University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutewomen Look For First Win, Wednesday Vs. Bryant
September 08, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2008
Watch Live
The UMass women's soccer team plays game two of its three-game homestand on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when it welcomes one of the newest members of Division I, Bryant University, to Rudd Field. Each of the Minutewomen's (0-1-2) three games thus far have gone into overtime, including two-consecutive ties (vs. Maine and New Hampshire). The Bulldogs come in with a 1-3 record, including their first-ever Division I win, a 3-2 overtime victory over Northern Colorado in their season-opener. Admission is free to all! For fans who can't make it, be sure to follow the action through Gametracker or watch on UMass All-Access beginning at approximately 3:50 p.m.
Sunday's Game Moved To 2 p.m.
•Please note, kickoff to UMass' game vs. Holy Cross has been moved from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
UMass-Bryant Series History
•Wednesday marks the first-ever meeting between these two schools.
•Across all sports, it marks the first of two games between UMass and Bryant this year with the second coming on Oct. 25 when football hosts the Bulldogs at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Bryant University Background
•The Bulldogs are in the first year of a four-year transition period in becoming a Division I institution.
•The perennial Division II powers will act as a D1 independent until 2012-13 when they will join the Northeast Conference and become eligible for Division I Championships.
Scouting Bryant
•In 2007, the Bulldogs finished the season with a stellar 17-2-5 mark, including 11-0-3 in Northeast-10 conference play.
•Not surprisingly, Bryant has hung tough in its first-ever season in Division I.
•The Bulldogs won their first-ever D1 game, a 3-2 overtime victory over Northern Colorado.
•Two of their three losses (to Wyoming and Providence College) were by identical 3-1 scores and another was a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Atlantic 10 conference member George Washington. Trailing 2-1 late in the game, the Colonials tied the score in the 89th minute and won the game just 41 seconds later.
•Kaitlyn Hinck (2g) and Alex Dipippo (2g) have four of the team's seven goals while Brooke Duchaney is tied for the team lead with four points (1g, 2a) and three others have two points apiece.
•Katie Mitchell has seen primary action in goal, recording a 1-2-0 record with a 2.53 GAA and .619 save percentage. Jessica Clark has started one game (losing it), while holding her own with a 3.00 GAA and .625 save percentage.
Vanessa Patry Named A-10 Co-Player Of The Week
• UMass women's soccer senior co-captain Vanessa Patry (Delmar, N.Y.) has been named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week as announced on Monday afternoon. Patry had a career day in the Minutewomen's only game last week, Thursday's 2-2 tie vs. the New Hampshire Wildcats. She scored both goals of the home-opener which tied a career-high. It marked her second-career multi-goal game, the last coming on Sept. 3, 2006 at Iona.
To read the complete release, please click here.
Shot Barrage
•The Minutewomen had 17 shots in the first half on Thursday vs. New Hampshire.
•It marked the most shots in a half since Oct. 29, 2006 at Duquesne when UMass had 17 in the first half vs. the Dukes.
•The last time UMass had more than 17 was on Oct. 3, 2004 when the Minutewomen had 18 in the second half of a 3-2 overtime win over Temple.
Going Extra
•With three overtime games to start the 2008 season, the Minutewomen have now played five-consecutive overtime contests dating back to last season.
•The five-consecutive are by far and away the most in school history. The previous high was two.
•UMass' three overtime games on the season is already tied for second all-time for overtime contests in a single season. The record was set last year when the Minutewomen went to an extra session four times.
Career Day
•Patry led the offensive attack in the home opener with both goals in UMass' 2-2 tie vs. New Hampshire on Thursday, Sept. 4.
•Her two goals tied a career-high set nearly two years ago to the day on Sept. 3, 2006 at Iona. She scored twice and added an assist to set her initial career-high in goals and a career-high in points (which still stands).
•The two goals in the first half was the first time a UMass player has scored twice in a half since Oct. 7, 2007, at Xavier. Britt Canfield scored two late in the second half in a crucial 3-1 road win over the Musketeers.
•It was the first time a player has netted two in the first half since Sydney Stoll did so on Sept. 16, 2007, in a 4-0 victory over Hartford.
There's A First Time For Everything
•Junior Katie Ruggles assisted on Patry's first goal marking her first-career assist.
•Freshman Meghan Collins assisted on the second goal which was her first-career assist (and point).
Senior Sensations
•The Minutewomen have three goals so far this season with the first being by redshirt senior Tina Rodriguez and the last two by Patry, another senior. One of the assists was credited to another veteran, redshirt senior Vanessa Lima.
•For Rodriguez, it marked her first-career goal in her 47th collegiate game. It was also her first game played in almost two full years. She was injured on Oct. 1, 2006 vs. La Salle and has been rehabbing since then with her hard work leading to her first goal.
