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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
(12-8Overall)
Kent State (Play-In)
(11-9Overall)
Stalwart Defense Leads UMass to Shutout of Kent State
November 11, 2015 | Field Hockey
AMHERST, Mass. - Izzie Delario scored in the 24th minute and the UMass field hockey defense stifled a late Kent State push as the Minutewomen advanced to the NCAA Tournament First Round with a 1-0 shutout victory over the Golden Flashes at the Gladchuck Sports Complex in Amherst, Massachusetts, Wednesday afternoon.
Delario's goal went as her seventh of the season and pushed her into the team lead for points with 26. Sam Carlino anchored the back line with seven saves - all in the second half - en route to the clean sheet. Massachusetts improved to 12-8 overall with the NCAA Play-In Round victory while Kent State, the Mid-American Conference champions, ended its season at 11-9.
The NCAA appearance in the third for the Minutewomen in Carla Tagliente's five seasons as head coach and 25th all-time for the program.
"We thought it would be important to get a goal on the board early and we probably put four balls on the goal line that we did not put in, but we stuck with it and found a way to get one in," Tagliente said. "We thought we might get another, but the score line held and the defense locked down in the second half. We made it interesting, but we gutted it out and the defense did a great job."
Delario tallied the lone goal of the game on an opportunistic play following a penalty corner. After Kent State goalkeeper Andrea Rinehart turned aside the initial corner drive by Melanie Kreusch, the ball trickled toward Delario at the left post. Delario stepped into a close range shot and re-directed the ball off the backboard before the Golden Flashes could react.
The goal punctuated a string of early looks for the Minutewomen on offense as Massachusetts outshot Kent State, 8-0 during the first frame.
Delario fired in a hard shot only 75 seconds into the game, necessitating an early stop by Rinehart to keep the game scoreless. Hannah Farrell followed in the eighth minute with a close range attempt that skipped inches wide of the left point.
After Hailey Cockrum had a shot turned aside by Rinehart in the 20th minute, Kreusch nearly put a goal on the scoreboard for the Minutewomen at the 20:58 mark. Using one of the six penalty corners awarded to the Minutewomen, Kreusch sent a strike through the Kent State defense toward Rinehart. The attempt bounced off of the inside of Rinehart's leg pad and came to a stop just short of the goal line, where the Kent State defense collected play and turned the shot away.
After being shutout in the shots column during the first half, the Golden Flashes responded with eight attempts in the final 35 minutes. Carlino made the stop on each of Kent State's seven on-target drives, including three in the final three minutes, for the win.
"Sam (Carlino) did a great job," Tagliente said. "She played like a senior today and we could not have asked from more from her."
Silvia Figa Malgose and Alison Harmatz put back-to-back shots at the UMass cage at the 67:41 and 67:51 marks of play, but Carlino knocked each aside. Ines Delpach added the last chance for Kent State with only 20 seconds to go, Carlino was there with the save to secure UMass it's trip to Syracuse for the NCAA Tournament First Round.
Massachusetts finished with a 14-8 advantage in total shots and 6-3 lead in penalty corners. Rinehart totaled eight stops for the Golden Flashes to balance against Carlino's seven saves.
The Minutewomen continue their season with a game at No. 1 Syracuse (17-1). UMass will face the Orange at J.S. Coyne Stadium at 11:30 a.m.
Team Stats
Delario, Izzie (7)
Rebound from penalty corner on left side
23:35
