Oct. 20, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. -
UMass field hockey puts its perfect Atlantic 10 record on the line Friday when it hosts La Salle in a 3 p.m. game at Garber Field before headng to Temple to face the Owls on Sunday at 1 p.m. in a clash of 3-0 teams atop the A-10 standings.
All fans are encouraged to join the Minutewomen in wearing pink to the game. Friday's game has been designated as UMass' Breast Cancer Awareness game.
UMass is 5-9 (3-0 in A-10) on the season while LaSalle and Temple are 6-8 (1-1 in A-10) and 6-10 (3-0 in A-10), respectively.
Follow The Action
Friday's game can be watched online on UMass All-Access at UMassAthletics.com.
Free live stats for the game will be available for both games on GameTracker.
Series History with La Salle
. The Minutewomen have a 15-1 record all-time against La Salle in a series that dates back to 1995. UMass has won six in a row over La Salle, dating back to the Explorers lone win in the series, 2-0 in 2003.
The teams last met on Oct. 31 of last year in Philadelphia with the Minutewomen coming away with a 2-1 victory. Thando Zono and Katie Kelly scored goals to lead UMass field hockey to a 2-1 victory at DeVincent Field on the final day of the regular season to clinch the Minutewomen the Atlantic 10 regular season crown and the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship
Zono put UMass on the board just over 16 minutes into the game when the junior transfer scored her sxith goal of the season, all coming in the last five games and against conference foes.
Gabrielle Nolt tied the game, 1-1, for La Salle late in the first half when she scored off a scramble in front of the net following a penalty corner with 1:58 left in the half.
Kelly tallied her fifth game-winning goal of the season and team-leading 11th goal overall with 19:13 left in the game when she scored off a rebound to break a 1-1 tie.
Scouting La Salle
La Salle is currently 6-8 (1-1 in A-10) on the season This past week they defeated Lock Haven 2-0 before falling to Temple 2-1 in overtime.
The Explorers and Minutewomen share one common opponent so far this year, Lock Haven. UMass defeated Lock Haven, 2-1 while LaSalle was also victorious by a score of 2-0.
Maddie Tettelbach leads the team in points with 11 with five goals and one assist. Becca Chylack and Mariel Papa each have four goals while Neelam Kumar leads in the in assists with four.
In goal, for the Explorers is Lisa Shaffer. She has recorded a 1.76 goals against average and a .828 save percentage.
Series History with Temple
In a series that goes back to 1978, UMass leads Temple with a 30-11 record against the Owls.
The teams last met on Nov. 5 of last year in Philadelphia in the Atlantic 10 semi-final game with the Minutewomen coming away with a 1-0 OT win. Lindsay Bowman scored the game-winning goal to send the Minutewoman to the A-10 Championship.
Just over three minutes into the overtime period, Kelly maneuvered by defenders and brought the ball into the left side of the circle where she sent a pass in front of the goal for Bowman, who knocked it in for the freshman's fourth goal.
Alesha Widdall made two saves for UMass, including a key stop in the closing minutes to earn the shutout victory. It was the junior's 20th career shutout and seventh of the season
Earlier in the 2010 season, a late first-half goal by Katie Kelly combined with a suffocating defense was the recipe for success as UMass field hockey shut out Temple 1-0 at Garber Field. The Minutewomen allowed just four shots and just one on goal as they won their sixth-straight game and remain alone atop the Atlantic 10 standings.
Kelly broke the scoreless tie with 4:51 left in the first half when she took a Nikki Panciocco crossing pass five yards in front of the net and flicked a shot past Temple goalie Sarah Dalrymple. It was the senior captain's team-leading ninth goal of the season and gave UMass the lead going into halftime. Panciocco's assist was the team-leading sixth of the year for the junior midfielder.>br>
Scouting Temple
Temple is currently 6-10 (3-0 in A-10) on the season This past week they recorded to wins beating Richmond 2-1 and LaSalle 2-1 in overtime.
The Owls and Minutewomen share two common opponents so far this year, Kent State and St. Joe's. UMass fell to Kent State, 3-2 in overtime and defeated St. Joe's, 7-0. The Owls beat Kent State, 4-3 in overtime and St. Joe's, 4-1.
The Owls are lead by Bridget Settles who leads the team in all categories. She was conference-leading 14 goals and four assists for 32 points. Settles has been named the A-10 Player of the Week three times and is nationally ranked in scoring. Caryn Lambright also has four goals on the season.
In goal, Lizzy Millen and Haley Mitchell have each played for the Owls, with Millen receiving most of the time. Millen has recorded a 2.70 goals against average and a .667 save percentage. Mitchell has recorded a 1.19 goals against average and a .714 save percentage.
UMass 3, St. Louis 1
Three different players scored goals off penalty corners to lead UMass field hockey to a 3-1 victory at Saint Louis on Sunday afternoon that keeps the Minutewomen perfect in Atlantic 10 play at 3-0 and their third win in the last four games. Kim Young, Nikki Panciocco and Lindsay Bowman accounted for the goals while the defense, led by Alesha Widdall's three saves, allowed just eight shot attempts.
Young's drag flick off a penalty corner in the 14th minute put UMass on top 1-0. The junior's third tally of the season was assisted on by Kate Heineman and Panciocco.
Faith Mackin tied it in the 20th minute off a Megan Rogers assist and the game would stay tied 1-1 heading into halftime.
Panciocco's game-winner in the 42nd minute came off a broken corner when she took a pass from Callie Sweigart and beat SLU goalie Megan Ambrose, giving UMass a 2-1 lead.
Bowman added an insurance goal in the 59th minute off a corner assisted on by Sweigart, her second helper of the day, and Christine Cutry. The goal was the sophomore's third of the year.
UMass 7, St. Joseph's 0
Six different players scored as UMass' offense erupted in a 7-0 victory over Saint Joseph's in Atlantic 10 field hockey action.
Molly MacDonnell scored two goals, Callie Sweigart had a goal and an assist, and Kim Young recorded a pair of helpers. Lindsay Bowman, Nicole Cordero, Christine Cutry, and Mel Sutherland all added goals of their own.
The Minutewomen took control early and never looked back. MacDonnell started the scoring just 1:59 into the game when she tipped in a Sweigart shot off UMass' first penalty corner.
Cordero made it a 2-0 game in the 18th minute when the junior, who was cleared to play before the game after suffering an injury at Albany on Sunday, tallied her third goal of the season on a nice assist from Kim Young.
Bowman gave the Minutewomen a 3-0 lead that they took into halftime when she received a pass from Renee Suter after the freshman stole the ball in the SJU end and fed the sophomore on the 2-on-1 for her second goal of the season.
Cutry's second goal of the season was the first of the second half and made it 4-0 when she streaked down the middle and scored unassisted in the 42nd minute.
MacDonnell struck again in the 50th minute when she knocked in a pass from Lauren Allymohamed, giving UMass a 5-0 lead. The assist was the first of the freshman from England's career.
The English theme continued in the 53rd minute when Sutherland scored off Young's second assist of the game, making it 6-0. It was the sophomore's first career goal.
Sweigart closed the scoring in the 55th minute when she scored on a penalty corner, her third goal of the season, making it 7-0.
Widdall Named A-10 Player Of Week
Incredible goalkeeping by Massachusetts' Alesha Widdall and La Salle's Lisa Shaffer earned each Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Player and Rookie of the week honors, respectively. Widdall led UMass to a key A-10 opening victory at Lock Haven and delivered a career-high 12 saves in 100 minutes of shutout action at No. 16 Albany.
Widdall was stellar in goal for UMass, making three saves to lead the Minutewomen to a conference-opening 2-1 victory at Lock Haven in a rematch of the 2010 A-10 Championship game. On Sunday, the senior All-American tied a career-high with 12 saves as she held No. 16 Albany scoreless for 100 minutes of action in UMass' 1-0 double-overtime loss to the Great Danes on penalty strokes. Widdall withstood 20 Albany penalty corners, including nine in the two overtime periods.
Tagliente Era Begins


On Jan. 7 of this year, UMass Athletic Director John McCutcheon announced Carla Tagliente as the new head coach of the field hockey program. A highly decorated player and coach, Tagliente comes to UMass from Northwestern, where she served as Associate Head Coach the last two years. The first-year head coach brings to UMass an aggressive attacking style of play that has revitalized offenses at Northwestern, Michigan, and Iowa.
Tagliente is one of the rising coaching stars in USA Field Hockey as well, currently serving as head coach of the U-19 US National Team for 2011. She led the squad in a overseas tour in Chile in April and also coached at the High Performance Championship in Virginia Beach this summer.
Tagliente comes to UMass with eight years coaching experience in the Big Ten Conference, with stops at Northwestern (2009-10), Michigan (2006-08), and Iowa (2003-05). Tagliente was an All-American all four years of a standout career at Maryland from 1997-2000, earning first-team honors the final three seasons.
The two-time Broderick Award finalist and 1999 National Champion went on to play seven years with the USA National Team. She replaces Justine Sowry, who was named head coach at Louisville in December after four seasons at UMass.
The Widdall Wall
The undisputed strength of the Minutewomen heading into 2011 is between the pipes in the form of senior Alesha Widdall. The goalkeeper from Whitney Point, N.Y. is a two-time All-American and three-time All-Conference performer, leading what has been the Atlantic 10's stingiest defense over the last three years.
Widdall has played more minutes than any active goalkeeper in the country, ranks fourth in goals against average, and fourth in save percentage.
Widdall has three shutouts on the season, giving her 24 in her career in 74 total starts.
Widdall started all 23 games in 2010, going 15-8. Her .776 save percentage and 1.19 goals against average both ranked seventh-best in the country.
Tri-Captains For 2011
Joining Alesha Widdall as captains for the 2011 season are fellow senior Nikki Panciocco and junior Thando Zono. Panciocco, a midfielder from Walpole, Mass., was tied for second on the team last season with eight assists. Zono, a defender in her second year at UMass after transferring from a school in South Africa, is out for this weekend as she recovers from off-season knee surgery.
In The Polls
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association released its Top 20 Preseason Poll on Aug. 23 with UMass finishing just out of the top 20. The Minutewomen were the top "receiving votes" team, coming in with 98. In every subsequent poll, including this week, UMass was receiving votes as well.
UMass Picked To Win A-10
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced on Aug. 4 that Massachusetts had been selected to win the 2011 A-10 Championship in voting conducted by the league's head coaches. Under first year head coach Carla Tagliente, the Minutewomen will be looking to repeat as conference champs and win the program's fourth A-10 title in the last five years.
Richmond, the 2009 A-10 champion who combines with UMass for the last 13 A-10 Championships, was picked second. The Minutewomen and Spiders will meet in the final conference game of the season on Oct. 28 at Garber Field.
Temple was picked third in the poll, while Lock Haven, who made it to the conference finals in its first year in the A-10 in 2010, rounds out the top four.
Taking On The Best
UMass will face a tough schedule in 2011. The Minutewomen faces three of the top five teams in the preseason poll, including preseason No. 1 Maryland, who came to Garber Field on Sept. 18. The Minutewomen will face six teams of the top 20 teams in the preseason poll and seven more that received votes, accounting for 13 of the 18 regular season games.
Looking Ahead
The Minutewomen will close out their A-10 regular season play next weekend when they host Richmond on October 28 at 1 p.m. before traveling to Providence to take on the Friars on October 30 at 2 p.m. The game vs. Richmond will be senior day and the Minutewomen will honor their four seniors. 
