Minutewomen Outbound to Richmond for Atlantic 10 Championship

University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes & Information
Game 20	Atlantic 10 Semifinals No. 2 seed Massachusetts (10-9) at No. 3 seed Richmond (10-9) (winner to Championship Game vs. No. 1 Saint Joseph's or No. 4 Lock Haven)
Date // Time	Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 8 // 2 p.m. Championship: Saturday, Nov. 9 // 1 p.m.
Location	University of Richmond Richmond, Va. // Crenshaw Field // Driving Directions
Series History	All-Time: Richmond leads, 17-15 In the Atlantic 10 Championship: Massachusetts leads, 7-5 Last Meeting: Richmond 2, Massachusetts 1; Sept. 29, 2019
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Watch	ESPN+ United States // International
Tickets	Available at Crenshaw Field Adults: $6 Senior Citizens/Youth: $4 Atlantic 10 Students: Free (with valid student ID)
Tournament Information	Championship Central // UMass Game Notes

The Need to Knows
What's at Stake
Massachusetts, seeded No. 2 in the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship, is making its 13th consecutive appearance in the league's postseason tournament dating back to 2007. A Semifinal win on Friday would put the squad back in the title game for the first time since 2017, one win away from the program's 17th A-10 crown.

Top seed and No. 13 nationally-ranked Saint Joseph's takes on No. 4 seed Lock Haven in the other Semifinal game, scheduled for 11 a.m. at Crenshaw Field. The Championship Game will be played at 1 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 9.

Top 25 Win Serves as Turning Point
Dating back to a 2-0 upset of No. 25 Northeastern on Oct. 4, Massachusetts has won seven of its last 10 including the final five games in the Atlantic 10. No A-10 opponent in that stretch tagged UMass for more than one goal and No. 3 ranked UConn (5) was the only side to score more than twice.

That played significantly into UMass' 1.00 team goals against average in conference play, a league-best.

Instant Classic
The A-10 regular season finale vs. VCU (Nov. 1) served as a de facto play-in game for this week's Championship and was one fans and players alike will remember for a long time.

Headed to a penalty shootout after 80 scoreless minutes, VCU took a 2-0 lead after three rounds, before UMass answered back and ended the program's longest shootout (3-2) in the 10th round. Fittingly on Senior Day, it was midfielder Sophie de Jonge that put home the game-winner.

Coast to Coast
Goalkeeper Marlise van Tonder joined the Minutewomen following the dissolution of the Pacific program last offseason. The South Africa product has started 15 of her 17 appearances, posting five clean sheets with a 9-7 record. Her 1.45 GAA sits third in the A-10.

In Summer 2018, van Tonder was one of just two active NCAA players to represent their country at the Vitality Women's Hockey World Cup in London.

Cooper Sparks Forward Unit
Junior Lucy Cooper put together a six-game point streak from Oct. 4-25, during which Massachusetts went 5-1. Her 27 career assists, partly as a penalty corner inserter, rank eighth in program history.

de Jonge in Elite Senior Company
Senior midfielder Sophie de Jonge was one of 38 seniors named to the Victory Sports Tours/NFHCA Division I Senior Game (Nov. 22). It marks the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that a Minutewoman has been tabbed to participate in the prestigious game.

In 78 career games with 59 starts, she owns 16 points on a pair of goals plus 12 assists.

From the Twittersphere

Sound ??????@Burnham_Jay visited with @umassfhcoach yesterday to take a look at our season thus far and look ahead to the @atlantic10 Championship#RollUMass | #Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/9hzQXMeKZa
— UMass Field Hockey (@UMassFH) November 7, 2019

The bracket for the 2019 #A10FH Championship is set! Excited to get it started with @AllisonGaskins with two great semifinal matchups on Friday. Catch all the action on ESPN+!

11:00a: @SJUHawks_FH/@LHUFieldHockey
2:00p: @UMassFH/@SpiderHockey

See you then, #RVA. pic.twitter.com/AobrAwJVa1
— Jake Eisenberg (@JakeEisenberg_) November 5, 2019

#Tokyo2020 BOUND!! Congrats to @sarahhawkshaw and @irishhockey!!!!

PS– today's Hawkshaw's birthday too. HBD to a #RollUMass great!

?? https://t.co/bSpvDhy8qq
?? INPHO/Morgan Treacy#UMassFamily | #Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/4m0RclPYQO
— UMass Field Hockey (@UMassFH) November 4, 2019

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