•The feat was similar to a moment from last year when senior defender Kaelyn Caldwell recorded her first-career goal in her 59th career game. She found the back of the net in a 3-1 win at Xavier on Oct. 7.
•Lima's assist was her first point as a Minutewoman since 2005 when she netted a career-high two goals on Oct. 14 vs. Duquesne.
First Of Many?
•Junior goalkeeper Lauren Luckey had a stellar seven save performance on Aug. 29 vs. Maine to earn her first-career shutout.
•Last year, she went an appearance without allowing a goal, but it came in a relief outing on Oct. 19 vs. Fordham. Luckey replaced an injured Kristin Walker and closed out the 1-0 win.
Young Bunch
New Roles
Media Guide Now Online
Last Time Out: UMass Women's Soccer Opens Home Schedule With 2-2 Draw Against UNH "I'm disappointed because we could have put game away in the first half," said Massachusetts Head Coach Jim Rudy, "but a combination of great defensive plays by UNH, great goalkeeping and misses where we had some lay-ups prevented that. We could have put it away early and maybe have gotten more kids in the game. If we had been able to do that, it would have helped us sustain their second half surge when they made sub after sub. They did a good job in coming back with numbers and we slowed down a little bit. I'm happy, though, we made progress. It's sort of a double-edged sword. I'm sad that we gave up the lead and I'm disappointed for our players because they put a lot into it."
UMass opened the scoring early on as Patry converted the squad's third shot of the game into her first goal of the season. At the 6:51 mark, she brought down a through ball from junior Katie Ruggles and beat UNH goalkeeper Nikki Golding one-on-one with a shot high into the upper right-hand corner of the net. The assist was Ruggles' first of her career.
The Wildcats countered, however, less than four minutes later as Julie O'Shaughnessy collected a pass from Sara Hourihan and Shaunna Kaplan as the tying tally marked her first goal of the season.
The Minutewomen, who would log 17 shots in the first half alone, had a host of quality scoring chances in the period, including a deflected shot off the post by freshman Natalie Muka at 22:10 and an offensive flurry just over a minute later that saw sophomore Kelsey Anderson hit the crossbar, while Muka and Patry had point-blank shots turned aside by Golding.
Then at 31:17, UMass regained the lead on Patry's second of the game as she fired a shot from the right and tucked the ball mere inches inside the left post off a feed from freshman Meghan Collins. Patry tied her career high in goals, marking her second multi-goal game of her career, while Collins' registered her first collegiate point.
With under eight minutes to play in regulation, the Wildcats managed to tie the score at two with a tally by Sarah Hourihan at 82:55. Hourihan's shot found its way into the lower left corner of the net on a pass from Kaplan.
That would be all the scoring, however, as junior Lauren Luckey finished with six saves for the Minutewomen and Golding totaled 10 stops for UNH. UMass out-shot the Wildcats, 25-15, while corner kicks were 4-2 in favor of New Hampshire. Fouls were 9-7, against the Minutewomen.
•The UMass women's soccer program welcomes eight newcomers to this year's squad including seven freshmen.
•Freshmen: Amanda Carvalho (Cheshire, Conn.), Meghan Collins (North Wales, Pa.), Lindsey DiOrio (Bridgewater, N.J.), Rachel Miranda (Hopedale, Mass.), Natalie Muka (Cortland, N.Y.), Katie Muller (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and Maura Romano (Wexford, Pa.)
•The eighth newcomer has actually seen time with the Minutewomen in 2004 and 2005. Lima played two seasons at UMass before transferring to Salem State and then retransferring back to Amherst.
•In total, 12 of the 22 Minutewomen are either freshmen or sophomores, giving Head Coach Jim Rudy one of the youngest groups he has ever coached.
•With such a young team, Rudy is turning to experienced veterans to lead the way. He used the same starting lineup for all three games thus far.
•In total, five of the starters are seniors, two juniors and four sophomores.
•Junior Cristina Adams and freshmen Meghan Collins and Natalie Muka have seen action off the bench.
•After working her way into more and more playing time, senior Amy Ballew was rewarded with her first-career start on Aug. 24 at Binghamton along with starting the Aug. 29 game vs. Maine. She played all 110 minutes in both ties (vs. the Black Bears, and the New Hampshire Wildcats).
•The 2008 Media Guide is now online! Click here
for the link to download the guide or to purchase a hard copy!
AMHERST, Mass. - With the help of two goals from senior co-captain Vanessa Patry (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central), the UMass women's soccer team opened its 2008 home schedule with a 2-2 draw against New Hampshire on Thursday afternoon on Rudd Field. The Minutewomen are now 0-1-2 to start the year, while the Wildcats sit at 1-2-1 following the contest.
