No. 23 Field Hockey Opens Three-Game Homestand Friday

University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes
Game 17	No. 23 Massachusetts (11-5 overall, 5-1 Atlantic 10) vs. No. 19 Saint Joseph's (13-3 overall, 5-1 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time [ET]	Friday, Oct. 20 \| 3 p.m.
Location	Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex; Amherst, Mass.
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 31-5. Last meeting: Saint Joseph's 3, Massachusetts 2 (OT); Oct. 21, 2016
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Stats
Live Video	Atlantic 10 Digital Network
Team Information	Massachusetts \| Saint Joseph's
Twitter	@UMassFH \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Field Hockey

University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes
Game 18	No. 23 Massachusetts vs. Yale
Date \| Time [ET]	Sunday, Oct. 22 \| 1 p.m.
Location	Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex; Amherst, Mass.
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 20-3-1. Last meeting: Massachusetts 3, Yale 2 (OT); Sept. 12, 2010
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Stats
Watch	Atlantic 10 Digital Network
Team Information	Massachusetts \| Yale
Twitter	@UMassFH \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Field Hockey
Special Events	Senior Day

Setting The Scene
Tied for first place in the Atlantic 10, University of Massachusetts field hockey heads into a three-game homestand to wrap up the regular season. The Minutewomen share that top spot with their Fri., Oct. 20 opponent: No. 19 Saint Joseph's. Starting whistle in that match is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex.

UMass will then host Senior Day on Sun., Oct. 22 in conjunction with a 1 p.m. rendezvous against Yale. Fans are encouraged to turn out early as the program will recognize a total of nine student-athletes and their families before the game. The group of honorees includes Anne Dijkstra, Sarah Hawkshaw, Emily Hazard, Grace Horgan, Nicole Kuerzi, Melanie Kreusch, Haley Notarantonio, Shauna Rankin-Byrne and Mirra Stillman.

Recap In A Minute
UMass split a weekend on the road at Saint Louis and then-No. 9 Northwestern on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15, respectively. Despite being dealt a tough setback to wrap up the stretch, the Minutewomen picked up a key A-10 triumph at SLU by a 3-2 margin. After UMass jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 52nd minute, the Billikens countered with two of their own tallies before the Maroon and White shut the door in the final stages of regulation.

In the Northwestern match UMass was forced to come from behind after Pascale Massey put the home squad on the board just before halftime. With goalkeeper Emily Hazard replaced with a kicking back late in regulation, UMass finally evened the score in the 69th minute on Melanie Kreusch's equalizer. The Minutewomen had opportunities to steal the win in the subsequent two overtime periods, before Kirsten Mansfield inked the game-winner for NU.

Massachusetts In The Rankings
Massachusetts moved up one spot to No. 23 in this week's NFHCA Coaches Poll, revealed Tuesday. In the NCAA RPI, the Maroon and White were slotted at No. 21. Both figures are second among Atlantic 10 programs only to Saint Joseph's.

Glad To Be At The 'Chuk
Massachusetts boasts a perfect 7-0 record this season within the confines of the Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex and also won its final four matches on the home pitch in 2016. That 11-game streak is the third-longest active run across the country, with Connecticut (34) topping the list and Saint Joseph's (12) claiming the No. 2 spot.

UMass' seven consecutive home victories to open 2017 was last accomplished in the 1993 campaign, when the squad ultimately went 9-0 in Amherst during the regular season.

HAWK-SMASH
Then-junior midfielder and forward Sarah Hawkshaw won the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship Most Outstanding Player Award with seven points over the two-game slate, split between three goals and one assist. She ended the year with a team-high 16 goals scored, also a single-season career best. The Dublin, Ireland, native is the program's active leader in goals scored with 39 and points recorded with 89.

Hawkshaw now ranks among the program's all-time scoring leaders. She is seventh in both career goals and in points scored. Next on the list for goals is Jenn Salisbury (1990-93) and Megan Donnelly (1982-85) with 41. Former Minutewoman Katie Kelly (2007-10) is sixth in points with 93.

Immediate Impacts
Two of Massachusetts' top four scorers through 16 matches are freshmen in Lucy Cooper and Georgie McTear. Cooper, a native of New Zealand, has 18 points via five goals and eight assists. Her 18 points enter the weekend tied with Sarah Hawkshaw tied for the team lead. McTear adds 11 points through four goals and three helpers. Cooper has started 15 contests at forward and McTear has started each game spending time at midfield and defense.

The Vet In Net
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Emily Hazard is in her second season as a starter in the cage for the Minutewomen. Though 15 games, Hazard holds a 1.79 goals-against average and .747 save percentage with 65 stops and 22 tallies allowed in 1,029 minutes of action. She started 15 of 16 contests and posted four shutouts–three individual and one combined with freshman goalkeeper Camille Lecrone.

Massachusetts Among The NCAA Leaders In...
Massachusetts field hockey ranks among the top 25 teams in the NCAA in four team categories through 16 games of the 2017 season, including winning percentage (T-18th; .688), shutouts per game (T-22nd; 0.25), goals-against average (23rd; 1.65) and assists per game (25th; 2.00).

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 was 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.

Weinberg Named UMass Field Hockey Head Coach
University of Massachusetts Director of Athletic Ryan Bamford announced Barb Weinberg as the ninth head coach of the field hockey program on Dec. 15, 2016. Weinberg joins Massachusetts after serving as Wake Forest's associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the 2014-16 seasons. The Demon Deacons advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice and won the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference title during her tenure.

Weinberg made assistant coaching stops at American University (2013-14), the University of Maryland (2010-13) and the University of Iowa (2008). During her time with the Terrapins, the team captured back-to-back NCAA titles in 2010 and 2011.

A 2005 Iowa graduate, Weinberg was a two-time All-American, three-time All-Big Ten performer and two-time team captain for the Hawkeyes (2000-04). She was a member of the U.S. Women's National Team from 2005-10, making 19 international appearances in that span. Weinberg also served as the alternate goalkeeper for the U.S. at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Welch Joins Staff As UMass Field Hockey Assistant Coach
University of Massachusetts field hockey head coach Barb Weinberg announced the hiring of Ed Welch as an assistant coach on July 27. Welch joins the Minutewomen staff to guide the UMass offense following a tenure with the Canterbury Hockey Club in Canterbury, England, as the Ladies 1st XI Head Coach.

As the leader of the Canterbury Ladies Hockey Club 1st XI, Welch guided the squad in Women's Premier Division action, as well as to a sixth place finish in European Cup play, European hockey's premier club event, held in the Netherlands. His role included planning and executing team training sessions, match day preparations and coaching and postgame video review. He also served as a liaison for Great Britain and England Hockey's "High Performance" programs with a focus in assisting with training and development of prospective national team athletes.

Next Up
The Minutewomen close out the regular season on Fri., Oct. 27 with a noon match against Richmond.

UMass Field Hockey On Social Media
Follow University of Massachusetts field hockey on social media throughout the season via Twitter (@UMassFH), Instagram (@UMassFieldHockey) or Facebook (UMass Field Hockey).

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Players Mentioned

Lucy Cooper

Anne Dijkstra

Sarah Hawkshaw

Emily Hazard

Grace Horgan

Melanie Kreusch

Nicole Kuerzi

Camille Lecrone

Georgie McTear

Haley Notarantonio

Shauna Rankin-Byrne

Mirra Stillman

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics