UMass Hoping to Triple Up Against Owls
from press release
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass women's lacrosse team faces
Temple this Saturday at 1PM in Philadelphia. This will be the
Minutewomen's lone game of the week and their third Atlantic 10
match up of the season, looking to add another win to their 2-0
A-10 record. Temple is 4-5 on the year.
The Series
- UMass has a 4-27-1 all-time record against Temple.
Last year they defeated the Owls during season play 16-4. Prior to
last year the Minutewomen had not defeated Temple since 2002 at
home and have not defeated the Owls at Temple since April 1999.
Last Time Out: UMass Begins A-10 Play with Two Wins
- UMass women's lacrosse began Atlantic 10 play this
past weekend defeating George Washington and Richmond.
- The Minutewomen came out strong against Richmond scoring
five of the first six goals and entering half time with a 7-4
lead.
- Nina Sarcona led UMass offensively against Richmond scoring
three goals followed by Jesse O'Donnell and Merritt Cosgrove
recording two goals.
- In goal Katie Florence stopped Richmond, recording nine
saves.
- Eight Minutewomen contributed to the teams 12 goals against
Richmond.
- The Minutewomen defeated George Washington 13-7 for their
first A-10 victory of the season.
- Jackie Lyons and Jesse O'Donnell both had a four point game,
each tallying three goals and an assist against GW.
- The Minutewomen were trailing 5-6 at half time but came back
out with intensity outscoring the Colonials 8-1 during the second
half.
Next Up: Duquesne and St. Bonaventure
- UMass will take on the Duquesne Dukes Friday, April
9 (3PM) at Rooney Field.
- Playing at Rooney Field will give the Minutewomen a chance
to preview the site of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
- The series between UMass and Duquesne is tied at 6-6. Last
years meeting served as proof of how well matched the two teams
are. The Minutewomen suffered a devastating loss after two
overtimes. The Dukes have a 5-6 record this season.
- UMass will continue its road trip on Sunday, April 11 (12PM)
at St. Bonaventure.
- The Minutewomen lead the all-time series against the Bonnies
7-3. During last years match up UMass won 14-13 during regular
season A-10 play. St. Bonaventure currently has a record of
5-5.
Scouting UMass
- UMass (5-6) is led offensively by Jesse O'Donnell (25g),
Jackie Lyons (18g, 8a), and Merritt Cosgrove (13g, 3a), through the
first 11 games. O'Donnell has posted a point in every game this
season, while Lyons and Cosgrove have a point in every game but
one.
- Katie Florence has started the season with a 10.02 goals
against average while posting a .419 save percentage.
- Through nine games, UMass is averaging 10 goals per game on
43.5% shooting.
In The A-10
- Within the Atlantic 10 the Minutewomen stand fifth
in goals, with a total of 133, averaging 11.3 a game.
- UMass stands in fourth place for draw controls within the
A-10. The Minutewomen have a total of 122 controls, with an average
of 12.2 per game.
- Jackie Lyons and Merritt Cosgrove are tied in second for
game winning goals in the A-10. Lyons and Cosgrove record two
each.
Venechanos' Atlantic 10 Success
- Since starting at UMass in 2007 head coach Alexis
Venechanos has continually improved the team's Atlantic 10 record.
In her first season the Minutewomen went 3-4 in A-10 (5th Place)
and were unable to make the tournament. In 2008 Venechanos rallied
her team to a 4-3 record in A-10 season play and guided her team to
the Championship Game (1-1). 2009 proved to be the Minutewomen's
best season with Venechanos winning the Atlantic 10 Regular Season
title (6-1), and the A-10 Tournament title (2-0). The Minutewomen
went on to face Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament, but lost to the defending National Champions. This was
UMass' first NCAA berth in 25 years.
- Since joining the UMass women's lacrosse team Venechanos has
an overall record of 31-34, Atlantic 10 regular season record of
15-8, and an A-10 Tournament record of 3-1.
Pelletier, Sarcona Net 1st Career Hat Tricks
- Danielle Pelletier scored her first career hat
trick in the 18-8 win at UConn. Pelletier scored a career high four
goals and added an assist in the win.
- Nina Sarcona posted her first career hat trick on March 10
in the 9-5 win over Yale doing so on just three shots.
- Sarcona earned her second career hat trick on March 28 in a
12-8 win over Richmond. Both of Sarcona's hat tricks have been off
three shots, finding the back of the net every time.
Lucky Goal Eleven
- The UMass women's lacrosse team has won every game
when they have scored more than 10 goals. Once the Minutewomen
reach goal number 10 they must be reminded of the two games they
lost 8-10 and gain extra motivation to keep pushing and
rallying.
Florence Earns A-10 Honors
- Sophomore goalie Katie Florence is named Atlantic
10 Defensive Player of the Week (March 29). This is the second time
Florence has received this honor during the 2010 season.
- Florence earned two wins on the weekend, allowing a combined
15 goals while making 17 saves. Florence held George Washington to
just seven goals and Richmond to eight. At George Washington she
made eight saves facing 17 shots, while at Richmond, she stopped
nine of 23 shots faced. Florence also recorded three groundballs
against GW.
- For her career, Florence is now 16-13 overall with an 10.4
GAA and a .443 save percentage. She has allowed 10-or-fewer goals
15 times in her two years.
- As a freshman in 2009, Katie Florence established herself as
one of the up-and-coming goalies in the country and one of the best
in the Atlantic 10. She finished the year with an 11.43 goals
against average and a .462 save percentage along with an 11-8-0
record. She started all 20 games playing nearly 1,200 minutes in
cage.
Lyons Closing In On Top-10 Program Marks
- Jackie Lyons has added her name to the UMass top-10
career assists lists. Going into this past weekends games she
needed only two more assists to reach this category. Lyons recorded
one assist at George Washington and two against Richmond. Lyons is
closing in on reaching the UMass top-10 in career points and goals.
She needs just 12 points, and 25 goals to reach 10th in each
category. Lyons Leads UMass.
- After a break-out sophomore season, junior Jackie Lyons is
one of the top returning players for the Minutewomen. In 2009, she
nearly set the school's single-season record for points with 71 on
44 goals and 27 assists. She also had seven game-winning goals.
- For her career, she has played in 46 career games with 103
points (67 goals, 36 assists).
- This past summer, Lyons earned a spot on the U.S.
Developmental Team roster and has been training with some of the
nation's top lacrosse players through the offseason and preseason
schedule.
Houlis Gets Third Career Multi-Goal Game
- In the loss at Stony Brook, defender Ali Houlis
netted her second career multi-goal game scoring two of UMass six
goals. Houlis had a pair of goals in 2009 in the 17-2 win at La
Salle as a freshman.
- In UMass' win over George Washington Houlis recorded two
goals.
Trio Earns A-10 Awards
- Following the wins against Holy Cross and
Connecticut, Jesse O'Donnell, Lauren Terracciano and Katie Florence
each earned weekly honors from the Atlantic 10. O'Donnell was named
the Performer of the Week, Terracciano was tabbed the Rookie of the
Week, and Florence was selected as the Defensive Player of the
Week.
COSGROVE, WALKER GO INTERNATIONAL
- Senior Merritt Cosgrove and associate head coach
Acacia Walker each spent time abroad over the summer in the FIL
World Cup held in Prague. Cosgrove played for Team Ireland along
with former teammate Jackie Rosenzweig, while Walker played for
Gold medalist Team USA. Cosgrove and Rosenzweig helped the Irish to
a fifth-place finish in their first FIL World Cup competition.
SMITH ADDS SCORING PUNCH
- One of the big surprises last season was the
emergence of Haley Smith on attack. Smith finished the year with 33
goals and 5 assists as the third leading scorer for UMass. As a
freshman in 2008, she tallied two goals and four assists in 18
games.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
- Although only losing three starters, all seniors,
from last season's squad, Alexis Venechanos will need to find some
players to fill the voids left by the key trio of Holly Drown,
Meghan Reddy and Jackie Rosenzweig.
- Reddy and Drown were the second and fourth leading scorers
on the team, respectively. Reddy notched 35 goals and 11 assists to
go with a school-record 78 draw controls. Twice she had 12 draw
controls in a game which is among the best in NCAA history. Drown
had 30 goals and 5 assists along with 44 draw controls and 22
groundballs - second most on the team in both.
- Rosenzweig started every game of her career and was one of
the best defensive players ever at UMass. She finished her career
with 84 caused turnovers and 100 groundballs and was a first-team
All-Atlantic 10 selection in 2009.
WHAT A SEASON 2009 WAS
- It was a magical finish to 2009 as the Minutewomen
won eight of their final nine games to make the first NCAA
Tournament since 1984. UMass tied a school record for wins in A-10
play (6-1) and posted the most overall wins (11) since 2003. With
204 goals scored, UMass set a new single-season team scoring record
as well as a new team record for draw controls (258). The 269
points were also the second best mark in school history.
Streaming Video
- Can't make a home game? Have friends and family
back home who want to keep up with the Minutewomen? Sign up for the
UMass All-Access Package and you can watch every home game live on
the Internet. Along with live games, fans can check out interviews
with the coaches and players, news highlights, and feature stories
on the team.
