.png&type=webp)
University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Prepares For Regional Rivals UConn, Northeastern
September 16, 2014 | Field Hockey
| University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes | |
| Game Seven | Massachusetts (2-4) vs. No. 5 Connecticut (4-1) |
| Date | Time | Friday, Sept. 19 | 4:00 p.m. |
| Location | Richard F. Garber Field; Amherst, Mass. |
| Series History | UConn leads, 33-13-3. Last meeting: #3 UConn 4, #7 UMass 1; Sept. 18, 2013 |
| Live Statistics | GameTracker |
| Live Video | Atlantic 10 Digital Network |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Connecticut |
| Twitter | @UMassFH  | @UMassAthletics |
| Instagram | UMass Field Hockey |
The Massachusetts-Connecticut Scouting Report
The Minutewomen face Connecticut for their next home game, a Friday, Sept. 19 game at Garber Field. UConn leads the all-time series, 33-13-3, and won the most recent game in the set, 4-1, in Storrs, Connecticut, during the 2013 season. The last UMass win versus Connecticut was on Sept. 11, 2010, when the Minuntewomen shut out the Huskies, 1-0.
UConn sports a 4-1 overall record entering play against UMass. The lone loss of the season came in the Huskies' most recent decision, a 3-2 loss in two sets of penalty shots following double-overtime at No. 15 Boston College on Sunday, Sept. 14. Connecticut sports wins over Columbia, New Hampshire, No. 14 Northeastern and No. 8 Penn State.
The defending national champions are led on attack by a seven points a piece from Sophie Bowden, Chrissy Davidson and Charlotte Veitner. Chloe Hunnable and Anna Middendorf add six points each while Roisin Upton follows with three. Nina Klein, in her first season starting after the graduation of now-UMass assistant coach Sarah Mansfield, owns a 0.70 goals-against average and .826 save percentage trough 400 minutes in the cage.
University of Connecticut head coach Nancy Stevens, now in her 36th season leading a program, holds a 579-176-24 all-time record. She is in her 25th year with the Huskies following stops at Northwestern (1981-89) and Franklin & Marshall (1979-80). She led Connecticut to the 2013 NCAA Division I National Championship with a 21-4 finish, including an eight-game win streak to end the campaign spanning the completion of the regular season, the Big East Championship and four games in the NCAA Tournament.
| University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes | |
| Game Eight | Massachusetts vs. Northeastern |
| Date | Time | Sunday, Sept. 21 | 2:00 p.m. |
| Location | Garber Field; Amherst, Mass. |
| Series History | UMass leads, 20-18-3. Last meeting: #13 UMass 2, Northeastern 0; Oct. 2, 2013 |
| Live Statistics | GameTracker |
| Watch Live | Atlantic 10 Digital Network |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Northeastern |
| Twitter | @UMassFH | @UMassAthletics |
| Instagram | UMass Field Hockey |
The Massachusetts-Northeastern Scouting Report
With one contest to play before they travel to UMass, the Northeastern Huskies are 3-2 on the season and currently sport a three-game winning streak under 27th-year head coach Cheryl Murtagh. The Huskies will attempt to preserve their current stretch of consecutive victories at Monmouth on Friday, Sept. 19 before they trek to Amherst to face the Minutewomen.
Emmy Zweserijn leads the squad with eight points scored via three goals and a pair of assists. Two Huskies follow with seven points apiece (Natalie Stewart and Kelly Dunn) while Kate Carlson adds two goals and as many assists. Second-year starter Becky Garner has played all 348 minutes in the cage through five games. Garner has given up 13 goals and made 19 saves to earn a 2.61 goals-against average and .594 save percentage.
Northeastern has scored as many goals, 13, as it has given up but owns a 43-35 lead in points via a 17-9 margin in assists. The majority of the scoring done by both sides has come in the second half of the contest. Northeastern has only scored one goal in the opening half of any game while it has a dozen second half tallies. Opponents have combined to score a trio of first half goals before they have connected for 10 second half scores.
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).
Minutewomen Fall To California, 2-1; Retain Kennedy Cup With 3-1 Win At UMass-Lowell
Massachusetts hosted West Coast foe California for a rare meeting between the sides on Friday, Sept. 12. The Golden Bears were able to squeak out a 2-1 win over the Minutewomen despite UMass freshman midfielder Sarah Hawkshaw's first career goal. Hawkshaw was unassisted as she worked into the circle with possession during the 44th minute of play and struck a rising shot into the left side of the goal near the post. California rallied in the 48th minute when Andrea Earle tipped in a Monica Marrazzo attempt to create the eventual final score.
However, the Minutewomen rebounded two days later and cut down UMass-Lowell, 3-1 on the road at the Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Mass. Massachusetts employed a balanced attack with a goal each from Lauren Allymohamed, 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 win. The River Hawks scored with 48 seconds left in the first half, but Hawkshaw iced the game in the 45th minute with another unassisted tally.
UMass Field Hockey Enters 40th Year
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 115 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.
Minutewomen Begin Year No. 4 Of Tagliente Era
Field hockey head coach Carla Tagliente is in her fourth season leading UMass in 2014. She holds a 43-29 overall record with the program, including 19 victories earned a year ago. Prior to her arrival at UMass, Tagliente served as the associate head coach at Northwestern (2009-10) after she held the role of assistant coach at Michigan (2006-08) and Iowa (2003-05).
Through three complete seasons at UMass, Tagliente has coached a trio of NFHCA All-America choices, five Atlantic 10 players of the year, 12 NFHCA All-Northeast Region selections and 17 Atlantic 10 All-Conference picks. For her efforts, Tagliente is the reigning two-time NFHCA Northeast Region and Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year.
UMass Splits Second Weekend With Win Over Maine, Loss At BC
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.
However, Massachusetts was stymied, 2-0 when it visited No. 13 Boston College to close the weekend slate on Sunday, Sept. 7. Junior goalkeeper Sam Carlino made nine saves during the game, but the Minutewomen were unable to generate goals at the opposite end of the field. Boston College (3-1 overall) built a two-goal lead during the first half on the strength of goals from Leah Frome and Emily McCoy. UMass was outshot by Boston College, 24-8 during the game while the home side also tallied a 7-4 lead in penalty corners taken.
Minutewomen Drop Two Games During Season-Opening Weekend
The University of Massachusetts field hockey program started its 2014 season at the Conference Cup hosted by the Nook in Lancaster, Pa., where the Minutewomen faltered against No. 1 nationally-ranked Maryland, 3-2 on Friday, Aug. 29 and Temple, 2-0 two days later.
Nicole Miller scored a pair of goals for Massachusetts, once assisted by Cliodhna Loughlin, against the Terrapins, but a late rally attempt by the Minutewomen fell short after a Brooke Sabia penalty corner shot rattled off the left post and Lauren Allymohamed's corner attempt after time expired sailed wide.
The Minutewomen were unable to generate the attack shown against Maryland when Massachusetts squared off with Temple on Sunday, Aug. 31, as UMass was outshot, 24-7 while the Owls earned a 9-4 advantage in penalty corners.
UMass Takes Top Spot In 2014 Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll
UMass field hockey took first place in the 2014 Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league on Thursday, Aug. 21. The Minutewomen received 80 points to put them in front of Richmond's 72. VCU was slotted third (51) ahead of Lock Haven (48). Saint Joseph's (39), Davidson (35), Saint Francis (27), La Salle (22) and Saint Louis (12) rounded out the poll. Massachusetts also received eight of the nine first place votes, while Richmond earned the ninth.
Four From Field Hockey Named A-10 Preseason All-Conference
Lauren Allymohamed, Sam Carlino, Izzie Delario and Brooke Sabia were tabbed Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference honorees on Thursday, Aug. 21. Allymohamed received the 2013 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Award and was a National Field Hockey Coaches Association Second Team All-American. Sabia took home the 2013 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Award while Carlino was an NFHCA All-Region selection and Delario contributed 25 points to the offense despite missing six games due to injury.
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.