Category Archives: Women’s sports

May 15 2013

UMass women’s soccer releases 2013 schedule

Maria Uminski/Collegian

Maria Uminski/Collegian

 

If the Massachusetts women’s soccer team was looking to be more well-prepared for its 2013 Atlantic 10 slate, it’s got the right non-conference schedule to do so.

The Minutewomen will play a pair of NCAA Tournament teams from last year — Texas A&M and Missouri — at a weekend event in College Station, Texas, on the last leg of a four-game road trip in early September, as announced by UMass coach Ed Matz on Wednesday when the 2013 schedule was released.

“I’m very happy with how our 2013 schedule came together,” Matz said in a news release. “It’s well balanced, especially in the Atlantic 10 portion in that we have four home (games) and four away. The non-conference slate should challenge us and prepare us well for A-10 competition.”

The Minutewomen open the 2013 season Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. in Albany, N.Y., to take on Siena, followed by a pair of home games against St. John’s and Army. UMass then begins its four-game road trip at Providence on Sept. 6, and doesn’t return to Rudd Field until Sept. 19 to face Brown.

The Minutewomen kick off their A-10 slate at Saint Joseph’s Sept. 29, and have a rematch with Dayton — which eliminated UMass from the A-10 Tournament the last two seasons — at home Oct. 11.

While Matz is certainly happy to have an even number of home and away games in the conference, he is likely even more fortunate that defending A-10 champ La Salle isn’t part of the 2013 slate.

The Minutewomen finish the regular season at home against St. Bonventure on Nov. 2.

Here is a complete list of games and start times for UMass’ 2013 season.  Continue reading →

May 11 2013

UMass set to take on Penn State in second round of NCAA Tournament on Sunday

Cade Belisle/Collegian

Cade Belisle/Collegian

For the first time since 1984, the Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team will take part in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when it faces Penn State at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Penn State Lacrosse Field.

How they got here: The Minutewomen (18-2) come into Sunday’s matchup riding high on the heels of a convincing, 14-10 victory over New England rival Connecticut on Friday. After enduring a 90-minute weather delay, UMass came out of the break hot and finished the first half on a 5-2 run to open up an 8-4 halftime lead. While the two sides traded goals for much of the second half, UMass was never in danger of losing its lead and cruised to a victory to advance to Sunday’s second round. The Minutewomen were led offensively by Sam Rush and Katie Ferris, who each scored four goals for the game.

Penn State’s path to the second round was not as comfortable, barely squeaking by Canisius, 14-13. With a slim lead going into the half, the Lady Lions (13-6) found themselves trailing midway through the second half and had to play catch-up. After taking a 14-12 lead with just under a minute remaining, Penn State surrendered a late goal to cut its lead to only one, but held on to advance into the next round.  Continue reading →

May 5 2013

UMass women’s lax draws UConn in first round of NCAA Tournament

Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

If the NCAA Tournament didn’t add enough excitement, then maybe a New England rivalry will.

The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team drew New England rival Connecticut in its first round game on Friday, May 10. The Minutewomen (17-2) were placed in the State College, Pa., bracket, with host school and No. 7-seed Penn St. drawing Canisius in its first round matchup. The winners of those two games will play each other in the second round on Sunday.

“We were definitely antsy, we had some guesses going on throughout our team and UConn was definitely in that mix,” senior Lauren Terracciano said at Sunday’s Selection Show party at Amherst Browing Company. “We’re excited above everything else, we’re excited to be here, we’re excited to have this opportunity and we’re excited to prepare and we’re excited for Friday.”

No times have been announced for Friday’s games, but the second round matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m.

UMass is entering the Tournament riding a wave of emotion, coming off its record fifth straight Atlantic 10 title and is in the midst of a 14-game winning streak.

Adding to the drama is the connections that the Minutewomen have to the Huskies (13-4). UMass coach Angela McMahon was the coach at UConn for two seasons before leaving to come to Amherst to coach the Minutewomen. After leaving, she also brought blue-chip recruit Katie Ferris with her.  Continue reading →

Apr 2 2013

UMass softball game vs. UConn rescheduled

Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

 

The Massachusetts softball game scheduled for this afternoon against Connecticut has been rescheduled due to cold weather conditions. The teams will make up today’s game May 1 at 4 p.m. in Storrs, Conn.

UMass resumes play this weekend when it begins a four-game homestand Friday at 3 p.m. against Fordham at Sortino Field. The teams will meet again Saturday at noon before the Minutewomen host a Sunday doubleheader against La Salle.

UMass is currently riding a four-game winning-streak following a disappointing, 3-16 start to the season.

Mar 30 2013

Postgame thoughts: UMass softball sweeps St. Bonaventure in doubleheader

The UMass softball team swept St. Bonaventure in its doubleheader at Sortino Field today in a close 6-4 win in the first game and 12-4 mercy-rule pounding in the second. Here are some of my thoughts:

  • If you missed the games, you can get stats from UMassAthletics, and also be sure to be on the lookout for my highlight reel of the games, which should be on dailycollegian.com some time tonight, as well as Kaitlin Boyer’s recap article, which should be in the paper and on the site on Monday.
  • More offensive explosions from the Minutewomen. Two games, 18 runs, four homers, 21 hits. Does not get much more explosive than that.
  • Since the team started conference play against Dayton, UMass has scored 44 runs in 5 games (8.8 runs per game), the exact same number of runs they scored in the 17 games they played in Florida and California (2.59 runs per game). If this new trend is any indication, we should be expecting more explosiveness from the UMass bats as the season goes on, which should make the season pretty fun to watch.
  • Caroline Raymond looked like a real No. 1 starter in the second game. She struck out six hitters, allowed only four hits and two walks, and had a no-hitter going through the first three innings. Unfortunately, one hanging curveball with two runners on is all it takes to almost make it a disaster, and that 3-run shot in the sixth by Christine Watson almost allowed the Bonnies to come back on Raymond. But Raymond kept her composure and struck out Hali Enderby right after to end the inning.
  • Emma Mendoker put in a solid performance of her own in the first game. She was not as dominant as Raymond, but she showed great ability to handle high pressure situations. She left 13 St. Bonaventure runners on base (to put that in perspective, the Minutewomen stranded five in that game) and only gave up four runs despite giving up seven hits and seven walks.
  • UMass catcher Samantha Gray got her first hit of the season with a solo shot in the second inning of the first game. That must have taken some of the pressure off, because she got another hit in the second game that drove in a run. She also made a spectacular diving catch on a pop-up bunt to end the third inning of the second game.
  • The defense could still use some improvement. They committed four errors behind Mendoker in the first game. Mendoker is a pitcher who primarily gets hitters out through groundouts (16 of the 18 people she got out through her six innings of work in the first game grounded out), so she needs a good infield behind her. With Taylor Carbone already at 10 errors at second base this season, Teea Rodgers at 13 at third, and Quianna Diaz-Patterson at 19 at shortstop, it is clear the defense needs to improve if Mendoker is going to succeed this season.
  • The Minutewomen will next be traveling to Storrs to take on UConn in a nonconference game on Tuesday. Be sure to check out the preview articles written by myself and Joey Saade, to appear in the Collegian and on the website on Tuesday.
Mar 27 2013

Pregame notes: UMass softball home opener vs. Boston College

Well, after 17 rough games down in Florida and two hard-fought ones against Dayton, the UMass softball team is finally returning home for its first game at Sortino Field this afternoon.

GAME NOTES

  • UMass enters the game with a 3-16 record, while BC comes in with an 8-14 record.
  • Neither team has the best pitching, with UMass having a team ERA of 5.96 and an opposing batting average of .309, and BC having a team ERA of 6.97 and an opposing batting average of .338, so this game will probably come down to the bats.
  • UMass is at a slight disadvantage offensively, hitting only .221 as a team and scoring about 3.26 runs per game, while BC is currently hitting .270 and scoring about 4.68 runs per game.
  • The most dangerous player on the BC roster right now is junior outfielder Tory Speer, who comes into the game batting .415 with nine home runs, 19 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .908.
  • The Minutewomen will be hoping for more big performances at the plate from seniors Cyndil Matthew and Katie Bettencourt. Matthew went 6-for-7 with four runs scored in the Dayton series, while Bettencourt went 6-for-8 with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBIs.
  • BC is coming off a 4-3 extra-inning win on the road against Bryant University yesterday. Two of their three pitchers, Chelsea Dimon and Stephanie Lord, saw action in that game, so the Eagles might start their third pitcher, Andrea Filler, in this one. Filler has a 2-8 record and a 7.19 ERA in 12 appearances (This is just speculation, I do not yet know who today’s starters are).
  • Both of the Minutewomen’s most commonly used starters, Caroline Raymond and Emma Mendoker, took the mound in the team’s 14-12 win against Dayton last Saturday. However, since Mendoker started that one, Raymond seems the more likely candidate to start in this one. Raymond comes in with a 2-6 record and a 5.70 ERA in 13 appearances (Once again, just an educated guess. I will confirm the starters on Twitter once I know for sure).

Be sure to follow the action on Twitter with Jesse Mayfield-Sheehan @jgms88, Kaitlin Boyer @Kaitlin_Boyer and Joey Saade @jsaade1225

Mar 2 2013

Halftime thoughts: UMass 27, Xavier 24

 Timbilla in control: Rashida Timbilla played the strongest first half of her teammates in the penultimate game of her freshman campaign. Along with eight points, Timbilla has grabbed eight boards, four on other side of the ball. She is 3-of-8 from the field and added a pair from the line. Furthermore, her three assists also comprise half of the teams dimes and while on defense she has three steals. Her presence in the key on the boards has been a catalyst for the Minutewomen because of Jasmine Watson’s foul trouble.

Foul trouble for the Minutwomen: Jasmine Watson only registered eight minutes in the first twenty, having to come off with two fouls early on. Fortunately, Watson’s absence has not made it hard for the team with Timbilla stepping up and Emily Mital being able to find her shooting touch. Aisha Rodney has also offered up six points and three boards in the Watson’s place. Timbilla is also in trouble with two personal fouls of her own, however her level of play has forced UMass coach Sharon Dawley to keep her on the floor. Watson’s fellow senior teammate Dee Montgomery also has a pair of fouls

Jessica Pachko big for XU: Xavier closed out the half with 24 points, half of which came through their center Jessica Pachko. Her early frustrations resulted in a warning from the refs, but after a brief cooling off period on the bench Pachko has kept the Musketeers competitive in the game. With much of the teams offense running through her, the XU big has showcased her ability to cut sharply in the key to get to the hoop for easy lay ups, while also requiring a defender  down low to free up space in the zone.