Oct. 21, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass women's soccer team will close out its home schedule this weekend as the squad will play host to Temple on Friday, Oct. 22 at 4 p.m., and Saint Joseph's on Sunday Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. on Rudd Field. Friday's match against the Owls will air on Comcast Digital Cable channel 293 in Western Massachusetts. Then on Sunday, prior to the game against the Hawks, a Senior Day ceremony will be held, honoring the senior members of this year's squad.
Scouting Temple
Temple is 5-9-1 on the year, 0-4-1 in Atlantic 10 play. After earning a point with a 1-1 draw at Richmond, the Owls have dropped their last three games at home vs. Saint Joseph's (2-1), Dayton (3-0) and Xavier (1-0, 2OT). Temple also suffered a loss in its A-10 opener, 2-1 at George Washington.
Nikki Conn has a team-best 20 points on eight goals and four assists. Allicia and Kate Yurkovic follow with 14 points apiece on five goals and four assists. Kelly Diviny paces the Owls with six assists and has eight points on the year.
Three goalkeepers have seen time in net for Temple, led by Tara Murphy's nine games started and 797:02 minutes. Murphy holds a 2.15 goals against average and a .716 save percentage. Her record is 2-6-1 with one shutout.
UMass is 11-3-1 all-time against Temple, a series that began with a 4-0 win for the Minutewomen on Sept. 21, 1993. The last time the teams met, Sept. 28, 2008, the squads played to a scoreless draw in Ambler, Pa.
Scouting Saint Joseph's
Saint Joseph's, who will play at Rhode Island on Friday night before facing the Minutewomen on Sunday, is 5-9-0 on the season, 2-3 in the Atlantic 10. The Hawks have won two of their past three matches entering the weekend, logging wins over Temple (2-1) and Xavier (1-0). In Atlantic 10 play, Saint Joseph's has fallen to Richmond (2-1, OT), George Washington (2-1) and Dayton (2-0).
Jen Pfeiffer has scored nine of the Hawks' 17 goals on the season, while also logging two assists and leads the team with 20 points. Mo Hawkins has 13 points on four goals and five assists.
Christine Neal has seen the bulk of the action in goal, playing in 12 games for a total of 1095:02 minutes. She holds a 2.05 goals-against average and a .691 save percentage to go along with two shutouts.
The Minutewomen are 10-2 all-time against Saint Joseph's, in a series that began with a 4-0 victory by UMass on Sept. 24, 1996. UMass has won the last three games against the Hawks, outscoring Saint Joseph's, 7-1 in those contests. Therese Smith and Meredith Fox scored in last year's meeting, while Sydney Stoll picked up an assist on Smith's goal.
Offense Overview
Thirteen players have accounted for UMass' 62 points on 21 goals and 20 assists.
Senior Therese Smith is the team's top scorer with 13 points on five goals and three assists. She has registered points in six out of the past nine games.
Junior Deanna Colarossi follows with 12 points on five goals and two assists, she scored twice in UMass' 4-0 win at Fairfield.
Junior Meghan Collins and senior Ashley Hamel are just shy of double-digit point totals with nine and eight, respectively. Collins has three goals and three assists, while Hamel has two goals and four assists. The two have accounted four of UMass' five game-winning goals, each with two on the year.
In matches the squad has won, the Minutewomen are out-scoring their opponents by a 14-1 margin, nearly doubling up in shots, 90-46.
Doing Their Part For Breast Cancer Awareness
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Minutewomen will be going pink this weekend.
The squad will wear pink t-shirts during warm up, pink shoelaces and pink prewrap for both matches.
An information booth will be on site where those in attendance can pick up literature on breast cancer and prevention, provided by University Health Services. Pink ribbons will be distributed there, as well.
Fans attending the games are encouraged to show their support for breast cancer awareness by joining the team in wearing pink this weekend.
Senior Salute
Prior to Sunday's match vs. Saint Joseph's, seniors Kelsey Anderson, Meghan Gould, Ashley Hamel, Therese Smith, Sydney Stoll and Alyssa Visconti will be honored with a Senior Day ceremony.
The group has played in a combined 348 games with 292 starts, totaling 93 points on 33 goals and 27 assists.
Making Strides In A-10 Play
Junior Deanna Colarossi's goal in the 55th minute of UMass' match vs. Charlotte on Oct. 1 was the first goal scored for the Minutewomen against the 49ers since winning the first meeting between the squads, 2-0, on Oct. 28, 2005.
In the same weekend, the Minutewomen picked up their first ever win in their series against Saint Louis. UMass was previously 0-5-0 all-time against the Billikens. Junior Megan Collins' goal vs. Saint Louis was also the first for UMass in the all-time series.
Now Vs. Then
The Minutewomen have scored 21 goals to date (14 games) and surpassed last year's total of 15 goals in 19 games just nine games into the season. The current total is the most by a UMass team since 2007 (28 goals in 17 games).
Through 14 games, UMass has 21 goals on 187 shots, while in 2009 through 14 games, the team had 12 goals on 149 shots.
The Minutewomen are currently one win shy of their total from a year ago (6) with four games still remaining in the regular season. UMass last won 6+ games in 2007.
Emily's Assist
Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Cota assist on UMass' second tally at Oakland on Sept. 19 was not only the first of her career, but marked the first by a UMass netminder since Kelly Nigh recorded an assist vs. Xavier on Oct. 10, 2003.
Youth Movement
Nine freshmen and sophomores have seen time in the starting lineup this season. Freshman Brittany Moore is one of five players to start all 14 games.
Out of the 12 Minutewomen who have registered points thus far this season, seven have been from the freshmen and sophomore classes. Out of the five remaining, three scored their first goals in a UMass uniform.
