Minutewomen Return To Action For Two This Weekend

University of Massachusetts Field Hockey Game Notes & Information
Games 3 & 4	Massachusetts vs. Vermont \| Massachusetts at Albany
Date \| Time	Friday, September 3 / 3 p.m. \| Sunday, September 5 / 1 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. (Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex) \| Albany, N.Y. (Alumni Turf)
Watch	Vermont (ESPN+) \| Albany (AE.tv)
Live Statistics	Live Stats (Friday)
Twitter	@UMassFH
Instagram	UMass Field Hockey
Facebook	UMass Field Hockey

AMHERST, Mass. – After starting the season 2-0 for the first time since 2017, the Massachusetts field hockey team returns to action this weekend for a pair of non-conference games, beginning on Friday against Vermont. Friday's game will be broadcasted on ESPN+, and admission to all games at Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex is free of charge. UMass will then hit the road for the first time this season for a 1 p.m. matchup at Albany on Sunday.

McTear and van Tonder earn Atlantic 10 weekly accolades
A pair of Minutewomen earned weekly accolades from the Atlantic 10 on Monday. Georgie McTear was named the A-10 Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals over the weekend, while Marlise van Tonder earned Defensive Player of the Week honors following a 2-0 weekend with a 0.97 goals against average and .818 save percentage.

McTear (Portsmouth, England) scored a goal in each game last weekend, first against Northeastern on Friday that gave UMass a 2-0 lead early in the first quarter off a penalty corner. She followed it up by burying a highlight reel goal against Maine on Sunday when she lost a defender en route to the cage before spinning around and firing a shot home to give Massachusetts a 2-0 edge late in the third quarter.

Van Tonder, meanwhile, recorded a five-save shutout against the Huskies before making four more saves against Maine in a 3-2 overtime victory on Sunday.

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."

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jess Beech

Georgie McTear

Marlise van Tonder

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics