University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Lacrosse Heads To Temple Saturday
April 01, 2010 | Women's Lacrosse
April 1, 2010
Minutewomen Take on Temple, Looking for Third Straight A-10 Win
• The UMass women's lacrosse team faces Temple this Saturday at 1PM in Philadelphia. This will be the Minutewomen's lone game of the week and their third Atlantic-10 match up of the season, looking to add another win to their 2-0 A-10 record. Temple is 3-5 on the year.
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The Series
• UMass has a 4-27-1 all-time record against Temple. Last year they defeated the Owls during season play 16-4. Prior to last year the Minutewomen had not defeated Temple since 2002 at home and have not defeated the Owls at Temple since April 1999.
Last Time Out: UMass Begins A-10 Play with Two Wins
• UMass women's lacrosse began Atlantic 10 play this past weekend defeating George Washington and Richmond.
• The Minutewomen came out strong against Richmond scoring five of the first six goals and entering half time with a 7-4 lead.
• Nina Sarcona led UMass offensively against Richmond scoring three goals followed by Jesse O'Donnell and Merritt Cosgrove recording two goals.
• In goal Katie Florence stopped Richmond, recording nine saves.
• Eight Minutewomen contributed to the teams 12 goals against Richmond.
• The Minutewomen defeated George Washington 13-7 for their first A-10 victory of the season.
• Jackie Lyons and Jesse O'Donnell both had a four point game, each tallying three goals and an assist against GW.
• The Minutewomen were trailing 5-6 at half time but came back out with intensity outscoring the Colonials 8-1 during the second half.
Next Up: Duquesne and St. Bonaventure
• UMass will take on the Duquesne Dukes Friday, April 9 (3PM) at Rooney Field.
• Playing at Rooney Field will give the Minutewomen a chance to preview the site of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
• The series between UMass and Duquesne is tied at 6-6. Last years meeting served as proof of how well matched the two teams are. The Minutewomen suffered a devastating loss after three overtimes. The Dukes have a 5-6 record this season.
• UMass will continue their road trip on Sunday, April 11 (12PM) at St. Bonaventure.
• The Minutewomen lead the all-time series against the Bonnies 7-3. During last years match up UMass won 14-13 during regular season A-10 play. St. Bonaventure currently has a record of 5-5.
Scouting UMass
• UMass (5-6) is led offensively by Jesse O'Donnell (25g), Jackie Lyons (18g, 8a), and Merritt Cosgrove (13g, 3a), through the first 11 games. O'Donnell has posted a point in every game this season, while Lyons and Cosgrove have a point in every game but one.
• Katie Florence has started the season with a 10.02 goals against average while posting a .419 save percentage.
• Through nine games, UMass is averaging 10 goals per game on 43.5% shooting.
In The A-10
• Within the Atlantic 10 the Minutewomen stand fifth in goals, with a total of 133, averaging 11.3 a game.
• UMass stands in fourth place for draw controls within the A-10. The Minutewomen have a total of 122 controls, with an average of 12.2 per game.
• Jackie Lyons and Merritt Cosgrove are tied in second for game winning goals in the A-10. Lyons and Cosgrove record two each.
Venechanos' Atlantic 10 Success
• Since starting at UMass in 2007 head coach Alexis Venechanos has continually improved the team's Atlantic 10 record. In her first season the Minutewomen went 3-4 in A-10 (5th Place) and were unable to make the tournament. In 2008 Venechanos rallied her team to a 4-3 record in A-10 season play and guided her team to the Championship Game (1-1). 2009 proved to be the Minutewomen's best season with Venechanos winning the Atlantic 10 Regular Season title (6-1), and the A-10 Tournament title (2-0). The Minutewomen went on to face Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but lost to the defending National Champions. This was UMass' first NCAA berth in 25 years.
• Since joining the UMass women's lacrosse team Venechanos has an overall record of 31-34, Atlantic 10 regular season record of 15-8, and an A-10 Tournament record of 3-1.
Pelletier, Sarcona Net 1st Career Hat Tricks
• Danielle Pelletier scored her first career hat trick in the 18-8 win at UConn. Pelletier scored a career high four goals and added an assist in the win.
• Nina Sarcona posted her first career hat trick on March 10 in the 9-5 win over Yale doing so on just three shots.
• Sarcona earned her second career hat trick on March 28 in a 12-8 win over Richmond. Both of Sarcona's hat tricks have been off three shots, finding the back of the net every time.
Lucky Goal Eleven
• The UMass women's lacrosse team has won every game when they have scored more than 10 goals. Once the Minutewomen reach goal number 10 they must be reminded of the two games they lost 8-10 and gain extra motivation to keep pushing and rallying.
Florence Earns A-10 Honors
• Sophomore goalie Katie Florence is named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week (March 29). This is the second time Florence has received this honor during the 2010 season.
• Florence earned two wins on the weekend, allowing a combined 15 goals while making 17 saves. Florence held George Washington to just seven goals and Richmond to eight. At George Washington she made eight saves facing 17 shots, while at Richmond, she stopped nine of 23 shots faced. Florence also recorded three groundballs against GW.
• For her career, Florence is now 16-13 overall with an 10.4 GAA and a .443 save percentage. She has allowed 10-or-fewer goals 15 times in her two years.
• As a freshman in 2009, Katie Florence established herself as one of the up-and-coming goalies in the country and one of the best in the Atlantic 10. She finished the year with an 11.43 goals against average and a .462 save percentage along with an 11-8-0 record. She started all 20 games playing nearly 1,200 minutes in cage.
Lyons Closing In On Top-10 Program Marks
• Jackie Lyons has added her name to the UMass top-10 career assists lists. Going into this past weekends games she needed only two more assists to reach this category. Lyons recorded one assist at George Washington and two against Richmond. Lyons is closing in on reaching the UMass top-10 in career points and goals. She needs just 12 points, and 25 goals to reach 10th in each category.
Lyons Leads UMass.
• After a break-out sophomore season, junior Jackie Lyons is one of the top returning players for the Minutewomen. In 2009, she nearly set the school's single-season record for points with 71 on 44 goals and 27 assists. She also had seven game-winning goals.
• For her career, she has played in 46 career games with 103 points (67 goals, 36 assists).
• This past summer, Lyons earned a spot on the U.S. Developmental Team roster and has been training with some of the nation's top lacrosse players through the offseason and preseason schedule.
Houlis Gets Third Career Multi-Goal Game
• In the loss at Stony Brook, defender Ali Houlis netted her second career multi-goal game scoring two of UMass six goals. Houlis had a pair of goals in 2009 in the 17-2 win at La Salle as a freshman.
• In UMass' win over George Washington Houlis recorded two goals.
Trio Earns A-10 Awards
• Following the wins against Holy Cross and Connecticut, Jesse O'Donnell, Lauren Terracciano and Katie Florence each earned weekly honors from the Atlantic 10. O'Donnell was named the Performer of the Week, Terracciano was tabbed the Rookie of the Week, and Florence was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week.
COSGROVE, WALKER GO INTERNATIONAL
• Senior Merritt Cosgrove and associate head coach Acacia Walker each spent time abroad over the summer in the FIL World Cup held in Prague. Cosgrove played for Team Ireland along with former teammate Jackie Rosenzweig, while Walker played for Gold medalist Team USA. Cosgrove and Rosenzweig helped the Irish to a fifth-place finish in their first FIL World Cup competition.
SMITH ADDS SCORING PUNCH
• One of the big surprises last season was the emergence of Haley Smith on attack. Smith finished the year with 33 goals and 5 assists as the third leading scorer for UMass. As a freshman in 2008, she tallied two goals and four assists in 18 games.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
• Although only losing three starters, all seniors, from last season's squad, Alexis Venechanos will need to find some players to fill the voids left by the key trio of Holly Drown, Meghan Reddy and Jackie Rosenzweig.
• Reddy and Drown were the second and fourth leading scorers on the team, respectively. Reddy notched 35 goals and 11 assists to go with a school-record 78 draw controls. Twice she had 12 draw controls in a game which is among the best in NCAA history. Drown had 30 goals and 5 assists along with 44 draw controls and 22 groundballs - second most on the team in both.
• Rosenzweig started every game of her career and was one of the best defensive players ever at UMass. She finished her career with 84 caused turnovers and 100 groundballs and was a first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection in 2009.
WHAT A SEASON 2009 WAS
• It was a magical finish to 2009 as the Minutewomen won eight of their final nine games to make the first NCAA Tournament since 1984. UMass tied a school record for wins in A-10 play (6-1) and posted the most overall wins (11) since 2003. With 204 goals scored, UMass set a new single-season team scoring record as well as a new team record for draw controls (258). The 269 points were also the second best mark in school history.
Streaming Video
• Can't make a home game? Have friends and family back home who want to keep up with the Minutewomen? Sign up for the UMass All-Access Package and you can watch every home game live on the Internet. Along with live games, fans can check out interviews with the coaches and players, news highlights, and feature stories on the team.
Order UMass Action Photos
• UMass is pleased to offer fans the chance to purchase action photos from all women's lacrosse photo galleries that are posted on UMassAthletics.com. When viewing the photo gallery, simply click the "Buy Now" tab to order the photo from Replay Photos. You can even choose custom sizes, frames and other options. These make great birthday, holiday or graduation gifts and are perfect for and UMass fan!
Sign Up For The UMass Lacrosse E-mail List
• Want to get all the latest information on the women's lacrosse team delivered straight to your E-Mail Inbox? Sign up for the UMass Women's Lacrosse E-Mail List and you will received game previews, recaps and feature stories delivered straight to you. • To sign up, send an e-mail with the subject line "Sign Up For Women's Lacrosse E-Mail List" to jsinnett@admin.umass.edu.
