University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Takes on Syracuse in NCAA Tournament Matchup
November 13, 2015 | Field Hockey
Nov. 13, 2015
| University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes: NCAA Tournament First Round | |
| Game 21 | Massachusetts (12-8) vs. Syracuse (17-1) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 | 11:30 a.m. |
| Location | J.S. Coyne Stadium; Syracuse, N.Y. |
| Series History | 7-19-1. Last meeting: Syracuse 4, UMass 0; Sept. 6, 2015 |
| Tournament Info | NCAA Championship Central |
| Live Statistics | GameTracker |
| Watch Live | Orange All-Access |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Syracuse |
| @UMassFH | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Field Hockey | |
| Tickets | Available at J.S. Coyne Stadium; $6 adult, $3 youth. |
The Massachusetts-Syracuse Scouting Report
UMass and Syracuse meet in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after the Minutewomen topped Kent State in a Play-In Game on Wednesday. The Orange fell for their only loss of the season against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, but come in to the tournament as the number-one overall seed and No. 2 nationally ranked team according to the NFHCA Top-20 Coaches Poll.
Alma Fenne and Roos Weers, who each have 35 points for the Orange in 2015, lead Syracuse offensively with 14 goals and seven assists each. In between the pipes for Syracuse is Jess Jecko, who has allowed less than a goal-per-game this season. Like Syracuse, Jecko's record stands 17-1.
The Minutewomen trail Syracuse in the all-time series, 7-19-1. They last met on Sep. 6 of this season, when the Orange came out victorious with a 4-0 score. UMass was last victorious in 2012, when they beat the then-top ranked Syracuse, 2-1 in Amherst.
The teams squared off against four of the same opponents during the regular season in Stanford, Boston University, Boston College and Louisville. Syracuse topped each of the four opponents, while the Minutewomen came out victorious over No. 20 Boston University on Aug. 30.
The NCAA Tournament Field
The University of Massachusetts field hockey travel to Syracuse for an NCAA Tournament First Round Match at the J.S. Coyne Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y. on Sat., Nov. 14, after the Minutewomen topped Kent State in opening round play.
UMass squared off against five NCAA tournament teams during the 2015 regular season, including Boston College, Boston University, Louisville, Stanford and Syracuse. The bracket is filled out by Albany, Connecticut, Delaware, Duke, Fairfield, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia.
UMass In The NCAA Tournament
The 2015 edition of the NCAA Tournament marks the 25th featuring the Minutewomen among its competitors. The squad last took part in the year-end championship when UMass reached the 2013 NCAA Elite Eight and capped the campaign with a 19-5 overall record.
The deepest run UMass made into NCAA competition in program history was its championship game appearance in 1981. The Maroon and White also won the now-defunct third place game in 1983 (5-3; Northwestern) and 1987 (3-1; Iowa).
UMass is 20-25 all-time in 25 appearances, which includes a 7-1 record in NCAA Play-In Game competition. The most recent Maroon and White appearance in the NCAA Play-In Game was a 2-1 overtime victory earned versus Rider ahead of the 2012 NCAA Tournament prior to their win on Wednesday versus Kent State.
Minutewomen Top Kent State in NCAA Play-In
The Kent State field hockey team traveled to Amherst for one of two NCAA Play-In Matches. UMass came out victorious, topping the Golden Flashes 1-0. Izzie Delario scored just over 23 minutes into the game for the only score of the contest. Sam Carlino stopped all seven shots on goal that Kent State put her way.
UMass Wins Its 15th Atlantic 10 Championship
With the 3-0 shutout of Richmond in the title game Saturday, Nov. 7, UMass field hockey earned its 15th Atlantic 10 Championship in program history. Melanie Kreusch guided the team to its victory as she assisted on the eventual game-winner and later provided a pair of insurance goals.
Delario scored on a penalty corner during the 14th minute before Kreusch doubled the lead just under 10 minutes later. The Minutewomen held the two-goal lead into halftime before Kreusch stepped back on the pitch and converted for her fifth goal of the weekend in the 50th minute.
Kreusch Shows Shades Of Zono's 2012 Performance
Melanie Kreusch took home Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the 11-point weekend (five goals, one assist) against Saint Joseph's and Richmond.
Kreusch's performance was reminiscent of Thando Zono's 2012 Atlantic 10 Championship performance as Zono recorded five goals and an assist for 11 points en route to her own Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player laurel. Zono was also a defender who stepped forward to hit on penalty corners, though she played wing defense while Kreusch currently serves as the team's center back.
The Most Furious Of Comebacks UMass field hockey nearly saw its season end during the Atlantic 10 semifinals as Saint Joseph's held a two-goal advantage entering the 50th minute of the game. However, the Minutewomen rallied back with five unanswered goals during the final 20 minutes of the game for a 5-2 victory.
Massachusetts needed less than 12 minutes to turn the two-goal deficit into a 3-2 advantage, spearheaded by a hat trick from Melanie Kreusch. The sophomore defender scored on a penalty corner at 50:35 and converted back-to-back strokes at 59:45 and 62:00. Nicole Miller (64:52) and Sarah Hawkshaw (67:53) padded the lead after Saint Joseph's pulled its goalkeeper in favor of an additional field player.
Offense Making Moves Early
UMass field hockey's offense scored its first goal of three of its last six contests during the opening four minutes of the respective game. Izzie Delario needed one minute, 53 seconds to get UMass on the board during its 6-0 drubbing of VCU on Friday, Oct. 16, while Nicole Miller followed two days later with a goal against No. 13 Boston College only 80 seconds into play. Cliodhna Loughlin extended the streak to three games when she converted only 3:20 into play against La Salle.
Miller tied herself for fastest goal scored to start a game this season as she also tallied 80 seconds into play against Dartmouth on Sunday, Sept. 13. UMass has one additional goal less than two minutes into its game versus New Hampshire when Sarah Hawkshaw, like Delario, needed just 1:53 to score.
Points A-Plenty For Delario
After being limited to a pair of points on two assists during the first four games of the year, junior Izzie Delario exploded for 20 points during her most recent 10 of contests.
Her most productive performances came three points against Richmond in the A-10 Championship game, a pair of four-point contests against UMass Lowell and Saint Joseph's during the regular season and a career-best five point-game over La Salle.
Delario is the active leader in points and assists among the Minutewomen with 69 and 31, respectively, in 53 career games played. She had 25 points (eight goals, nine assists) as a freshman before providing 18 more (four goals, 10 assists) as a sophomore. Delario's 26 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 16 games this campaign gives her 1.6 points per game.
Using A Spread Offense
UMass field hockey sports five Minutewomen in double-digits atop its team leaderboard for points in 2015, led by Izzie Delario's 26 points, followed closely by Melanie Kreusch's 24 points. Sarah Hawkshaw follows closely behind with 18. Nicole Miller adds 16 points while Cliodhna Loughlin adds 13.
Among Atlantic 10 Conference teams, Massachusetts is first ahead of Saint Joseph's and Saint Francis (Pa.) for most double-digit points scorers as the Hawks and Red Flash follow with four. La Salle, Lock Haven and VCU are tied for third with three while Davidson and Richmond each have two.
Road Warriors
The Minutewomen closed a four-game season-opening road trip with a Sunday, Sept. 6 contest at No. 4 Syracuse. The four consecutive games away from campus mark a tie for the third-longest season-opening streak of play away from home for UMass in the history of the program. The 1996 team completed eight non-home games (four road, four neutral-site) before finally competing on-campus in a three-overtime, penalty stroke win over Northeastern, 2-1 on Oct. 2.
The 1990 team also spent the early part of its season away from UMass with six consecutive true road games ahead of the home-opening 1-0 win over Yale on Sept. 26. The 2015 team is tied with the 2011 squad in the category.
Three of the four contests were true road games, at Boston University, Northeastern and Syracuse. One, the first contest of the year, was a neutral-site meeting with New Hampshire at Boston University's New Balance Field.
Let's Play Some More
Two of UMass field hockey's opening three games of the season went into overtime as the Minutewomen lost to New Hampshire, 4-3 and defeated Northeastern, 2-1 after the end of regulation. With a third OT contest versus Richmond on Sept. 20, the Minutewomen have now played more extra time games in 2015 that the 2014 squad completed over its entire 21-contest slate.