Offensive Outburst
UMass' 4-0 win over Vermont on Sept. 3 marked the most goals scored by the Minutewomen since Sept. 16, 2007, when the squad defeated Hartford, 4-0, at home. Current senior Sydney Stoll scored twice in that match against the Hawks, while classmate Kelsey Anderson chipped in an assist.
The Minutewomen repeated the four-goal output three games later with a 4-0 victory on the road at Fairfield, the squad's largest margin of victory on the road since Oct. 3, 1999 at St. Joseph's (5-1 win).
Prior to this fall, the last time UMass won two games by 4+ goals in the same season was 2001, back-to-back victories over St. Bonaventure (5-0) and Duquesne (7-0).
The Minutewomen are out-shooting opponents, 187-184, 97-89 in shots on goal.
Home Sweet Home
In the history of UMass women's soccer the squad is 216-67-11 (.753) all-time in Amherst. Five of UMass' six wins last season came at Rudd Field.
The Minutewomen are 38-36-2 (.513) all-time when playing on Rudd.
Welcome Matz
Ed Matz, the former Northeastern women's soccer head coach and 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year, was named the fifth head coach in UMass women's soccer history on Jan. 7, 2010, and is in his first season on the sidelines with the Minutewomen.
In his coaching tenure at Northeastern, nine seasons with the men's team (1996-2004) and 11 with the women's (1999-2009), Matz posted a combined record of 182-165-41.
Matz earned his first victory as UMass head coach on Sept. 3, a 4-0 win over Vermont. The win also was Matz's 100th of his career as a women's head coach. His career women's coaching record is 104-99-25.
By The Numbers
UMass returns eight players who saw regular time in the starting lineup last fall, not counting goalkeeper Emily Cota. Cota saw action in 17 of the team's 19 games in 2009, playing 1,150 minutes in net.
Of the 42 points the Minutewomen totaled last season, returnees accounted for all but seven. UMass brings back four of its top-five in scoring from 2009, including senior co-captains Therese Smith and Sydney Stoll.
More On The Captains
In 2009, Therese Smith led the Minutewomen with 13 points on five goals and three assists, including two game-winners. She has played in every possible contest for a consecutive matches streak of 68, starting 49 of the past 50. Smith is the team's career scoring leader with 14 goals and nine assists for 37 points.
After returning from injury, which caused her to miss all of 2008, Sydney Stoll made a huge impact in her return to the lineup last season. She registered 11 points on five goals and one assist and represented UMass on the 2009 Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team.
Firsts
Sophomore Jenna Goodwin and freshmen Kayla Austin, Annie Ward and Brittany Moore all made their first collegiate starts in UMass' season opener vs. Washington on Aug. 27. Goodwin played in 12 games as a freshman in 2009, registering one assist.
Freshmen Jen Houtmann, Blair Ferry and Lauren Skesavage made their debuts as Minutewomen off the bench. Skesavage registered two of UMass' nine shots in the contest.
Ferry and Skesavage earned their first career starts against Vermont on Sept. 3, while Austin and junior Meghan Collins scored their first collegiate goals in that match.
Senior Ashley Hamel earned her first collegiate tally in overtime vs. New Hampshire on Sept. 10, while Ferry scored her first goal on Sept. 12 at Fairfield.
Juniors Lindsey DiOrio and Deanna Colarossi both made their first starts for UMass at Oakland on Sept. 19. Houtmann, Moore and sophomore Emily Cota all notched their first career assists vs. the Golden Grizzlies, as well.
Skesavage picked up her first collegiate assist on Sept. 26 vs. Harvard. Freshman Emersyn Pullan made her UMass debut in that match, stopping all three shots she faced in 40:09 minutes of play.
Pullan made her first career start on Oct. 1 vs. Charlotte. She earned her first win and shutout on Oct. 3 against Saint Louis.
New Faces
The UMass roster includes 10 newcomers: Kayla Austin, Deanna Colarossi, Blair Ferry, Jen Houtmann, Brittany Moore, Emersyn Pullan, Jenna Skagerlind, Lauren Skesavage, Annie Ward and Alexa Zielinski.
The group consists of five forwards, four defenders and one goalkeeper with four players hailing from Massachusetts, two from Connecticut and one each from Georgia, Pennsylvania, Canada and England.
Colarossi, a junior transfer from Oakland, was an All-Summit League Second Team selection in 2009 after leading the Golden Grizzlies in scoring with 15 points on seven goals and one assist, including three game-winners.
UMass Women's Soccer Now On Twitter
To stay up-to-date on the latest Minutewomen soccer news and scores, follow UMass women's soccer on Twitter, @UMassWSoccer.
Select Games To Air On CBS 3 Now
UMass has broadened its relationship with CBS 3 Springfield, as the two have reached an agreement where 100 UMass sporting events in the 2010-11 season will air on CBS 3 Now.
The channel can be seen on Comcast Digital Cable channel 293 in Western Massachusetts and will soon air on both Charter and Time Warner cable systems. CBS 3 Now has recently been re-branded and formerly was known as CBS 3 Weather Now.
Women's soccer has five games in the package: vs. Vermont (Sept. 3), vs. New Hampshire (Sept. 10), vs. Harvard (Sept. 26), vs. Charlotte (Oct. 1) and vs. Temple (Oct. 22)
Cause For Celebration
Five players on the UMass rosters have in-season birthdays: Sydney Stoll (Sept. 16), Jess Howe (Oct. 1), Jen Houtmann (Oct. 4), Rachel Miranda (Oct. 21), Meghan Collins (Oct. 27)
Next Up
The Minutewomen will wrap up the regular season on the road, playing at Fordham on Friday, Oct. 29, and at La Salle on Sunday, Oct. 31. 
