Minutewomen Open At Home With 3-0 Shutout Over Harvard

Sept. 10, 2011

Interviews: Tagliente | Panciocco | Widdall

AMHERST, Mass. - Goals by Nicole Cordero, Nikki Panciocco, and Kim Young, and a 26-5 shot advantage led UMass field hockey (2-3) to a 3-0 victory over Harvard (2-1) in the home opener at Garber Field on Saturday afternoon. Alesha Widdall earned her 22nd career shutout in goal on the day UMass honored the 30th anniversary of its 1981 Final Four team.

The Minutewomen controlled play from the outset, using a 16-1 shot advantage in the first half before eventually winning the shot battle, 26-5, and holding a 10-0 edge in penalty corners.

Prior to the game, a ceremony was held at midfield honoring the 30th anniversary of UMass' 1981 National Finalist team that went 17-1-2 in the first year of a NCAA women's championship. Harvard Head Coach Sue Caples was a member of that Minutewomen squad.

For the senior All-American netminder, it was Widdall's 42nd career victory and she finished with two saves for her first shutout of the season.

Panciocco, UMass' active leader in assists, netted the first goal of her career 4:30 into the second half, giving UMass a 3-0 lead. The senior captain tipped in a Callie Sweigart shot off a penalty corner.

Cordero made it 2-0 in the 17th minute when she took a long lead pass in stride from Alyssa Ineson and beat Tassopoulos for her second goal of the season. Ineson's assist was the first point of her career.

Young gave the Minutewomen the early lead in the fifth minute when she dribbled herself free of defenders in the top right of the circle and sent a reverse-stick shot top-shelf over Harvard goalie Cynthia Tassopoulos for her second goal of the season.

The Minutewomen continue their four-game homestand on Friday when they host Northeastern at 6 p.m. at Garber Field.

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Team Stats

Nicole Cordero

Kim Young

Nikki Panciocco

Alyssa Ineson

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics