University of Massachusets Athletics
Widdall Named A-10 Rookie Of The Week
October 21, 2008 | Field Hockey
Oct. 21, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - After a week that saw her take home a gold medal and two conference victories, UMass' Alesha Widdall was named Atlantic 10 field hockey Rookie of the Week on Monday. The freshman goalkeeper led the U.S. U-21 National Team to a gold medal at the Pan Am Junior Championship and then rejoined her UMass teammates in time to record two A-10 wins on the road, at La Salle and at West Chester.
While her UMass teammates were defeating Saint Louis, 5-0, on Oct.12, Widdall was winning gold as the United States Under-21 National Team defeated Chile, 2-1, in overtime to win the Pan Am Junior Championship in Mexico City. The freshman goalkeeper got the victory in net in the gold medal match. Junior forward Cher King played in the tournament as well, captaining the Barbados team.
On Friday, Widdall posted six saves to lead UMass to a 2-0 win at La Salle. The shutout was the freshman's fourth of the season. On Sunday, she got the win in goal again, a 4-1 victory at West Chester. Widdall was 2-0 on the weekend with a shutout and a .875 save percentage.
The Whitney Point, N.Y. native is now 9-3 in her freshman season. She currently leads the A-10 Conference in goals against average (1.13) and save percentage (.772). Those stats rank her ninth and 15th, respectively, in the country.
Widdall and the 17th-ranked Minutewomen (12-3), led by head coach Justine Sowry, are off to their best start since the 2000 season, when they posted a 19-4 record.. The defending A-10 champions now sit alone in first place in the conference standings at 4-0. They return to action this weekend when they close A-10 play and the home portion of their schedule by hosting Saint Joseph's on Friday and Temple on Sunday for Senior Day at Garber Field.
