UMass Field Hockey Opens Season At Home This Weekend

University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes & Information
Games 1 & 2	Massachusetts vs. Northeastern \| Massachusetts vs. Maine
Date \| Time	Friday, August 27 / 3 p.m. \| Sunday, August 29 / 1 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. (Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex)
Watch	Northeastern (ESPN+) \| Maine (ESPN+)
Live Statistics	Live Stats
Twitter	@UMassFH
Instagram	UMass Field Hockey
Facebook	UMass Field Hockey

AMHERST, Mass. – The Massachusetts field hockey team will kickoff the 2021 season with a three-game home stand, beginning on Friday afternoon against Northeastern (3 p.m.). The Minutewomen will then take on Maine on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, and admission to all game at Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex is free of charge.

UMass picked third in A-10 Preseason Poll; McTear and Beech named Preseason All-Conference
With 50 total points and two first place votes in the Preseason Poll, Massachusetts was picked to finish third in the upcoming season, behind only defending A-10 Champion VCU (58 points; five first place votes) and Saint Joseph's (53 points; one first place vote). Junior midfielder Jess Beech and senior midfielder Georgie McTear, were both named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.

Van Tonder represents South Africa at 2020 Olympics in Toyko
Goalkeeper Marlise van Tonder was named a traveling reserve for the South Africa national team during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Van Tonder, a native of Pretoria, South Africa, marked the 10th time a Minutewoman has made an Olympic roster as a player and is the fourth goalkeeper to do so, following Patty Shea (1988, '96), Hilary Rose (1996, 2000) and Alesha Widdall (2016).

Due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, van Tonder was unable to compete for Massachusetts during the Spring 2021 season. She remained in South Africa during this time, training and actively competing for a spot on the 19-woman squad led by head coach Robin van Ginkel.

UMass welcomes Roxy Coetzee-Turner as assistant coach
In June, head coach Barb Weinberg announced that Roxy Coetzee-Turner has joined the program as assistant coach. Coetzee-Turner brings 15 years of coaching experience to the Minutewomen, having most recently spent the 2019 season in a similar role at Amherst College.

"I'm very excited to welcome Roxy to our staff," said Weinberg. "Roxy brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience at the highest levels to our program. She has tremendous hockey knowledge and a strong ability in player development. Most of all, Roxy fits well with the growth mindset we embrace on and off the pitch at UMass. I can't wait for her to get started working with our team."

"It's an honor to join UMass field hockey and I thank both Barb Weinberg and director of athletics Ryan Bamford for this opportunity," said Coetzee-Turner. "There is a great, talented group of players at UMass and with preseason right around the corner, I am looking forward to getting on the pitch and helping them develop both as players and people."

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Players Mentioned

Jess Beech

Georgie McTear

Marlise van Tonder

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University of Massachusets Athletics