University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Versus Richmond Sets Up A-10 Championship Game
November 08, 2014 | Field Hockey
| University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes | ||
| Game 21 | No. 1 seed Massachusetts (11-9 overall) vs. No. 2 seed Richmond (11-9) | |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Nov. 8 | 2:00 p.m. | |
| Location | Crenshaw Field; Richmond, Va.. | |
| Series History | Richmond leads, 13-11-0. Last meeting: Richmond 1, UMass 0; Sept. 26, 2014 | |
| Live Statistics | Stat Broadcast | |
| Watch | Atlantic 10 Digital Network (provided by Richmond) | |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Richmond | |
| Twitter | @UMassFH  | @UMassAthletics |
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| Instagram | UMass Field Hockey | |
The Massachusetts-Richmond Scouting Report
In a rematch of the last two Atlantic 10 Tournament championship games, UMass field hockey will face Richmond with the conference's title up for grabs. The Minutewomen were victorious in the 2012 and 2013 editions of the event by 5-0 and 2-1 margins, respectively.
Overall, Richmond leads the series, 13-11-0 and defeated the Minutewomen, 1-0 at Crenshaw Field in the 2014 regular season meeting between the sides on Sept. 26. The Spiders bested No. 3 seed Saint Francis (Pa.) during this year's semifinals, 5-0 to reach the championship game.
Rebecca Barry's 32 points on 14 goals and four assists paces Richmond through 20 games. She is the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year. Amy Cooke owns the next-most points (11) via three tallies and five helpers. Emma Johansson is the only additional Spider scoring in double-digits as Johansson owns 10 (three goals, four assists). Kelly Wentling holds down the starting spot in net. Wentling holds a 1.48 goals-against average and .718 save percentage over nearly 1,215 minutes.
Richmond has appeared in each of the last four Atlantic 10 Championship Games. The Spiders won in 2011 over Temple, 1-0, before the Minutewomen earned back-to-back victories in 2012 and 2013. Gina Lucido coached Richmond during each of those games and is now in her eighth season as the program leader.
UMass Advances To A-10 Championship Game With 2-0 Victory Over Lock Haven
Melanie Kreusch and Brooke Sabia scored once each on penalty corners and UMass field hockey defeated Lock Haven, 2-0 at Richmond's Crenshaw Field on Friday. The win advanced the Minutewomen to the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship Game against No. 2 seed Richmond.
Kreusch, the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, provided the Minutewomen with their first goal of the game during the 27th minute of the first half on a penalty corner. Kreusch shot by Lock Haven goalie Elaina White after an insert by Delario and stop by Loughlin.
Goalkeeper Sam Carlino kept the score in UMass' favoe with an athletic deflection at the right post with 15 minutes, 41 seconds left in the second half. Lady Eagle forward Nakira Downes wound up and sent a blast toward the back of the UMass cage; however, Carlino reached out with her right leg and blocked the shot aside.
Sabia scored with eight minutes, 24 seconds left in the second half to double the advantage. On a corner try, Kreusch directed an attempt toward the center of the cage. Sabia reached out and flicked the ball out of the air over White in goal for the 2-0 advantage.
Win Over Saint Louis Give UMass No. 1 Seed In A-10 Tournament
Two goals from Sarah Hawkshaw sparked the UMass offense to a 5-1 rout of Saint Louis on 2014 Senior Day, which secured the Minutewomen the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament. The win, earned on Sunday, Nov. 2, was the seventh consecutive for the Minutewomen against a league foe. Melanie Kreusch, Shauna Rankin-Byrne and Renee Suter added one goal each while Cliodhna Loughlin assisted on two scores. Hailey Cockrum, Izzie Delario and Allie Sabia also helped out on one goal apiece.
After Massachusetts celebrated its three-member senior class of Lauren Allymohamed, Mariajose Rodriguez and Suter, the freshmen took control and provided the Minutewomen with their first four goals.
Hawkshaw registered back-to-back unassisted tallies in the 38th and 45th minutes. For her first goal of the afternoon, Hawshaw raced into the circle and fired high into the top-right corner for the 1-0 lead. She added her second with 44 minutes, eight seconds gone by when she bear Saint Louis starting goalkeeper Tori Westhead with a shot into the lower-right corner.
Kreusch added the third UMass tally in the 53rd minute before Rankin-Byrne scored on a redirection with her back to the goal at the 62:02 mark. Suter added the fifth UMass tally only one minute, 45 seconds after Rankin-Byrne notched her first collegiate goal.
Tagliente Wins 50th Game As Head Coach
University of Massachusetts field hockey head coach Carla Tagliente earned her 50th win as the leader of the program at La Salle on Friday, Oct. 24. Tagliente is 52-34 overall, which includes a 25-3 record (.893 win percentage) in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
Delario Clutch With Two-Goal Game
Sophomore forward Izzie Delario scored unassisted twice for the Minutewomen when UMass defeated La Salle, 3-1 on the road at DeVincent Field on Friday, Oct. 24. Delario's two-tally game was her second multi-goal performance as a Minutewoman. She has 42 career points through 35 games played at UMass on 12 goals and 18 assists.
The Rehoboth Beach, Del., native scored her first against the Explorers in the 46th minute to make it 2-0 UMass. She added a rally-silencing tally in the 67th minute only 63 second after La Salle scored its lone goal.
Points Galore For Delario
Sophomore forward Izzie Delario has 18 points through as many appearances in 2014, with 17 of those coming during the last 11 games. Prior to her recent run, Delario only had one assist in seven games played to start the season.
In the last 11 games - nine of which were won by the Minutewomen - the Rehoboth Beach, Del., native has four goals and nine assists. She earned a two-goal game to lead Massachusetts to a 3-1 win at La Salle in her most recent action.
Allymohamed, Kreusch Sweep Atlantic 10 Weekly Honors
UMass field hockey senior defender Lauren Allymohamed and freshman defender and midfielder Melanie Kreusch took in Atlantic 10 player and rookie of the week laurels, respectively, on Monday, Oct. 20.
Allymohamed earned player of the week after she scored an overtime game-winning goal against Boston University during a 2-1 victory on Sunday, Oct. 19, and spearheaded the defense at center back in UMass' 4-0 shutout of Davidson on Friday, Oct. 17. The game-winner against BU was her second such goal of the season and the fourth of her career.
Kreusch notched a team-best five points against Davidson and Boston University combined. The Brussels, Belgium, native earned one tally against the Wildcats on Friday before she scored one versus Boston University in regulation and assisted Allymohamed on the overtime goal.
Balance Is Key In 3-2 Win At Saint Joseph's
UMass field hockey put forth a balanced attack at Saint Joseph's and left Ellen Ryan Field with a 3-2 win as a result. Three Minutewomen netted one goal apiece while two additional played facilitated one score each.
Nicole Miller put UMass ahead early, 1-0, with an unassisted goal in the fourth minute. However, Saint Joseph's clawed back and scored twice consecutively to push ahead, 2-1.
The Minutewomen responded with a Sarah Hawkshaw goal on a pass from Melanie Kreusch in the 46th minute before Hailey Cockrum scored on a feed from Izzie Delario to seal the win.
Surging In The Points Column
After she only recorded five points during her first 27 career games played, UMass field hockey sophomore Hailey Cockrum exploded for 20 points in the previous 11 contests.
Cockrum netted two goals against VCU and had an assist each versus Lock Haven and Saint Francis. She then added one tally apiece when the Minutewomen defeated Saint Joseph's and fell at Columbia. Most recently, the Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, native earned three points on a goal and assist against Davidson before she helped out on one goal in the 2-1 overtime victory versus Boston University. She exploded for a five-point game against Syracuse before she recorded one assist in the win over Saint Louis.
Through 20 games played, including 11 starts, Cockrum owns 21 points through seven goals and as many assists. She is second on the team in points behind only Melanie Kreusch's 24.
Kreusch Tallies First Collegiate Hat Trick
Melanie Kreusch earned three goals during the 3-2 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday, Oct. 5, to make her the first freshman in available game-by-game team history with a hat trick.
Kreusch scored each of her three goals during the second half and was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week and UMass Co-Athlete of the Week for her performance. She now owns 24 points on 10 goals and four assists spread over 20 games played for the Minutewomen.
Cockrum Gets First Multi-Goal Game
Sophomore Hailey Cockrum sparked the Minutewomen to a 4-1 win over VCU on Sunday with her first collegiate multi-goal game. Cockrum scored unassisted to give the Minutewomen a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. She added her second goal in the 61st minute off an endline pass from Tory Berry to push UMass' lead to 3-1.
UMass Field Hockey In Its 40th Season
The 2014 season marks the 40th of competition in the history of UMass field hockey. Massachusetts played its first contest on Sept. 30, 1975, when it defeated Keene State, 5-1 en route to an 8-4-3 record on the season.
UMass is the most successful program in the history of the Atlantic 10 Conference, which began its sponsorship of field hockey in 1998, as the Minutewomen own 14 A-10 Tournament Titles and 123 victories over league foes. Massachusetts has made the NCAA Tournament on 24 occasions as well and advanced to the Final Four during four of those appearances.
International Appeal
UMass field hockey has seven international student-athletes on the 23-person roster (30.4 percent). Lauren Allymohamed (England), Anne Dijkstra (The Netherlands), Hannah Farrell (England), Sarah Hawkshaw (Ireland), Melanie Kreusch (Belgium), Cliodhna Loughlin (Ireland) and Mariajose Rodriguez (Chile) all hail from outside of the United States of America.
Assistant coach Sarah Mansfield is also a native of Cornwall, England, which is located near the Southwest tip of the island nation.
A diverse roster, the Minutewomen also represent eight states, including California (Tory Berry & Mirra Stillman), Colorado (Emily Hazard), Delaware (Izzie Delario), Michigan (Haley Notarantonio), New Hampshire (Shauna Rankin-Byrne), New Jersey (Nicole Kuerzi & Nicole Miller), Pennsylvania (Sam Carlino, Hailey Cockrum, Allie Sabia, Brooke Sabia, Courtney Spleen & Renee Suter) and Virginia (Katie Clark & Grace Horgan).
Three-Goal Response Earns UMass 4-1 Victory At VCU
After giving up a game-tying goal to Virginia Commonwealth University, UMass field hockey responded with three unanswered tallies to produce a 4-1 road win in Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday. Hailey Cockrum earned a pair of goals to pace the attack while Nicole Miller and Brooke Sabia added one apiece.
Cockrum struck in the 17th minute but Krystal Mayers responded for VCU at the 42:04 mark to even play at 1-1. Brooke Sabia put the Minutewomen back in front with a penalty corner strike 10 minutes, 40 seconds later before Cockrum added her second of the day in the 61st minute. Miller sealed it at 64:50 with a tip-try from the post.
Minutewomen Retain Kennedy Cup with 3-1 Win At UMass-Lowell
The Minutewomen cut down UMass-Lowell, 3-1 on the road at the Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts, to retain the second-annual Kennedy Cup. Massachusetts employed a balanced attack with a goal each from Lauren Allymohamed, Sarah Hawkshaw and Brooke Sabia to secure the win. Allymohamed scored in the 12th minute and Sabia followed at 30:05 to give UMass a 2-0 lead. The River Hawks scored with 48 seconds left in the first half, but Hawkshaw iced the game in the 45th minute with an unassisted tally.
UMass Uses Overtime To Win Thriller Versus Maine
The Minutewomen tallied their first win of the season, 3-2, on the strength of an overtime game-winner from freshman Melanie Kreusch and another multi-goal performance from Brooke Sabia as UMass dispatched Maine on Friday, Sept. 5. Kreusch scored on a diving goal three minutes and 49 seconds into the extra period following a pass from classmate Sarah Hawkshaw. It marked the first points of Kreusch and Hawkshaw's careers, respectively.
The 2014 Team Captains
Three members of the 2014 UMass field hockey team were elected tri-captains ahead of the season in Lauren Allymohamed, Sam Carlino and Renee Suter. Allymohamed, now a senior, holds the captainship for the second consecutive season after serving alongside Hannah Prince and Alexa Sikalis in 2013. Carlino, a junior, and Suter, a classmate of Allymohamed, are in their first season as captains.
