). UMass has brought in a total of eight High School All-Americans in the last three recruiting classes.
Streaming Video
• UMass is pleased to provide streaming video for all home contests for free of charge. This service works best with BroadBand or Cable Internet subscribers. Live stats are also available for all home contests and select away games via GameTracker.
Photo Galleries
• A perfect gift for any die-hard UMass lacrosse fan are photos from UMass home games which you can purchase online! Photos come in your choice of 4x6, 8x10, or 11x14 and can be ordered from the photo galleries at UMassAthletics.com. This is a unique opportunity to capture a part of Minutewomen Lacrosse history!
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