Atlantic 10 Schedule Opens at Saint Louis

University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes & Information
Game 7	Massachusetts (2-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at Saint Louis (0-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Date // Time	Saturday, Sept. 21 // 1 p.m. Eastern Time
Location	Maryland Height, Mo. // SportPort International // Driving Directions
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 16-0 Last Meeting: Massachusetts 4, Saint Louis 3; Oct. 28, 2018
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Watch	Live video unavailable
Social Media	UMass Field Hockey Facebook // Twitter // Instagram #RollUMass // #FlagshipIsFearless // #Flagship

The Need to Knows
Be Social!
For up-to-the-minute coverage on Massachusetts field hockey, follow the Minutewomen on Facebook (UMass Field Hockey), Twitter (@UMassFH) and Instagram (@UMassFieldHockey).

Setting the Scene
University of Massachusetts field hockey gears up for the start of the Atlantic 10 schedule on Sat., Sept. 21 as the Minutewomen visit conference foe Saint Louis. Game time is set for 1 p.m. Eastern Time at SportPort International in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

The Maroon and White are 23-8 in conference openers since the A-10 began sponsoring field hockey in 1988 and are looking for their fifth consecutive win in a league lid-lifter.

Recap in a Minute
UMass, despite coming off back-to-back losses, has been competitive with some of the top teams in the country of late. The Minutewomen battled back from early deficits against No. 20 UAlbany (Sept. 14) and No. 10 Harvard (Sept. 16) and hung with both sides throughout each respective match but were edged 2-1 and 3-2, respectively.

Junior Georgie McTear has recorded a team-high seven points on three goals and an assist, with freshman Jess Beech just behind at five points (two goals, one assist).

Battling With the Best
Massachusetts tested itself right out of the gate with one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in New England and perhaps beyond. To date, all four Minutewomen losses have come to foes ranked top-20 in the NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll (top 25) and three setbacks were by just one goal.

In New England, only UConn (6) has faced more Top 25 teams thus far.

Commonwealth Connections
• UMass head coach Barb Weinberg and Saint Louis head coach Danielle Baumgardner were part of the Maryland field hockey program together for two seasons (2010-11), as Weinberg was on staff as an assistant coach and Baumgardner was a student-athlete.

The All-Time Series
Historically UMass has had Saint Louis' number, claiming all 16 meetings of the sides. UMass has faced the Billikens annually since SLU joined the Atlantic 10 in 2005; the only two other contests in the series came in 2003 when the Bills were members of the former NorPac Conference, and in 1979 at the AIAW National Tournament.

Fresh Faces
Massachusetts welcomes a total of 11 new faces to the program this season, including nine freshmen and two incoming transfers. Six U.S. states and five other countries are represented among the group, which is made up of freshmen Jess Beech, Kaitlin Broda, Emily Crawford, Steph Gottwals, Vera Heering, Bella Ianni, Emilie Keij, Amber Rose and Josie Rossbach. Graduate student Michelle Barrett and junior Marlise van Tonder have also joined the program.

Minutewomen Trio Named Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference
Senior midfielder Sophie de Jonge, along with junior forward Lucy Cooper and midfielder Georgie McTear were named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Team on Mon., Aug. 19. In conjunction with the announcement, the A-10 also revealed the league's Preseason Coaches' Poll, which projected Massachusetts to finish third in the regular season standings.

Aye Aye, Captain
Junior forward Lucy Cooper and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Megan Davies will captain the Minutewomen in 2019.

Next Up
UMass opens up a four-game home stand at the Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex beginning Fri., Sept. 27 with a 3 p.m. game against No. 15 Saint Joseph's.

It will mark the beginning of Alumnae Weekend for the Minutewomen as former standout Jenn Salisbury will be inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame on Sat., Sept. 28 and a halftime alumnae recognition will take place on Sun., Sept. 29 during the squad's game against Richmond.

Flagship Facts
Jenn Salisbury Named to 2019 UMass Hall of Fame Class
Four-year letterwinner Jenn Salisbury (1990-93) helped UMass accumulate a 70-19-1 combined record (.783) in her four seasons, including a 16-1-0 Atlantic 10 mark (.941). The Minutewomen reached the NCAA Tournament in all four of Salisbury's years, including trips to the Elite Eight in 1990 and 1993 and a Final Four appearance in 1992.

UMass Athletics will host an on-campus induction ceremony for Salisbury and the entire induction class on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium. Contact Jason Germain in the Minutemen Club at jag@umass.edu for more information and registration for the induction ceremony.

Pietie Coetzee-Turner Named Assistant Coach
Head coach Barb Weinberg announced on May 29 that South Africa native Pietie Coetzee-Turner has joined the Minutewomen as assistant coach. One of the most highly-regarded strikers in the world, Coetzee-Turner is a three-time Olympian, representing South Africa at the 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens) and 2012 (London) Summer Games. She boasts one of the fastest known drag flicks in the world and has logged 287 goals over 289 international matches, holding the FIH all-time scoring record.

The veteran of the coaching world also was an assistant at Indiana (2006) and also held a number of roles across South Africa. In addition to serving as head coach at the University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg, Coetzee-Turner also was director of hockey at St David's Marist Inanda from 2016-19.

Roll UMass
Three University of Massachusetts alumnae are active NCAA Division I head coaches heading into the 2019 season, while numerous others hold assistant coaching roles around the country. Duke head coach Pam Bustin played at UMass from 1985-88, Stanford's Tara Danielson from 1990-93 and Niki Miller (2013-16) is leading Wagner ahead of the Seahawks' inaugural campaign.

Sweet 16
Massachusetts has secured a league-record 16 Atlantic 10 Championships, most recently winning the postseason conference title back-to-back in 2015-16. The program's 26 NCAA Tournament appearances also stand as the top mark in the A-10.

NCAA Announces Field Hockey Rule Changes
Fans will notice multiple rule changes during the 2019 NCAA field hockey season–most notably the change to a 15-minute quarter regulation format. That update, made to align with FIH hockey, replaces the longstanding format of two 35-minute halves.

Additionally, the clock will now stop when umpires signal a penalty corner. Once both teams are set and ready for the corner, the umpire will use his or her whistle to resume play. At that point the clock operator will restart the clock.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michelle Barrett

Jess Beech

Kaitlin Broda

Lucy Cooper

Emily Crawford

Megan Davies

Sophie de Jonge

Steph Gottwals

Vera Heering

Bella Ianni

Emilie Keij

Georgie McTear

Amber Rose

Josie Rossbach

Marlise van Tonder

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics