Oct. 6, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass women's soccer team will continue its Atlantic 10 slate with a trip to Ohio this weekend. On Friday, Oct. 8, the Minutewomen (4-7) will play at Xavier at 7 p.m. Then on Sunday, Oct. 10, the squad will head to Dayton for a 1 p.m. match. UMass is 1-1 in conference play after splitting its matches at home last weekend vs. Charlotte and Saint Louis.
Scouting Xavier
Xavier enters Friday's match with the Minutewomen at 5-6-0 on the season, 1-1-0 in Atlantic 10 games. The Musketeers have dropped three of their past four matches via shutout (2-0 at Evansville, 1-0 vs. Cincinnati and 1-0 vs. Fordham), while defeating La Salle, 4-1, in the squads' A-10 opener on Oct. 1.
Jessica Brooks and Lauren Heap pace the squad with five goals apiece for 10 points each, while Mariah Whitaker follows with six points on two goals and two assists.
Goalkeeper Jennifer Perri has played in all 11 games for a total of 905:49 minutes. She holds a 1.19 goals-against average and an .800 save percentage with one shutout.
UMass leads the all-time series against Xavier, 10-5-1, though the Musketeers won last year's meeting, 2-1 in overtime. The series began on Oct. 4, 1992, a 2-0 win for the Minutewomen.
Scouting Dayton
Dayton, who will face Rhode Island on Friday night before playing the Minutewomen on Sunday, enters the weekend with a record of 10-2-0 and currently boasts a seven-game winning streak. The squads' only losses of the season, both 1-0 defeats, have come at Colorado College and home vs. Ohio State. The Flyers boast seven shutouts on the year and are outscoring opponents, 23-6.
Colleen Williams leads Dayton with 27 points on 11 goals and five assists. Jerica Dewolfe and Kelly Blumenschein each have seven points, on three goals and one assist and on two goals and three assists, respectively.
Lisa Rodgers and Katherine Boone have split time in net for Dayton. Rodgers has played in seven games for a total of 648:15 minutes and boasts a 0.28 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Boone has started five games, playing a total of 451:23 minutes and holds a 0.80 goals-against average and a .826 save percentage.
Dayton leads the all-time series against UMass, 11-4, and has won 10 of the past 11 meetings. The Minutewomen last defeated the Flyers, 1-0, on Oct. 12, 2008 in Amherst. Dayton won the first-ever match against UMass, 3-2, on Nov. 10, 1996, the Atlantic 10 championship game in Kingston, R.I.
Last Time Out
UMass picked up its first conference win of the season in a 1-0 shutout of Saint Louis on Oct. 3 at Rudd Field.
In the 74th minute, Senior Therese Smith was taken down just outside the penalty area, setting up what would be the lone goal of the afternoon. Freshman Lauren Skesavage took the free kick for the Minutewomen, but sent the shot off the crossbar. However, the ball came to junior Meghan Collins on the rebound and she booted it home at 73:23.
Freshman Emersyn Pullan came up with a clutch save in the 79th minute to keep Saint Louis off the board, touching a shot by Ashley Brazill over the crossbar. Pullan finished with two stops on the afternoon. Walsh totaled four saves in net for the Billikens.
The Minutewomen out-shot Saint Louis, 14-5, in the match, while corner kicks were even at three apiece. Fouls were 11-9, against UMass.
Offense Overview
Twelve players have accounted for UMass' 52 points on 18 goals and 16 assists.
Junior Deanna Colarossi leads the squad with 11 points on five goals and one assist, she scored twice in UMass' 4-0 win at Fairfield.
Senior Therese Smith also has 11 points, coming on four goals and three assists. Nine of her points have come in the past five games.
Senior Ashley Hamel and junior Meghan Collins follow with seven points apiece. Collins has three goals and one assist, while Hamel has two goals and three assists. The two have accounted for all four of UMass' game-winning goals, each with two on the year.
UMass Offense Measures Up In A-10
As a team, UMass ranks in the top five of the Atlantic 10 for every offensive category as the squad is fourth in goals (18), goals per-game (1.64) and assists per game (1.45) and fifth in points (52), assists (16) and shots (162).
Senior Therese Smith and junior Deanna Colarossi are both tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring with 11 points apiece. Colarossi's five goal total ties her for sixth in the conference.
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 18 goals to date (11 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 11 games, UMass has 18 goals on 162 shots, while in 2009 through 11 games, the team had six goals on 110 shots.
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, two have started all 11 games (Kayla Austin and Brittany Moore).
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, 162-146, 80-72 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 103-97-25.
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 63, starting 46 of the past 47. Smith is the team's career scoring leader with 13 goals and nine assists for 35 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 travel to North Kingston, R.I., on Sunday, Oct. 17, to face Rhode Island at 1 p.m. 
