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It was a thrilling finish on Thursday afternoon at Rudd Field as Julia Weithofer's Golden Goal with 46 seconds left in the second overtime won the UMass women's soccer team its fourth straight match and its Atlantic 10 opener against La Salle. Along with Weithofer's goal, the game was highlighted by a fourth straight clean sheet for Cassidy Babin and the defense. Senior forward Jackie Bruno also made an unexpected return to the pitch after being cleared following a lengthy battle with Lyme disease that was originally thought to be season ending for the forward.
Tom Mulherin of the Daily Collegian has a feature looking at the play of the UMass women's soccer team defensively - a category in which the Minutewomen lead the Atlantic 10 and are one of the best in the nation. Head coach Ed Matz says that veteran leadership and improved defensive play at all positions has been a key:
"You have to look at the fact that at times, we have three seniors back there," Matz said. "I think all of them are experienced defenders and are all doing very well. Early on we had to move Georgia to center-back, which isn't her natural position, and she's getting more comfortable playing next to Rebekka."
"I think that they are all very focused," he added. "They are all tremendous leaders, they are probably our three best kids and probably three of our hardest working kids. They're seniors, they want to make this the best year possible."
Adam Aucoin of the Daily Collegian has a preview of Thursday afternoon's Atlantic 10 opener for the UMass women's soccer team as La Salle visits Rudd Field. La Salle has had the upper hand in the series over the last several years which head coach Ed Matz says is motivation for his program.
Adam Aucoin of the Daily Collegian has a feature on Jackie Bruno and her battle with Lyme disease which has caused her to miss the 2015 campaign. Despite not being able to play during her senior season, Bruno strives to help the program succeed from the sideline.
"I always tried to instill that family vibe," she said. "These girls are like my sisters. I would do anything for them, and I know they have my back like I have theirs."
Dan Malone of MassLive.com has a recap of the UMass women's soccer team's 2-0 win over Harvard on Sunday. The story includes a photo gallery from the match courtesy of J. Anthony Roberts.
NewEnglandSoccerNews.com has a recap of the UMass women's soccer team's 2-0 win over Harvard with a focus on keeper Cassidy Babin extending her shutout streak to 352 minutes. The clean sheet was her fourth of the year and the fifth of her two-year career. The Ellicott City, Md., native is the top-rated goalkeeper in the Atlantic 10 with a 0.40 goals-against-average and a .893 save percentage.
Sam Pollack of the Daily Collegian has a feature on women's soccer senior Madison Smith whose transition from defender to forward is paying dividends for the Minutewomen's offensive attack.
Adam Aucoin of the Daily Collegian has a recap of Sunday's 2-0 win over Harvard for the UMass women's soccer team. The win was the Minutewomen's third straight and marked the squad's fourth shutout of the season.
Adam Aucoin of the Daily Collegian has a feature on the women's soccer team focusing on the strong play of the team defensively over the last five games.
Head coach Ed Matz says veteran leadership on the back line is key to the program's succes.
"It's always great to have two or three seniors on your backline at all times," he said. "They know the system better than anyone on this team and they can help guide our younger defenders to get better."
The Average Joe Show out of Springfield recently interviewed UMass Hall of Famer, former UMass and USA women's soccer netminder Briana Scurry, following Team USA's 2015 World Cup victory.
Congratulations to the four members of the UMass women's soccer program, Megan Burke, Julia Weithofer, Georgia Gibson and Madison Smith, who have helped the New England Mutiny of the WPSL clinch the top spot in the Power 5 Division and finish the regular season with a record of 7-1.
MassLive had coverage of the Mutiny's 2-0 weekend and the success of their season thus far. Weithofer, a East Longmeadow, Mass., native, was interviewed for the piece.
Today on Huffington Post, Nancy Redd has a video interview with former U.S. women's soccer player, UMass alum Briana Scurry. She joins Redd to discuss the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and #WhatsWorking to prevent concussions.
In today's Daily Collegian, Griffin Carroll has a profile of UMass women's soccer co-captain Rebekka Sverrisdóttir, who recently completed her junior season with the Minutewomen and earned her first career All-Atlantic 10 honor.
UMass women's soccer's Sverrisdóttir balances a soccer career between two different countries
The UMass women's soccer team saw its 2014 campaign come to an end yesterday with a 3-0 loss to the top-seeded La Salle Explorers at the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Dayton, Ohio.
Both the Daily Collegian and the Daily Hampshire Gazette had coverage of the match
Daily Collegian: UMass women's soccer falls to La Salle 3-0, ending season
Daily Hampshire Gazette: UMass shut out by La Salle in Atlantic 10 quarterfinals
In today's Daily Collegian, Tom Mulherin has a women's soccer preview in advance of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Minutewomen will open tournament action on Thursday morning, Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. in Dayton, Ohio.
Read: UMass women's soccer opens A-10 tournament against top-seeded La Salle
The UMass women's soccer team earned an Atlantic 10 Tournament berth for a sixth straight year as the squad wrapped up the regular season on the road this past weekend. Frank Corona recapped both matches for the Daily Collegian.
Read: UMass women's soccer claims playoff spot despite scoreless tie in regular-season finale
Frank Corona has a preview of UMass women's soccer's trips to Richmond and Davidson this weekend, which will close out the regular season for the Minutewomen, and focuses on the importance of scoring first in the matches.
Read: UMass women's soccer attempts to retain playoff position with pair of weekend games
With the team heading into the final weekend of the regular season with an Atlantic 10 Tournament berth on the line, Arthur Hayden takes a look at UMass women's soccer's recent success and the play of junior co-captain Jackie Bruno, who leads the team with six goals on the season.
The UMass women's soccer team capped off its 2014 home schedule with a 2-0 win over Duquesne on Senior Day this past Sunday. Frank Corona covered the match for the Daily Collegian.
Read: UMass women's soccer's offense shines in 2-0 victory over Duquesne
The UMass women's soccer team opened its 2-0-0 weekend with a victory against St. Bonaventure on Friday afternoon on Rudd Field. Arthur Hayden recapped the match for the Daily Collegian.
Read: UMass women's soccer breaks through against St. Bonaventure
In today's Daily Collegian, Tom Mulherin previews women's soccer's final two home games of the season. The Minutewomen host St. Bonaventure on Friday and Duquesne on Sunday.
Read: Minutewomen look to continue their season in weekend game against Saint Bonaventure
Arthur Hayden has a piece in today's Daily Collegian on how UMass women's soccer still controls its own destiny for a berth into the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Minutewomen have two weeks and four matches left in the regular season.
Read: UMass women's soccer controls its own destiny as conference tournament approaches
Arthur Hayden has a piece in today's Daily Collegian on how UMass women's soccer still controls its own destiny for a berth into the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Minutewomen have two weeks and four matches left in the regular season.
Read: UMass women's soccer controls its own destiny as conference tournament approaches
In today's Daily Collegian, Arthur Hayden has a preview of women's soccer's match at Rhode Island on Saturday. The Minutewomen will be taking on the Rams at 7 p.m. in Kingston, R.I.
Read: Women's soccer prepare for the unknown in matchup against Rhode Island
Today in the Daily Collegian, Frank Corona takes a look at UMass women's soccer's start to the Atlantic 10 season.
"However, based on their play so far, the Minutewomen are showing that they can be a serious force in conference play in the upcoming weeks."
Read: UMass Women's soccer elevates play against Atlantic 10 opponents
Arthur Hayden had this recap of women's soccer's 2-1 loss at George Washington on Saturday.
Read: UMass women's soccer falls short in comeback bid against George Washington
Arthur Hayden of the Daily Collegian had this recap of women's soccer's Atlantic 10 opener in which junior co-captain Jackie Bruno scored the game-tying goal in her return to action.
Read: Jackie Bruno's equalizer secures a tie for UMass against George Mason
Arthur Hayden of the Daily Collegian has a preview of the Atlantic 10 opener against George Mason for the UMass women's soccer team on Friday afternoon at Rudd Field. Hayden predicts the game will be a defensive battle based on how each team has played so far this season.
Tom Mulherin of the Daily Collegian has a preview of the UMass women's soccer team's opening weekend of Atlantic 10 play and what the team will need to do to be successful. The Minutewomen will host George Mason at Rudd Field on Friday afternoon before facing Saint Joseph's on Sunday.
Frank Corona of the Daily Collegian looks ahead to UMass' Monday night match at Harvard and the upcoming Atlantic 10 slate, which begins next Friday vs. George Mason.
"The Massachusetts women's soccer team reached the midway point of its season and received a lengthy reprieve from its schedule," writes Arthur Hayden of the Daily Collegian, who spoke with redshirt freshman Jenny Scro and head coach Ed Matz for his piece in today's paper.
Read: UMass women's soccer recuperating at midway point of season
Tom Mulherin of the Daily Collegian sat down with women's soccer co-captain Jackie Bruno for this piece on the Staten Island, N.Y., native. Though currently injured, Bruno talks about her experiences as a team captain and about supporting the squad from the sidelines.
Read: UMass women's soccer suffers major set back with injury to co-captain Jackie Bruno
The UMass women's soccer team picked up its first home victory of the season on Sunday, capturing a dramatic 2-1 win over New Hampshire in double overtime at Rudd Field.
Frank Corona had this recap of the match for the Daily Collegian: UMass women's soccer earns first home win of season in double overtime thriller
Arthur Hayden also had this sidebar following Sunday's match
With its first issue of the academic year out today, the Daily Collegian has a recap of women's soccer's home opener vs. Providence. The Minutewomen tied the score on a last-second goal in regulation, but fell in OT to the Friars, 2-1.
Sunday's home opener for UMass women's soccer will mark the debut of retired jersey banners for alumnae April Kater '91 and Briana Scurry '95 at Rudd Field. The Minutewomen put together this special message for Kater, who attended the team's banquet last spring, to unveil her banner.
Arthur Hayden from the Daily Collegian recapped the opening weekend of the 2014 for UMass women's soccer. The Minutewomen went 0-1-1 at the JMU invitational down in Harrisonburg, Va., with a 1-1 tie against Towson and a 2-1 loss to the host Dukes.
With a little help from his team, UMass women's soccer head coach Ed Matz took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge today. The Minutewomen took part in it too, while also making a donation to fight ALS, and nominated the the UMass hockey team. Check out the video:
The women's soccer website All White Kit released its rankings of the top 100 recruiting classes in Division 1 women's soccer with UMass at No. 60 on the list. The Minutewomen trail just two Atlantic 10 teams in the rankings, La Salle (36) and VCU (51).
With women's preseason being just a few weeks away, David Carty of the Foxboro Reporter has profiled incoming Minutewomen freshman Danielle Roma. Roma will have an opportunity to face her older sister Gianna, who plays at UConn, when UMass travels to Storrs to face the Huskies on Sept. 14.
Read: Roma follows big sister's advice onto collegiate pitch
We hope you enjoyed our coaches sharing some of their favorite motivational quotes this week as part of #UMassCoachQuotes. We'll have another round of those coming next week as well. For now, let's look back at what our coaches submitted this past week.
Team: Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. MLAX Greg Cannella #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 4, 2014
I can accept failure; everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. (M. Jordan) WSOC Ed Matz (@CoachMatz) #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 5, 2014
In the end it's the "teamness" that makes the difference. WTEN Judy Dixon (@Jbddix) #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 6, 2014
if you do the work, you can own the dream. Rowing Jim Dietz #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 7, 2014
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. WLAX Angela McMahon (@umasswlax) #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 8, 2014
The best team is the team that takes care of itself. (Elaine Sortino) SB Kristi Stefanoni (@UMCoachKristi) #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 9, 2014
The Price of Success is always Paid in Advance. MTrack/XC Ken O'Brien #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 10, 2014
Consistency in effort will determine success. MLAX Greg Cannella #UMassCoachQuotes
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) July 11, 2014
UMass Hall of Famer, former Minutewoman, World Cup and U.S. Olympic goalkeeper Briana Scurry, now retired from soccer spends much of her time as a motivational speaker. She recently visited St. Mary's County in Maryland to share her story at the 21st century end of the school year picnic at Lexington Park Elementary School. AJ Mason had coverage of the visit for SoMdNews.com:
Read: Former World Cup, Olympic goalkeeper Scurry inspires area youth
There has been a change to the 2014 UMass women's soccer schedule, which was announced last month. The Minutewomen's home game against Yale, originally scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 14, was canceled due to a scheduling conflict.
UMass has replaced the game with a 1 p.m. road match on that date at Connecticut. It will mark first time the squads have met since 2006.
The returning members of the UMass women's soccer team put together this welcome video for the squad's incoming freshmen. Check it out:
UMass women's soccer rising-sophomore Julia Weithofer has been adding the New England Mutiny's roster for the Summer 2014 season, the Mutiny announced yesterday.
UMass women's soccer senior Grace Coombs has rejoined Charlton Athletic Women, the team she played with prior to her three collegiate seasons with the Minutewomen. The club's website announced the signing:
"The Charlton women's team are delighted to confirm the re-signing of midfielder Grace Coombs, who returns from a spell at the University of Massachusetts.
Grace re-joined the club before the Christmas break and will be available for the second half of the season, starting on 5 January away to West Ham United.
And the versatile 23-year-old, who can also play at centre back, is looking forward to getting back out on the field and playing with old friends.
On her return to Sparrow's Lane, she said: "It was always going to happen, really. I wasn't ever looking anywhere else. My best friends play for this team, so it just made sense [to come back].
"It will be different at first but I am sure I will adjust. I still know the majority of the team so hopefully I know how they play so I can fit in quickly.
