University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutewomen Edged By Northeastern In Exhibition, 1-0
August 20, 2007 | Field Hockey
Aug. 20, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass Field Hockey Team, under first-year Head Coach Justine Sowry, played outside competition for the first time in 2007 on Saturday afternoon, taking on Northeastern in an exhibition game at Garber Field. The Huskies defeated the Minutewomen by a score of 1-0. It was UMass' lone preseason game of the year.
Despite the loss, the Minutewomen's defense was impressive, holding the Huskies to only one goal.
"Our defense was very solid," Sowry commented. "We have a lot of experienced players back there and they are getting better and better. Their knowledge and confidence is definitely shining through."
Senior Captain Erin O'Brien (Annandale, Va.), who along with fellow Senior Kristina DoRosario (Oakville, Ontario) leads the Mintewomen's defensive unit, agreed with Sowry assessment of the defense.
"We had a lot of good ball movement, which is something we have been working on. There are still things that we need to improve on, but it was a good starting point," O'Brien said.
Though they didn't put any goals on the scoreboard, the offense created many scoring opportunities that Sowry thinks with time will turn into goals.
"We gave all of our forwards game-time and are just waiting to see who steps up and puts the ball in the back of the net. We need to be thorough in our passing and finishing," Sowry said.
One of the returning forwards that will be relied on for scoring is Sophomore Cher King (Christ Church, Barbados), who had seven goals and four assists in 2006.
"We are working on patterns and working our freshmen into our forward line," King said.
UMass will take what was learned Saturday and use it to prepare for the regular season-opener on Sunday when they travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange in a 1 p.m. game.
The Minutewomen will make their home debut on Wednesday, August 26 against Sacred Heart. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Garber Field. Fans that can't make it to the game can follow the action via streaming video and Gametracker at UMassAthletics.com.