University of Massachusets Athletics
#20 Field Hockey Travels To #18 American, #2 Maryland
September 16, 2010 | Field Hockey
Sept. 16, 2010
b>Sept. 18 • Noon
#20 UMass (3-3) at #18 American (3-2)
William I Jacobs Recreational Complex, Washington, D.C.
Streaming Video: Watch Live
Live Stats: GameTracker
Sept. 19 • 2 PM
#20 UMass (3-3) at #2 Maryland (5-0)
Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, College Park, Md.
Audio: WMUC Sports
Live Stats: GameTracker
AMHERST, Mass. - Coming off a huge 2-0 weekend that saw the Minutewomen knock off No. 4 UConn and come from behind to win at Yale, UMass field hockey (3-3) hits the road this weekend for a pair of games against top-flight competition, playing at No. 18 American (3-2) on Saturday at noon, and then taking on No. 2 Maryland (5-0) on Sunday at 2 p.m.
UMASS TAKING ON THE BEST
These two road games complete a stretch of four out of five games against defending conference champions for the Minutewomen. After falling 2-1 at America East champion Boston University two weekends ago, the Minutewomen defeated the Big East champion Huskies on Saturday, 1-0. American is the defending Patriot League champion, while Maryland, winner of three of the last five National Championships, is the ACC champ.
All three of UMass' losses have come by one goal to teams that were either ranked at the time or are currently ranked. On the opening weekend of the season, No. 9 Boston College and No. 17 Indiana slipped by the Minutewomen, 1-0 and 2-1, respectively. After defeating Northeastern, who is receiving votes, 2-1, UMass fell at currently No. 13 Boston University, 2-1.
The Minutewomen host more elite competition on successive weekends, Sept. 26 vs. No. 18 Albany and Oct. 3 vs. No. 9 Syracuse.
UMASS NOTES
Saturday's win over No. 4 UConn, 1-0, was the Minutewomen's first victory since 2000 over the Huskies and broke a string of 10-straight losses in the series.
The win was also the highest-ranked opponent UMass has beaten in 14 years, dating back to a 3-2 double-overtime victory over No. 4 James Madison on Sept. 14, 1996 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Senior captain Katie Kelly leads the team with five goals on the season. She represents 62.5 percent of the team's scoring this season. Her biggest goal came in overtime on Sunday to defeat Yale. She was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week.
Kelly has 30 goals in her career, tied for 20th among active Division I players.
Freshman forward Lindsay Bowman scored the first two goals of her career last season, and they were big ones. On Saturday, she scored the game's lone goal in the 1-0 victory over No. 4 UConn. On Sunday, she scored the game-tying goal with 6:04 remaining before UMass eventually won in overtime at Yale. Bowman was named A-10 Rookie of the Week and UMass Co-Athlete of the Week with football quarterback Kyle Havens.
Senior defender Jaime Bourazeris has one goal and one assist on the season. Her goal was the game-winner in a 2-1 game at Northeastern.
Junior goalkeeper Alesha Widdall has been stellar between the pipes this season. She sports a 1.30 GAA with one shutout. Her .826 save percentage is the highest of the two-time First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection's career.
UMass has been a second half team thus far in 2010. While being slightly outshot and outcornered, as well outscored, 4-2, in the first halves of games, the Minutewomen hold the advantage over opponents after halftime in shots (43-40), corners (33-15), and goals (6-4),
SERIES HISTORY
UMass and American have met just three times on the field hockey pitch, with the Eagles holding a 2-1 advantage. This will be the first time either team will host in the series as all three prior games were played in College Park, Md. The most recent matchup was in 2004 in College Park, Md., a 7-0 Eagles victory. In 2002, American won, 2-0. The UMass win in the series came in their first meeting, 3-2 in 1995.
This will be the 10th meeting between UMass and Maryland in a series that dates back to 1979, with the Terps winning all nine previous games. The last time the teams played was in 2004, a 6-0 Terps win. The teams have met twice in NCAA Tournament play, narrow
SCOUTING AMERICAN
The Eagles come into Saturday's game with a 3-2 record and are ranked No. 18 in the latest Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll. American opened the season by defeating A-10 champ Richmond, 5-1, before dropping two-straight to Old Dominion (2-1) and Louisville (2-1). The Eagles got back on track last weekend at the Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Md., defeating Rutgers (3-1) and New Hampshire (5-2).
Senior midfielder Anne van Erp leads the Eagles with eight points on three goals and two assists. American has a balanced offensive attack with nine different goal scorers so far this season. The Eagles are averaging 3.0 goals per game while allowing 1.6 per game.
Senior Hannah Weitzman has played most of the minutes in goal for the Eagles. She has a 1.25 goals against average and a .647 save percentage. She has had to make just 11 stops in five games.
The Eagles will be well-acquainted with the Atlantic 10 by the end of this month. After opening the season by playing Richmond, and facing UMass on Saturday, next weekend American heads to Philadelphia to play both Temple and Saint Joseph's.
Steve Jennings is in his 12th year as head coach at American. He has a career record of 148-74 and led the Eagles to the 2009 Patriot League Championship and the NCAA Tournament. He was an assistant coach for the United States Olympic Team in the 2008 Beijing Games.
SCOUTING AMERICAN
The Terrapins, defending ACC champs and winners of three of the last five National Championships, come into the weekend with a perfect 5-0 record and a No. 2 ranking in the NFHCA poll. Maryland opened the season with road victories at Drexel (4-2) and Villanova (5-0), before returning home for its last three wins; Old Dominion (3-1), New Hampshire (7-0), and Rutgers (8-1).
The Terrapins are led by defending National Player of the Year and three-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year Katie O'Donnell. The senior forward is second in the country in points with 22 on six goals and an NCAA-leading 10 assists. She has been supported offensively by sophomore Megan Frazer with four goals and three assists.
Melissa Vassalotti and Natalie Hunter have split the time in goal this season. Vassalotti is 3-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .733 save percentage, while Hunter is 2-0 without allowing a goal.
Maryland is averaging 5.4 goals per game while allowing 0.8 per game.
Before facing UMass on Sunday, the Terps open ACC play against Boston College on Saturday in College Park.
Missy Meharg is in her 23rd season as head coach. She has led Maryland to five national titles and eight ACC crowns. She is a seven-time National Coach of the Year.
Dina Rizzo, a 2002 Maryland alum and seven-year member of the US National Team, is in her first year as an assistant coach with the Terps. She served as an assistant coach at UMass during the 2009 season.
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.
The remaining field hockey games scheduled to be televised are 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.
FOLLOW UMASS FIELD HOCKEY
Keep up with all the up-to-the-minute news of UMass Field Hockey by following on:
• Twitter (www.twitter.com/umassfh)
• Facebook (search UMass Field Hockey)
• YouTube (www.youtube.com/umassathletics)
