University of Massachusets Athletics
Field Hockey Opens Season By Hosting BC, Indiana
August 26, 2010 | Field Hockey
Aug. 26, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. -
UMASS INVITATIONAL
Aug. 27-29 • Garber Field • Amherst, Mass.
Aug. 27 • 2 PM
Boston College at UMass
TV: CBS3 Now (Comcast 293)
Webcast: UMass All-Access at UMassAthletics.com
Live Stats: GameTracker at UMassAthletics.com
Aug. 28 • 2 PM
Boston College vs. Indiana
TV: None
Webcast: None
Live Stats: GameTracker at UMassAthletics.com
Aug. 29 • 2 PM
Indiana at UMass
TV: CBS3 Now (Comcast 293)
Webcast: UMass All-Access at UMassAthletics.com
Live Stats: GameTracker at UMassAthletics.com
The 2010 edition of UMass field hockey makes its debut this weekend by hosting the UMass Invitational at Garber Field featuring Boston College and Indiana. The Minutewomen and Eagles kick things off on Friday with a 2 p.m. game between the intrastate rivals. On Saturday, BC and Indiana meet in a 2 p.m. contest, and on Sunday, UMass and the Hoosiers close out play at 2 p.m. Both UMass games can be watched live on TV on CBS3 Now (Comcast 293) and online on UMass All-Access.
Welcome Back
The UMass Invitational welcomes two teams coached by UMass alums. BC is led by Ainslee (Press) Lamb '96 and Indiana is coached by Amy Robertson '88.
Lamb played for UMass in 1992 before graduating from the University of Toronto in 1994. She returned to UMass to earn her Master's in 1996. Lamb was named A-10 Player of the Year and to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 1992 in leading the Minutewomen to the Final Four. Lamb scored 25 goals in her one season, third-most in school history. She was later a graduate assistant coach for three seasons, all NCAA Tournament years UMass. Lamb is in her sixth season as head coach of the Eagles.
Robertson played for UMass from 1984-87, leading the Minutewomen to four NCAA Tournament appearances, capped off by a Final Four trip in 1987 as senior. UMass had a record of 56-20-6 in her career. Robertson was a two-sport star, being named All-Northeast Region in both field hockey and lacrosse. She began her coaching career as a student assistant at UMass in 1988 and later returned as an assistant coach from 1992-96. Roberston is in her 11th season as head coach of the Hoosiers.
Indiana Assistant Coach Kelly Doton is a native a Greenfield, Mass. She was an All-American at Wake Forest at starred for the US National Team.
Four Key Upperclassmen Lead UMass
UMass lost three players to graduation: midfielder Cher King, forward Jill Powers, and goalkeeper Sarah Williams, but
returns nine of last season's 11 starters, including one senior on each of the lines in defender Jaime Bourazeris, forward
Katie Kelly, and 2009 All-American midfielder Makaela Potts. Two-time All-Conference first team goalie Alesha Widdall
also returns for her junior season.
Fittingly a strength of the team since Sowry, a former goalkeeper for the Australian National Team, took over in 2007, UMass once again looks strong between the pipes in 2010. Widdall is coming off back-to-back First Team All-Conference seasons, including NFHCA All-American honors in 2008. A US Junior National Team member, she is 25-13 in her UMass career with 13 shutouts. Widdall's career save percentage of .779 and goals against average of 1.27 rank third and seventh, respectively, of all active Division I players.
A stalwart on defense for UMass over the previous three seasons, Bourazeris returns for her senior season to once again lead a unit that has been a strength of the team over her career. A skilled defender and outletter, Bourazeris also provides punch to the offensive penalty corner unit, tallying 34 points on 12 goals and 10 assists in three seasons.
Potts will once again be the foundation for UMass at the center midfield spot. The three-year starter and two-time All- American has shown steady improvement each season as she became UMass' points leader in 2009 with 31 on 10 goals and 11 assists. The Australian native anchors both corner units in addition to controlling the center of the field.
In her second season as team captain, Kelly will once again be the physical and emotional leader of the UMass attacking unit. The senior led the Minutewomen with 11 goals last season and added six assists for a career-high 28 points. Her relentless and aggressive style also makes her the leader of UMass' press, forcing turnovers and creating offensive chances. Her skills have steadily improved and she gained experience playing at the USFHA High Performance National Championship this summer.
Series History
UMass leads the all-time series against Boston College, 19-7, but the Eagles have dominated as of late. After the Minutewomen won the first 16 meetings between the schools from 1982 to 1997, the Eagles finally defeated UMass in 1999. After three straight UMass wins from 1999-2001, BC has won six-straight, including last season's 2-1 overtime game at Garber Field.
UMass and Indiana have squared off just once before on the field hockey pitch, a 4-1 Minutewomen victory on Sept. 22, 2001 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Scouting The Eagles
No. 9 Boston College is coming off a 13-7 season in 2009 in the always difficult ACC. The Eagles made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005. Head Coach Ainslee Lamb returns eight starters from last season and 13 overall. She welcomes six freshmen to go along with two graduate students that should provide an immediate impact.
The biggest loss BC suffered was the graduation of leading scorer Chelsea Feole, She scored 26 of the club's 70 goals last season, including one in BC's 2-1 victory over UMass.
Forward Janna Actil is BC's top returning scorer. She was second on the team in '09 with 11 goals and 13 assists. She scored the game-winner against UMass last season.
Senior midfielder Emily Kozniuk is the team captain. She was third on the team in points with 27 and led BC in assists with 15.
Kristine Stigas returns in goal for BC. She played all 20 games in net in 2009, recording a 2.35 GAA and a .676 save percentage.
Scouting The Hoosiers
No. 17 Indiana is coming off a 14-7 season in 2009, including a 4-2 mark in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers advanced to the Big Ten title game, falling to Michigan State, 3-2, and lost in the NCAA first round to Wake Forest, 2-0, ending the season ranked No. 13. IU returns 13 players from that team and welcomes eight freshmen.
Redshirt sophomore Morgan Fleetwood returns after earning All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Tournament honors in 2009. In her rookie season, she set a single-season IU record in shots with 89 and tallying the second most goals (15) and points (36) in single-season history.
Junior Corey Brautigam was a First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Tournament Team and NFHCA and womensfieldhockey.com Third Team All-American honoree as a sophomore. She recorded four goals and two assists in 2009 for 10 points in 21 games for the Hoosiers.
Senior goalkeeper Alex Mann, who recorded 80 saves and a 1.89 goals against average as a junior, leads the IU defense. She collected 14 wins and one shutout in 21 games.
UMass Field Hockey On TV
UMass and CBS3 Springfield have reached an agreement where 100 UMass sporting events in the 2010-11 season will air live on CBS 3 Now starting this August. 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.
Seven UMass field hockey home game this season will air on CBS 3 Now, beginning with this weekend's games against BC and Indiana. On Friday, UMass Hall of Famer and former coach Pam Hixon will join "Voice of the Minutemen" Josh Maurer in the broadcast booth. On Sunday, former UMass player Erin Parker will join Adam Frenier in calling the action. The other televised games will be Sept. 24 vs. Vermont, Oct. 3 vs. Syracuse, Oct. 9 vs. Saint Louis, Oct. 15 vs. Lock Haven, and Oct. 24 vs. Saint Joseph's.
As always, UMass field hockey's home games will also be webcast on UMass All-Access, while free live stats will be available online via GameTracker.
Check UMassAthletics.com or CBS3 Springfield.com for up-to-date broadcast schedules of UMass games.
