Women's Soccer Kicks Off Atlantic 10 Play Against George Washington, At Dayton

University of Massachusetts Women's Soccer Game Notes & Information
Game 8 & 9	Massachusetts (3-2-2) vs. George Washington (3-2-2) \| Massachusetts (3-2-2) at Dayton (5-1-2)
Date \| Time	Thursday, September 14 // 4 p.m. \| Sunday, September 17 // 1 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. // Rudd Field \| Dayton, Ohio // Baujan Field
Watch	ESPN+ George Washington \| Dayton
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast George Washington \| Dayton
Twitter	@UMassWSoccer
Instagram	UMass Women's Soccer
Facebook	UMass Women's Soccer

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts women's soccer team kicks off Atlantic 10 competition this week with a pair of matches beginning at home on Rudd Field against George Washington at 4 p.m. on Thursday, September 14, on ESPN+. The Minutewomen will play their first league game on the road on Sunday, September 17, at Dayton at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

Atlantic 10 Openers
Massachusetts holds a 3-1-2 record in Atlantic 10 openers dating back to a 3-1 win over Davidson to start the 2017 conference slate. The Minutewomen tied VCU, 1-1, last season as Lauren Bonavita scored the equalizer in the eighth minute of the contest.

Last Time Out
UMass holds a 3-2-2 overall record after falling to Rutgers on Sunday in the team's only game of the week. The Minutewomen dropped a close 1-0 match on the road.

Massachusetts and Rutgers went a full 45 minutes scoreless, with scoring opportunities from junior midfielder Bella Recinos and sophomore forward Nia Hislop. In the second half, the Scarlet Knights got on the board after capitalizing on a penalty kick in the 66th minute.

Keeping Track
Graduate student defender Fiona Kane placed her name on the program's career games started list, solely taking over sixth with 78 games started on Sunday at Rutgers, surpassing Jess Howe (2009-12). She will be tied for fifth on Thursday with Danielle Dion (1994-97) with 79 career starts, while Sunday's contest will allow Kane to tie for fourth with 80 games started along with Erin Lynch (1993-96).

Kane is also one game away from tying for ninth in career games played with 79. With the feat, she will tie with Danielle Dion (1994-97), Lauren Skesavage (2010-13) and Amy Trunk (1990-93).

Mendoza is nine saves away from etching her name in the career records for the program. With nine more saves, she would tie Danielle Kriscenski (2012-15) for 10th with 163 career saves.

Statistically Speaking
Junior forward Ashley Lamond is currently tied for third in goals (three) and in points (eight) in the Atlantic 10 Conference, while sitting third in shots on goal with 11. She also tied for sixth in the league in shots with 18 total.

Junior defender Juliana Ryan sits tied for third in the A-10 with one game-winning goal.

Senior goalkeeper Bella Mendoza has placed herself in the conference rankings, sitting third in goals against average with a .992, while tying for eighth in total saves with 25. She is also tied for fourth in shutouts per game with a .286 average and is tied for third with two total shutouts.

Scouting George Washington
The Minutewomen hold a 20-11-3 advantage over the Revolutionaries in the all-time series. The two programs first me on September 20, 1981, when UMass edged GW with a 1-0 shutout victory in Amherst. Massachusetts and George Washington met last season on the road on September 30. The Minutewomen shutout the Revolutionaries, 2-0, on the day.

George Washington currently sits at 3-2-2 overall on the season, picking up a dominant 7-0 win over Delaware State, a 2-1 triumph over UNC Greensboro and a 2-0 shutout victory at UMBC. The Revolutionaries fell to Bucknell (3-1) and Howard (2-1), while tying Youngstown State (1-1) and American (3-3). Aoi Kataoka leads the team with eight points on one goal and a team-best six assists. Kate McGrath sits atop the leaderboard in goals with three on the season, while adding one assist for seven points, while Kelly Poole also has seven points on two goals and three assists. Kataoka tallied 23 shots, so far this season, followed by Poole with 18, including a team-high 11 on goal.

Rose Hemans has played the most minutes in net for GW with 450, holding a 2-1-2 record, including on shutout. She has a 1.40 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .806 save percentage, allowing seven goals and stopping 29.

Scouting Dayton
The Flyers lead the all-time series over the Minutewomen, 21-5-1. UMass and Dayton first met in the Atlantic 10 Championship game on November 10, 1996, with Dayton winning 3-2 in Kingston, Rhode Island. The two teams met twice last season, with the final meeting on October 28 in the A-10 Tournament. The Flyers advanced after a 2-0 victory over Massachusetts.

Dayton holds a 5-1-2 overall record, earning wins over Loyola Maryland (4-1), Cincinnati (4-1), Louisville (2-1),Akron (5-2) and Wright State (3-0). The Flyers lone loss came to IUPUI (1-0), while drawing Illinois (0-0) and Michigan State (2-2). Noel Blain recorded a team-leading four goals, while adding one assist and tying for first in points with Madison Wilson with nine apiece. Diana Benigno leads the Flyers with four assists. Blain also has a team-best 24 shots, including 15 on target.

Batoul Reda has a 5-0-2 record after playing 630 minutes in net for Dayton. She registered a 1.00 GAA and a .833 save percentage, allowing seven goals and making 35 saves on the season.

The Flyers will open A-10 competition at St. Bonaventure on Thursday at 7 p.m., prior to Sunday's contest.

Weekly Honors
Kane collected the first Atlantic 10 weekly accolade of the year for the Minutewomen on September 5. She earned A-10 Defensive Player of the Week after playing a key role for UMass' defense to post back-to-back 2-0 shutouts over Syracuse (8/31) and Bryant (9/3). Kane combined for 176 total minutes, playing the full 90 minutes against Syracuse and 86 minutes against Bryant.

Looking Ahead
UMass continues A-10 play when it hosts VCU on Thursday, September 21 for a 3 p.m. match at Rudd Field on ESPN+, before heading to Davidson on Sunday, September 24, for a 1 p.m. contest on ESPN+.

Scoreboard

Women's Soccer Kicks Off Atlantic 10 Play Against George Washington, At Dayton

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Bonavita

Nia Hislop

Fiona Kane

Ashley Lamond

Bella Mendoza

Bella Recinos

Juliana Ryan

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics