University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Monmouth
Field Hockey Readies For NCAA Play-In Game at Monmouth
November 08, 2016 | Field Hockey
Minutewomen face the Hawks at 1 p.m. on Wed., Nov. 5
| University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes: NCAA Play-In Round | |
| Game 21 | Massachusetts (13-7 overall, 6-2 A-10) at Monmouth (17-2, 6-0 MAAC) |
| Date | Time | Wednesday, Nov. 9 | 1:00 p.m. |
| Location | So Sweet A Cat Field; West Long Branch, N.J. | Parking Map |
| Series History | First meeting |
| Live Statistics | Statbroadcast |
| Watch | Monmouth Digital Network (Free) |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Monmouth |
| @UMassFH | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Field Hockey | |
Parking information for Monmouth: Fans attending the NCAA Field Hockey Play-In game are directed to park in Monmouth University's parking lot numbered 25, while available. Additional parking will be available in lots 13, 14 and 15. A parking map is available here.
UMass-Monmouth Scouting Report
First time opponents UMass and Monmouth meet in the NCAA Play-In Round at Monmouth's So Sweet A Cat Field on Wed., Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. Massachusetts, the Atlantic 10 Champions, enters with a 13-7 overall record while the Hawks are 17-2 on the year with six wins in as many MAAC games. Monmouth enters the national postseason on a 10-game winning streak while UMass triumphed in its last four games and in six of the previous seven.
Julie Laszlo's 43 points, 15 assists and 14 goals all ranks as the leading totals among Hawks. Laszlo is also tops in shots attempted (85) and on-target tries (39) while she sports eight defensive saves this year. Alyssa Ercolino is second on Monmouth with 36 points via 13 goals and 10 assists.
Christen Piersanti has played all but one half of one contest in goal for the Hawks with 1,335 total minutes. She sports a 1.05 goals-against average and .773 save percentage with 10 shutouts. Laszlo won MAAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Ercolino earned Offensive Player of the Year, Piersanti was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Carli Figlio took home MAAC Coach of the Year.
Figlio is in her ninth season as the program leader and begins the NCAA Tournament with a 98-96 overall record. The 17 wins mark the most for Monmouth in the history of the team, which began competition at the varsity level in 1997.
UMass Field Hockey In The NCAA Field
The 2016 NCAA Tournament marks the 26th appearance in the field for Massachusetts. It ranks the Minutewomen sixth across the NCAA Division I landscape for most tournament berths. UMass first appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1981 and collected 13 consecutive berths from 1981-93. The Minutewomen also earned a spot in the field from 1997-2001, '07, '08, '10, '12, '13 and '15.
Back-To-Back Like Jordan '96, '97
UMass field hockey won the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship with a 2-1 victory over Saint Joseph's in the title game on Sat., Nov. 5. It marked the second consecutive season and fourth in the last five years the Minutewomen claimed the league's crown. The 2016 title marked the team's 16th with the Atlantic 10, more than all other current or former league members combined (13). UMass also went back-to-back in 1992 and '93, won six straight from 1996-2001, claimed the 2007-08 crowns and again won back-to-back in 2012 and '13.
NCAA Play-In Round History
UMass field hockey made eight prior appearances in the NCAA Play-In Round. The program is 7-1 all-time in the event. It last appeared in the NCAA Play-In Round at home on Gladchuck Field against Kent State on Nov. 11, 2015, a 1-0 win for Massachusetts. The team also completed NCAA Play-In Round games in 1996, '98, '99, 2007, '08, '10 and '12, with the lone loss to Stanford, 2-1, on Nov. 9, 2010.
HAWK-SMASH
UMass field hockey junior midfielder and forward Sarah Hawkshaw won the Atlantic 10 Championship Most Outstanding Player Award with seven points over the two-game slate, split between three goals and one assist.
She now owns a team-high 14 goals scored following the A-10 Championship, a single-season career best. The Dublin, Ireland, native is currently tied with Izzie Delario for most active goals among Minutewomen with 29.
Hawkshaw had all three goals against No. 2 seed Richmond in the semifinal round as she secured the team a 3-1 win and advanced the Minutewomen to the next contest. In the A-10 Championship Game, Hawkshaw dished an assist on the first UMass goal of the 2-1 win over No. 1 seed Saint Joseph's.
She was also part of the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team.
Eight Minutewomen Split A-10 Accolade Haul
Eight members of the University of Massachusetts field hockey program split up 10 Atlantic 10 Conference year-end awards. Melanie Kreusch highlighted the group as the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and one of three Minutewomen on the all-conference first team, alongside Izzie Delario and Sarah Hawkshaw.
Three more from the squad earned placement on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team in Anne Dijkstra, Celina Hocks and Nicole Miller. Hocks, a junior transfer from Germany with no prior collegiate field hockey experience, was also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. Nicole Kuerzi and Cliodhna Loughlin were recognized for their respective successes in the classroom as members of the A-10 All-Academic Team.
Scoring More And More
UMass field hockey has the top-scoring offense in the Atlantic 10 this season with 59 goals in 20 games played for an average of 2.95 per contest. Sarah Hawkshaw leads the way with 14 goals scored, followed by 10 for Izzie Delario and eight by Nicole Miller. Hawkshaw's 11 goals ranks third in the conference and makes her one of only four Atlantic 10 players with 10 or more goals on the year. Delario and Hawkshaw are the only pair of teammates in double-figures.
Miller Time!
Senior forward Nicole Miller is having a career-year as a senior with a personal best 26 points via eight goals and 10 assists as a starter up front in all 20 games played. Miller leads the team in assists and is third in goals scored. She has the highest shots-on-goal percentage among players with at least 15 attempts as she put 27 of her 36 shots on-target (75.0 percent).
Assists A-Plenty
A pair of current Minutewomen rank in the top-10 all-time in program history for assists in seniors Izzie Delario and Cliodhna Loughlin. Delario owns 37 career assists, the fourth-most among all Minutewomen and four from surpassing Holly Hockenbrock (1990-93) in third with 40. Loughlin sits ninth with 25 and is one behind Judy Strong (1978-81) and Kate Putnam (1995-99) tied for seventh.
Clipping The Eagles
University of Massachusetts field hockey took a 3-2 overtime game at No. 9 Boston College on Sun., Sept. 25. It marked the highest-ranked team downed by the Minutewomen since the squad defeated No. 7 Virginia, 4-3, in overtime during the NCAA Tournament First Round on Nov. 16, 2013.
UMass rallied from down one goal on two occasions against the Eagles as BC led 1-0 following a 23rd-minute goal and 2-1 in the 42nd minute. Sarah Hawkshaw provided the game-tying tally at the 54:23 mark to force overtime. Anne Dijkstra ended it with her first goal of the year in the 82nd minute as Dijkstra forced a turnover near the Boston College circle, dribbled in and shot into the right side for the sudden victory.
Gunned For The Goals Record And Got It
University of Massachusetts field hockey dropped 12 goals on Saint Louis in a shutout win at the Gladchuk Sports Complex on Fri., Sept. 16. It reset the program record for goals scored in a single-game. Previously, UMass scored 11 on two occasions, including one performance accomplished by the current seniors during their freshman year. The Minutewomen had 11 at Saint Louis in a shutout of the Billikens on Sat., Oct. 12, 2013 and also posted 11 at Smith College on Oct. 25, 1979.
Offensive Firepower On Full Display
University of Massachusetts field hockey posted eight goals at UMass Lowell on Sun., Sept. 4. It marked the most offense by the Minutewomen since a 9-1 win over Saint Joseph's on Oct. 20, 2013 – a span of 53 games between the eight-goal outing.
Melanie Kreusch and Nicole Kuerzi each posted two-goal games while Izzie Delario, Sarah Hawkshaw, Celina Hocks and Nicole Miller scored once apiece. Delario and Cliodhna Loughlin also had three assists each while Hocks added two and Katie Clark earned her first collegiate point via an assist.
Keeping The Kennedy Cup
The University of Massachusetts and UMass Lowell started a new tradition during 2013 in tandem with UMass Lowell's elevation to Division I: the Kennedy Cup. Through four meetings, the Minutewomen have not relinquished the game trophy.
The Maroon and White blanked UMass Lowell during the inaugural game, 6-0 on Sept. 3, 2013. One year later, Massachusetts traveled to the River Hawks for a 3-1 victory on Sept. 14, 2014. Last season, offensive fireworks were displayed through the 4-3 UMass win on Sept. 11. This year, the Minutewomen controlled the tempo en route to an 8-0 victory.
The Kennedy Cup is named in honor of University of Massachusetts and UMass-Lowell alumnus, John F. Kennedy, who is a strong supporter and graduate of both institutions.
Robertson Returns To Her Alma Mater
1988 University of Massachusetts graduate Amy Robertson returned to her alma mater to serve as the UMass field hockey interim head coach for the 2016 season. Robertson previously held an assistant coach position with the Minutewomen from 1992-96 and was a standout defender from 1984-87.
Robertson led the Indiana University field hockey program for 15 seasons from 2000-14, accumulating 134 victories and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure. She oversaw the team's elevation from club level to NCAA Division I varsity status in 2000 and led the program to the Elite Eight during its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2005.
She also served as an assist at Iowa (1989-91) and Wake Forest (1997-99) prior to her 15-year tenure at Indiana. Over the previous three decades, Robertson accumulated 15 NCAA Tournament appearances and more than 350 victories as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach.
The Quicker Goal Picker-Upper
Senior forward Nicole Miller provided the Minutewomen their first goal of the season in three of her four campaigns with the program, including her freshman, sophomore and senior years.
Miller scored unassisted less than 15 minutes into her first collegiate game, a 2-1 win over Maine on Aug. 20, 2013. As a sophomore, she totaled both goals in a hard-fought 3-2 loss to No. 1 Maryland. Two years later, Miller returned to her first-game form with a tally at New Hampshire in the 2016 opener.
Fresh Face In The Cage
University of Massachusetts field hockey features a new starter in the cage for the first time since the 2012 season in redshirt junior Emily Hazard.
Hazard, a Highlands Ranch, Colo., native saw limited time behind previous starter Sam Carlino over the last two seasons. She entered the year with 24 minutes, 15 seconds in the cage and a career 2.89 goals-against average.
Through 1,419 minutes between the pipes this season, Hazard has a 1.94 goals-against average and .639 save percentage. Her four shutouts this year ties Hazard for first in the league in the category. She dropped her goals-against average to 1.48 in Atlantic 10 action, while her three clean sheets in league play ranked first among all conference goalies.