Read more: Grace looking forward to making her Addicks return
Several media outlets covered U.S. Soccer's announcement of the national women's team all-time best XI on Thursday, which included former Minutewoman Briana Scurry:
Los Angeles Times: Mia Hamm, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach named to all-time U.S. soccer team
Washington Post: Hamm, Fawcett, Akers head US women's Best XI
Daily Hampshire Gazette: Former UMass star Briana Scurry named to All-Time US Women's National Team Best XI
Congratulations to the women's soccer team on advancing in the Atlantic 10 tournament, 5-3, on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless draw over Saint Louis yesterday in Richmond Va. The Minutewomen will face No. 2-seed La Salle tonight in the first semifinal match at 5 p.m.
Dan Malone had coverage of Thursday's match for the Springfield Republican:
MassLive.com: East Longmeadow's Julia Weithofer helps send UMass women's soccer to A-10 semifinals
The Washington Post had this extensive piece on UMass Hall of Famer Briana Scurry and her recovery from the concussion that ended her soccer career:
The UMass women's soccer team plays its final home match of the season this Saturday, Nov. 2, when the squad will host St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m. on Rudd Field. Prior to the match, seniors Grace Coombs, Brittany Moore and Lauren Skesavage will be honored with a Senior Day ceremony.
Check out Joey Saade's preview of the match for the Daily Collegian: Minutewomen look to close out regular season with victory on senior day
Joey Saade of the Daily Collegian has a feature story on UMass women's soccer goalie Danielle Kriscenski who says she has always been a goalie since she was 10 months old.
Tom Mulherin of the Daily Collegian has a feature on Brittany Moore who has emerged as one of the Minutewomen's top scoring threats recently. The converted defender has one of the team's best shots according to head coach Ed Matz.
With its victory over Bryant yesterday at Rudd Field, the UMass women's soccer team won its second straight and improved to 4-2-1 in its last seven games.
Joey Saade had a recap of the match in today's Daily Collegian:
Before Sarah Pandolfi checked into the scoreless game late in the second half, Massachusetts women's soccer coach Ed Matz instructed his freshman forward where to position herself in order to score.
In the 83rd minute, she listened to him.
Heading to the far post, Pandolfi hauled in a cross-field pass from the left sideline by teammate Jackie Bruno and headed the ball home to break the scoreless struggle and give the Minutewomen a 1-0 victory over Bryant University at home on Thursday.
"Before Sarah went in, I said, 'you just need to get to the far post' because I thought we were generating a lot of crosses," Matz said. "I challenged her to do that, and she got on the end and scored."
Continue reading: Late Goal Gives UMass Win Over Bryant
Check out head coach Ed Matz's postgame comments:
Tom Mulherin has a recap of women's soccer's overtime win against Northeastern in today's Daily Collegian. The Minutewomen went 1-1-0 last week and will play their final non-conference match this Thursday at home vs. Bryant before opening up A-10 action at Saint Joseph's on Sunday.
The Massachusetts women's soccer team may be making a habit of overtime wins.
The Minutewomen picked up their third win in extra time in their last two contests with a 2-1 comeback victory over Northeastern at Rudd Field on Sunday.
The 1-1 match was broken just five minutes into overtime as forward Megan Burke took an overhead pass from Madison Smith and found the back of the net on a chip shot over the goalkeeper.
"Personally, I was just trying to get my body in front of [the ball]," Burke said on the play. "I was hoping to just get a touch, or anything. I got the touch and I guess the shot was perfect."
Read more of UMass women's soccer completes comeback win in overtime
On the heels of women's soccer's 1-0-1 weekend and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Danielle Kriscenski's Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honor, Joey Saade had this sidebar in today's Daily Collegian:
While the Massachusetts women's soccer team entered this season with speculation surrounding a young roster, it still had one assurance in its back pocket: defense.
After giving up four goals in their season-opening loss against Siena, the Minutewomen have tightened up on the defensive side of the ball, allowing only four goals in their following four games.
While the offense is undergoing a transition period without its leading scorer from last year, Moa Mattsson, head coach Ed Matz believes that his defense will continue to shoulder the load.
"Ever since our first game of the year, our defense has played pretty solidly," Matz said after his team's win against New Hampshire.
In three of its last four games, UMass has allowed only one goal at most. The other result was a 2-0 loss to Army. The Minutewomen almost came away with back-to-back road game shutouts this past weekend, but they were unable to hold onto their 1-0 lead against Providence with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation.
One of the reasons for the defense's success has been the familiarity between the four returning starters, led by senior Lauren Skesavage, who said before the season began that she expected a lot out of her unit.
Another reason that cannot be overlooked is the productive play from redshirt freshman goalkeeper Danielle Kriscenski.
