Nov. 10, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The No. 18 UMass field hockey team looks to continue its winning ways on Tuesday when the Atlantic 10 champion Minutewomen host Mid-American Conference champion No. 20 Kent State on Tuesday at 1:00pm at Garber Field in an NCAA play-in game. UMass is coming off its 11th A-10 Championship and looking to qualify for its 21st NCAA Tournament.

Fresh off their recent A-10 title, in which senior captain Mary Shea scored a first half goal and Cher King scored the insurance goal in the second half, the Minutewomen look to win their 11th game in 12 opportunities. The conference title is UMass' 11th all-time and second-straight under second-year head coach Justine Sowry.

Jackie Tait was named the championship's Most Outstanding Player. She was joined on the All-Championship Team by Jaime Bourazeris, Katie Kelly, Cher King, and Makaela Potts.

Alesha Widdall made three saves in goal to earn her second-straight shutout of the tournament.

The A-10 Championship was UMass' 11th in 16 trips to the championship game. The Minutewomen have a 28-8 all-time record in A-10 tournament games since it was first held in 1988.

Last season, the Minutewomen followed up their A-10 championship by facing Ivy League champion Princeton on the road in an NCAA play-in game. Katelyn Orlando scored off a penalty corner with no time left in the first half to give UMass a 1-0 lead. After the Tigers tied it early in the second half, Lauren Gillespie tipped in a Jaime Bourazeris pass with 8:26 left. The Minutewomen absorbed a tremendous amount of pressure down the stretch, but goalkeeper Becky Letourneau made several sensational saves to ensure the victory.

The Minutewomen are 3-0 all-time in NCAA play-in games. In all NCAA games, UMass has a 15-20 all-time record.

UMass finished not only in first-place in the A-10 standings, but atop the conference in most statistical categories. The Minutewomen lead the A-10 in eight team statistical categories: scoring margin (+1.52), shutouts (8), goals against average (1.00), shots (322), shots per game (16.10), goals allowed (21), goals allowed per game (1.05), and penalty corners (158).


A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Katelyn Orlando won the conference's scoring title (14 goals) and is tied for first in points (29). She combines with Katie Kelly (11 goals) and Jill Powers (8 goals) to give UMass three of the top nine scorers.

Erin Parker leads the conference in assists (8), while Mary Shea is fifth (6). Makaela Potts leads the A-10 in shots (61). Alesha Widdall has dominated in goal with top marks in save % (.788), GAA (1.01), and shutouts (6).

UMass' team goals against average of 1.00 ranks fourth in the nation, while individually, Widdall's 1.01 mark ranks fourth nationally as well.

Tickets for Tuesday's NCAA Tournament play-in game are $5 for adults and $3 for children. Video of the game will be streamed live at atlantic10.org, with live stats also be available on Gametracker.