University of Massachusets Athletics
Field Hockey Ends Season-Opening Road Trip At Syracuse
September 05, 2015 | Field Hockey
| University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes | |
| Game Four | No. 18 Massachusetts (2-1 overall) at No. 4 Syracuse (3-0) |
| Date | Time | Sunday, Sept. 6 | 1:00 p.m. |
| Location | J.S. Coyne Stadium; Syracuse, N.Y. |
| Series History | Syracuse leads, 18-7-1. Last meeting: #7 Syracuse 6, UMass 4; Nov. 1, 2014 |
| Live Statistics | Sidearm Sports |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Syracuse |
@UMassFH  | @UMassAthletics |
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| UMass Field Hockey | |
The Massachusetts-Syracuse Scouting Report
The University of Massachusetts field hockey program plays its fourth game away from campus to start the 2015 season when the Minutewomen head to J.S. Coyne Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y., and face the No. 4 nationally ranked Orange Sunday afternoon.
Syracuse has three wins in as many games played this season, with victories at No. 6 Stanford, 2-1; versus California-Davis, 4-0 and at Pacific University, 4-1. The Orange used balanced scoring during the early stretch of the campaign as seven Syracuse players combine for the team's 27 points. Alyssa Manley leads the way with seven points, followed by six for Emma Lamison and five by Roos Weers.
Jess Jecko is back in the cage for the Orange. She has only given up two goals through 223 minutes for a 0.81 goals-against average and turned aside 11 shots in that span for a .846 save percentage.
Last Meeting: No. 7 Syracuse 6, Massachusetts 4 (Nov. 1, 2014)
UMass and Syracuse displayed their combined offensive prowess during the most recent meeting between the sides, a 6-4 Orange victory at Garber Field in Amherst on Nov. 1, 2014.
Hailey Cockrum -- who finished with five points through four goals and an assist -- gave UMass an early lead with an opportunistic conversion less than four minutes in. However, Syracuse netted five consecutive tallies by the 48th minute to turn the slim UMass advantage into a 5-1 deficit for the Minutewomen.
The Maroon and White responded with three goals over the next six minutes to cut their four-goal deficit down to 5-4 by the 54:23 mark of play. Fast-paced offensive action continued on both sides, but the Orange sealed the win with a penalty stroke conversion in the 58th minute.
Miller's Extra-Time Goal Scores UMass 2-1 Win At Northeastern
University of Massachusetts field hockey junior forward Nicole Miller scored three minutes, 53 seconds into overtime as the Minutewomen secured a 2-1 victory at Northeastern's Dedham Field Thursday, Sept. 3. The goal was Miller's 10th with the Maroon and White and first on the season while Melanie Kreusch also scored in the win.
After NU forced the extra period with Kristin Abreu's game-tying goal at the 51:29 mark, Miller ended it in overtime with a shot from distance. Izzie Delario earned an assist for creating the play as she dribbled at Huskies goalie Becky Garner before pushing play back out to Miller at the last moment.
Garner tackled at Delario's feet in an attempt to knock the ball away, but Delario directed play back to Miller trailing near the top of the circle in time for Miller to set and shoot over Garner and Delario down on the pitch.
Road Warriors
The Minutewomen close 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.
Minutewomen Earn First Win Of The Year At No. 20 Boston University
The Maroon and White propelled themselves to their first win of the season, 2-1, over No. 20 Boston University on the strength of first half goals by Melanie Kreusch and Nicole Kuerzi. Izzie Delario had one assist, the 20th of her career, while Sam Carlino earned the win in net with five saves.
Kuerzi deflected in a Delario shot at the goalmouth for her first collegiate goal, scored less than seven minutes into play against the Terriers. Kreusch followed at the 11:03 mark of play with a penalty stroke conversion to double the lead.
BU attempted a furious rally in the second half after Bea Baumberger scored on a penalty corner in the 63rd minute. However, the UMass defense kept pressure away from the goal while Carlino made one save down the stretch with two seconds remaining in play to seal the win.
Let's Play Some More
Two of UMass field hockey's opening three games of the season have gone into overtime as the Minutewomen lost to New Hampshire, 4-3 and defeated Northeastern, 2-1 after the end of regulation. It marks as many extra time games in 2014 as the 2013 squad played over its entire 21-contest slate.
UMass Picked For Top Spot In 2015 A-10 Preseason Coaches Poll
The University of Massachusetts Minutewomen picked up 77 points to narrowly beat out Richmond (73) for first place in the 2015 Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll. UMass and Richmond sit ahead of Lock Haven (55) and Saint Francis (Pa.), which took in 51 points. Saint Joseph's (42) was slotted fifth while La Salle (36), VCU (34), Davidson (25) and Saint Louis (12) round out the leaderboard.
Four Minutewomen Earn A-10 Preseason All-Conference
Four members of the University of Massachusetts field hockey program picked up Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference nods in Sam Carlino, Izzie Delario, Sarah Hawkshaw and Melanie Kreusch.
Carlino enters her final season as the starting goalkeeper with 44 career wins, a 1.57 goals-against average and a .723 save percentage. Delario, a junior, provided 18 points through four goals and 10 assists during her second year as a Minutewoman during 2014.
Hawkshaw and Kreusch made immediate impacts for the squad as freshmen one year ago. Kreusch earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, A-10 All-Conference First Team and NFHCA All-Region Second Team after she recorded the most points (24) and goals (10) among all Minutewomen. Hawkshaw took home a spot on the league's second team after she totaled 15 points through six goals, including two game-winners, and three assists.
Minutewomen Selected 18th In 2015 NFHCA Preseason Top-20
The University of Massachusetts field hockey program was chosen 18th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) preseason poll. It is the third consecutive season the Minutewomen were selected to the top-20 under head coach Carla Tagliente, while Tagliente will again challenge UMass against stiff competition throughout the 2015 season as seven opponents appear in the preseason poll.
The seven ranked squads the Minutewomen have on the docket this campaign include No. 20 Boston University (Aug. 30), No. 4 Syracuse (Sept. 6), No. 6 Stanford (Sept. 27), No. 11 Louisville (Oct. 4), No. 12 Boston College (Oct. 18) and No. 1 Connecticut (Oct. 28).
UMass Field Hockey Receives New Home Field
A new home for the University of Massachusetts field hockey program was constructed on campus North of the Football Performance Center ahead of the 2015 season. The state-of-the-art facility gives the Minutewomen their first team-specific home after they previously shared Garber Field with other UMass Division I programs.
The Maroon and White will host their first home game at the Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex against UMass-Lowell on Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. The contest will also mark the playing the 2015 Kennedy Cup, which the Minutewomen won during both previous holdings of the event in 2013 and 2014.
Key Returnees Everywhere
UMass returns a handful of impact players from the 2014 squad across each position, including six of the team's top seven scorers and it's backstop in net. Overall, eight of the 11 starters from one year ago will suit up for the Minutewomen during 2015.
Melanie Kreusch (24 points), Hailey Cockrum (21) and Izzie Delario (18) all return to the lineup with eligibility remaining as Cockrum and Delario are juniors and Kreusch is a sophomore. Double-digit points scorers Sarah Hawkshaw (15; sophomore) and Nicole Miller (10; junior) are also back in the midfield and at forward, respectively.
Sam Carlino is back for her fourth year as the starting goalkeeper. The veteran netminder owns 44 career victories donning the Maroon and White with a 1.57 goals-against average and .723 save percentage in 68 career starts and appearances. She has only missed one game in her tenure at UMass, the 2012 NCAA Tournament Play-In Game victory over Rider.