Kriscenski was just named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week this past Monday after putting up an impressive 1-0-1 record over the weekend. The freshman posted her first shutout victory over UNH on Sunday, while swatting away a career-high eight shots against the Friars on Friday.
"I was always talking to my defense," Kriscenski said. "I came off strong with my line and if something did happen, I just brushed it off my shoulder and kept going."
Joey Saade had a recap of women's soccer's 1-1 draw at Providence and 1-0 win at UNH from this past weekend:
The Massachusetts women's soccer team used a dominant defensive performance to grind out its first victory of the season on Sunday, taking down New Hampshire 1-0 in Durham, N.H.
Senior Brittany Moore scored the game's lone goal in the eighth minute - her first of the season - which was more than enough for redshirt freshman goalkeeper Danielle Kriscenski, who made five saves for her first-career shutout.
The UMass defense allowed just 14 shots and four corner kicks, further emphasizing coach Ed Matz's belief that the defense has been the team's strong point so far this season.
"We have a lot of confidence in our defense," he said. "Ever since the first game of the year, our defense has played pretty solidly. Kriscenski gained some confidence back there, getting her first win."
Mark Chiarelli had this piece in today's Daily Hampshire Gazette focusing on the team's youth and leadership:
University of Massachusetts women's soccer coach Ed Matz is cautiously optimistic.
Twenty of Matz's 27 players are either freshman or sophomores, a daunting figure for a team that hopes to be in the Atlantic 10 postseason picture.
"The learning curve of the team is huge," Matz said. "We're tremendously athletic, very fast, we have some skilled players. Sometimes those qualities in a young player are as positive as they can be negative because sometimes they're trying too hard."
Early on, the results lacked, as UMass lost three straight games to start the season.
"This team is very talented, very deep, but we're very young," he said. "We need to keep practicing and gelling together and creating opportunities for ourselves ... It's hard for young players to realize the importance of practicing hard every day and the importance of every game and every minute of the game."
Tom Mulherin of the Daily Collegian has a story on the UMass women's soccer team and the leadership that the group has.
"We came in a day and a half early, and had an outside group came in called 'The Program,'" Matz explained. "They put our team in leadership training, and it couldn't have been a better time for our program. It was great, and I think that it not only helped the six juniors and seniors become better leaders, but it also helped everyone become better teammates."
Congratulations to UMass Hall of Fame member, women's soccer alum April Kater who was recently named the women's Head Development Coach for U.S. Soccer.
Here is the announcement from the U.S. Soccer website: B.J. Snow Named Head Coach for U.S. U-17 Women's National Team; April Kater Named Women's Head Development Coach
Kater is also featured in the Q&A from U.S. Soccer: Q & A With New U.S. Soccer Hires B.J. Snow and April Kater
Over the weekend, Huffington Post featured former UMass women's soccer goalkeeper Lauren Luckey. Luckey, who played for the Minutewomen from 2006-2009, has gone on to a career in the military and is doing her best to help improve the lives of women in rural Afghanistan.
When 24-year-old Lt. Lauren Luckey was stationed in a rural village with her unit, the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry regiment of the U.S. Army, her Lieutenant Colonel gave her free rein to design and lead a project focused exclusively on community building and social engagement among the Afghan women. With women being the heart of a household in Afghanistan, rearing the children of the country's future, Luckey hoped to impart the influence that comes with being a woman in a position of power, a foreign concept to some.
"I wanted them to see a strong woman -- [that] there is something else out there," Luckey tells Huffington. "If you never see it you never know what's out there. They've never seen a female officer before me."
Luckey chats candidly about her experiences and goals in a way that makes it simple to understand her success in leading a Female Engagement Team in Northern Kunar in Afghanistan, bringing the women of the village into her confidence.
Continue reading Empowering Women in Afghanistan on HuffingtonPost.com
The UMass women's soccer team won it's second Atlantic 10 match in a row this past Saturday, closing out it's homemstand with a 3-1 victory over URI.
Kaitlin Boyer of the Daily Collegian had this recap of the match.
Also, checkout the postgame interviews with head coach Ed Matz and junior Grace Coombs:
Congratulations to the women's soccer team on its pair of shutout victories over the weekend, which included a 1-0 defeat of perennial New England power Boston University on the road Friday night, followed by a 2-0 victory over New Hampshire yesterday on Rudd. The Minutewomen will be looking to push the streak to three when the squad plays at Brown on Thursday in a match that has been moved to 4 p.m. from 7 p.m.
Senior Emily Cota was awarded for her efforts in net as Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week.
Jeffrey Okerman had this recap of the matches in today's Daily Collegian.
Also check out the highlights and post-match interviews from Sunday:
The UMass women's soccer team blanked UAlbany 1-0 on Sunday for its second win in a row and first victory at Rudd Field of the season.
The Daily Collegian had this recap of the game, while MassLive.com had a photo gallery.
Also, check out the highlights and postgame interviews from the match:
In front of a large crowd at Rudd Field yesterday afternoon, the UMass women's soccer team battled with #6 UCLA, with the Bruins coming out on top, 2-1.
Several media outlets had coverage of the match. Also, check out the highlights and postgame interviews.
Daily Hampshire Gazette: Minutewomen achieve strong showing against UCLA in 2-1 soccer loss
MassLive: UMass women's soccer falls short in opener against No. 6 UCLA
Daily Collegian: UMass women's soccer falls to No. 6 UCLA in opener
Congratulations to the UMass women's soccer team on its first postseason victory since 1997 as the Minutewomen defeated St. Bonaventure in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Thursday evening in Dayton, Ohio.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette has a recap of the match.
Also, check out the highlights and postgame interviews:
Don't forget, the team is back in action again tonight, facing No. 1-seed La Salle in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Here are several ways to follow the action:
There are several Atlantic 10 Tournament previews for women's soccer today. The Minutewomen begin their quest for a sixth A-10 title tonight in Dayton vs. St. Bonaventure.
Daily Hampshire Gazette: A-10 tournament time for women's soccer & field hockey
Daily Collegian: Trio of Minutewomen looked to carry offense through postseason
Daily Collegian: Minutewomen have rhythm heading into postseason
There are plenty of options to follow tonight's match against the Bonnies:
Happy birthday to Meghan Collins of women's soccer, Jamie Mastrorio and Jennifer Simao of track and field!
The UMass women's soccer team split its Atlantic 10 matches over the weekend, defeating Fordham on Friday, 2-0, before falling just short of #22 La Salle, 3-2 in overtime.
Dick Baker has a recap of Sunday's match against the Explorers on MassLive - UMass women's soccer scores a pair against stingy La Salle, but falls in overtime 3-2
In the Daily Collegian, Eric Mansfield has coverage of both matches - Women's soccer unbeaten streak reaches 8 games before loss to La Salle
Also check out the highlights from Sunday's match, which marked the debut of women's soccer on CBS 3 Now this season. Both matches this coming weekend, vs. Duquesne and St. Bonaventure, will also air on CBS 3 Now.
Congratulations to the women's soccer team on its 2-0 win over Fordham yesterday that extended the squad's unbeaten streak to eight straight games and put the Minutewomen just two points out of first in the Atlantic 10 standings.
Check out the postgame interviews following that match:
Dick Baker also leads off his Local College Notebook today with a preview of Sunday's battle for first place at Rudd Field: Local College Notebook: UMass women's soccer challenges a team only a goal away from perfection.
The Massachusetts women's soccer team, riding a five-game winning streak, will take its first long distance road trip of the season and travel to Charlotte, N.C. and St. Louis, Mo. this weekend for a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference games.
The first of these games at Charlotte (3-6-3, 0-1 A-10) will be held under the lights Friday at 7 p.m. Charlotte is most recently coming off of a 2-1 loss to St. Louis in their own conference opener.
The 49ers are led by preseason All-Conference selection Macky Wingo, who leads the team with 11 points this season (four goals, three assists).
Much like the Minutewomen (7-2-2, 1-0 A-10), the 49ers have had some trouble putting up big offensive numbers, only managing to score 13 total goals in their first 12 games. Comparatively, UMass has 12 goals in its first 11 games.
What separates these two teams is on the defensive side of the ball. While the Minutewomen might not score often, they have been able to count on a solid defensive effort game in and game out, allowing just eight goals in 11 games.
Read more of Eric Mansfield's preview here.
Happy birthday to Jen Houtman of the women's soccer team and Travis Poston of the football team! 
Congratulations to the women's soccer team on its fifth straight shutout victory as the squad defeated Rhode Island, 2-0 in its Atlantic 10 opener this past Saturday. Check out the coverage of the win.
The Daily Collegian: Colarossi, Morrissey score to give UMass win in Atlantic 10-opener
Happy Birthday to women's lacrosse player Katie Ferris and women's soccer player Jess Howe!
Congratulations to the women's soccer team on its fourth straight 1-0 shutout victory, defeating Dartmouth on the road last night. Senior Julie Morrissey scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season just 20 seconds into the match.
The Daily Collegian has a recap of the match.
Here are some postgame interviews with head coach Ed Matz and senior co-captain Meghan Collins:
Also, the NCAA released the first RPI report of the 2011 season this morning, which has the Minutewomen in the No. 61 spot out of 322 Division I teams. UMass is currently ranked No. 8 in the Mid-Atlantic Region by the NSCAA in the latest poll that was released yesterday.
Congratulations to the women's soccer team on posting its third straight win yesterday afternoon, a 1-0 overtime victory courtesy of senior co-captain Deanna Colarossi's second of the season.
The Daily Collegian has this recap of the match, while David Martin has a notebook focusing on corner kicks, goalkeeping and the Minutewomen's balanced scoring attack.
Check out the highlights and postgame interviews here:
UMass women's soccer picked up its second straight win this past weekend, defeating Maine on Friday, 1-0, on Rudd Field. The squad is now off to its best start since 2007.
The Daily Collegian has this recap of the match, while Scott Cournoyer has this sidebar, focusing on the Minutewomen's midfield play and goalkeeping.
UMass women's soccer's win nationally-ranked Boston University was covered in the Springfield Republican and the Daily Collegian. Also, check out the highlights and interviews from the Minutewomen's first victory over a nationally-ranked team since 2006.
Republican: UMass women's soccer shocks No. 20 Boston University 1-0
Collegian: Defense secures 3 points against No. 20 Terriers
"The University of Massachusetts women's soccer team opens its season Tuesday at the University of New Hampshire, and knowing the opposition isn't the problem. ??
It's getting to know each other. ??
The Minutewomen, under second-year head coach Ed Matz, have 16 newcomers along with 10 returnees as they try to build upon the progress of last year's 8-11, 5-4 Atlantic 10 campaign, which marked their highest win total since 2007. ??
And has Matz ever been recruiting. He's taking talent from near (eight of the 10 freshmen are from Massachusetts) and far (freshman Moa Mattson is from Sweden, while sophomore Grace Coombs hails from Kent, United Kingdom)."
Read more of Dick Baker's Transfer and freshmen talent converge at UMass: Women's soccer in second year of rebuilding program
We caught up with head coach Ed Matz this afternoon for a little season preview. Watch the video and make sure to follow the action tomorrow when the Minutewomen open up at New Hampshire.
Check out the latest entry of the UMass women's soccer video blog, Preseason Playback, hosted by seniors Meghan Collins and Lindsey DiOrio. Missed the earlier entries? You can watch those here.
Happy birthday to Deanna Colarossi of women's soccer!
Happy belated birthday to Bryson Craft of men's lacrosse, Tanner Guarino of women's lacrosse, and Shiyi Zan of women's cross country/track who all celebrated their birthday on July 21. Happy belated birthday to Jesse O'Donnell of women's lacrosse and Jenna Goodwinn of women's soccer, the two celebrated their birthday on July 22. Finally, happy belated birthday to Matthew Palasek of men's lacrosse and Jennifer Harkey of women's cross country/track who celebrated their birthday July 25.
Three of Ed Matz' incoming freshman recently helped FC Stars of Massachusetts capture the Region I championship and will now advance to the National Finals in Arizona the week of July 25. Kristen Gargiulo, Becky Landers and Tori Sousa were all important components in the team advancing from its group with a 2-0-1 record and winning the championship over the Bethesda Dragons. Gargiulo, a graduate of Acton-Boxborough Regional, was a key defender while Landers, a graduate of Danvers High School played a pivotal role in the midfield. Sousa, a graduate of Nashua North High School in New Hampshire, provided creativity on the offensive side of the ball.
The three players will join the rest of Minutewomen squad on August 5 when preseason training officially kicks off for the 2011 campaign. UMass will open its season on August 23 at the University of New Hampshire at 4:00 pm.
The three players will join the rest of Minutewomen squad on August 5 when preseason training officially kicks off for the 2011 campaign. UMass will open its season on August 23 at the University of New Hampshire at 4:00 pm.
Happy birthday to Emily Cota of UMass Women's Soccer and Karen Roa of UMass Women's Cross Country/Track & Field! 
Happy birthday wishes to Lindsey DiOrio of the women's soccer team and head basketball coach Derek Kellogg!
Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette recently caught up with former UMass women's soccer standout Rebecca Myers.
As a Minutewoman, she was a member of four Atlantic 10 Conference championship teams as well as three NCAA Sweet 16 squads and one Final Four team (1993). She garnered numerous accolades over her career including Soccer America All-America honors three times. Myers was selected Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year in 1993, and earned All-Conference honors four straight years.
Read more of Where are they now: Rebecca Myers
As a Minutewoman, she was a member of four Atlantic 10 Conference championship teams as well as three NCAA Sweet 16 squads and one Final Four team (1993). She garnered numerous accolades over her career including Soccer America All-America honors three times. Myers was selected Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year in 1993, and earned All-Conference honors four straight years.
Read more of Where are they now: Rebecca Myers
UMass Athletics wishes a happy birthday to Jeff Hill, (men's cross country/track), Brianna Concialdi (women's lacrosse), Greg Anderson (men's lacrosse) and Therese Smith (women's soccer).
Jeff and Brianna celebrated their birthdays on Sunday, while Greg and Therese are our Monday birthdays.
A quartet of UMass student-athlete birthdays on May 12. Happy Birthday to lacrosse attacker Art Kell, women's soccer goalkeeper Emersyn Pullan, women's runner Samantha Sacchetti, and hockey defenseman Colin Shea.
Happy Birthday to women's soccer player Meredith Fox and field hockey's Nikki Panciocco.
Also, football alum and current Arizona Rattler Kyle Harrington also celebrates on April 3.
Best wishes for a great birthday on the final day of February to women's soccer player Kayla Austin, men's basketball freshman Maxie Esho and men's soccer junior Chris Stoker.
Happy Birthday on Feb. 8 to junior men's lacrosse attacker Steve D'Amario and senior midfielder Ashley Hamel.
A quartet of UMass student-athlete birthdays on Feb. 5. Celebrating today are women's soccer junior Natalie Muka, men's soccer freshman Nigel Negm, field hockey freshman Hannah Prince and swimming junior Liz Sullivan.
A quartet of UMass student-athlete birthdays on Dec. 14: graduate student swimmer Shannon Archer, sophomore sprinter Emma Riedel and freshman soccer defender Annie Ward.
Tom Fargo of the Dedham Transcript has a great story on Dedham, Mass. natives Katie Kelly and Sydney Stoll wrapping up their successful athletic careers at UMass in field hockey and soccer, respectively.
"Former Dedham High stars Katie Kelly and Sydney Stoll each left Whiting Avenue as the all-time leading scorers in their signature sports. But beyond their knack for producing goals, it was a relentless drive that made them stand apart in Marauder uniforms on the field hockey and soccer pitches."
Happy Birthday: Nov. 27 - Alyssa Visconti
Happy Birthday on Nov. 15 to senior rower Samantha Schnoerr and freshman soccer player
For the 11th time in team history, the Massachusetts women's soccer team has made the Atlantic 10 tournament, as it squares off with St. Bonaventure this Thursday. UMass finished the season 8-10 and 5-4 in A-10 play en route to a No. 5 seed in its second-consecutive tournament berth.
Click here to read more of the Daily Collegian's preview of tonight's A-10 tournament match between the Minutewomen and the Bonnies. Also, check out this sidebar by David Martin.
Click here to read more of the Daily Collegian's preview of tonight's A-10 tournament match between the Minutewomen and the Bonnies. Also, check out this sidebar by David Martin.
Men's Track Daniel Barry, Women's Soccer Meghan Collins, Men's Track twins David Johnson and Kevin Johnson, Women's Track Jaime Mastrorio and Women's Track Jennifer Simao
Barry Collins D. Johnson K. Johnson
Mastrorio Simao
Check out the Plays of the Week for Oct. 18-24!
Women's soccer picked up a pair of important Atlantic 10 victories this weekend, a dominant 5-0 win over Temple on Friday and a thrilling 1-0 overtime win against Saint Joseph's on Sunday.
David Martin has a recap of both victories for the Daily Collegian and also has this nice column on the six seniors on the squad who were honored before Sunday's match.
Friday's win against the Owls, which featured a hat trick by junior Deanna Colarossi, was covered by New England Soccer News.
David Martin has a recap of both victories for the Daily Collegian and also has this nice column on the six seniors on the squad who were honored before Sunday's match.
Friday's win against the Owls, which featured a hat trick by junior Deanna Colarossi, was covered by New England Soccer News.
Mike Lucas has a great feature on UWBadgers.com Insider profiling current Wisconsin women's soccer head coach, UMass Hall of Famer Paula Wilkins.
Lucas writes: "UW athletic director Barry Alvarez has a clearly-defined reference point for what it takes to be successful from his own personal experience as a Hall of Fame college football coach.
So his words carried more weight when he was asked to list the strengths of Badger women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins. Especially when he delved beyond the obvious. That is, she's a winner."
Read more of Lucas' profile of Wilkins.
Lucas writes: "UW athletic director Barry Alvarez has a clearly-defined reference point for what it takes to be successful from his own personal experience as a Hall of Fame college football coach.
So his words carried more weight when he was asked to list the strengths of Badger women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins. Especially when he delved beyond the obvious. That is, she's a winner."
Read more of Lucas' profile of Wilkins.