Dec. 10, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Massachusetts field hockey coach Justine Sowry was named the 2008 Dita/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Northeast Region Coach of the Year, while Mary Catherine Kinneman of Temple was named one of three defenders to the ECAC Division I Field Hockey All-Star team.

In her two years heading the Minutewomen, Sowry has accumulated a 31-14 overall record. She earned Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2007 for winning the Atlantic 10 Championship. In 2007, Sowry was named Womensfieldhockey.com Coach of the Year. UMass was named Atlantic 10 regular season co-champions in Sowry's debut season and A-10 regular season champions this year.

UMass ended their 2008 season with a one-score loss to No. 3 Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament after beating No. 19 Kent State, 1-0, in the play-in game.

The 2008 Dita/NFHCA Division I National Coach of the Year will be announced at the NFHCA Coaches Luncheon to be held on Friday, Jan. 16 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Kinneman, the reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, started every game for the Owls and notched a career-high five assists, which tied for sixth in the A-10. She played on both attack and defensive corners as the corner hitter and right trail. In addition, the senior back from Lansdale, Pa., anchored a defensive unit that blanked three opponents this season.

Kinneman was also named First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region and selected to participate in the Division I Senior All-Star Game on Nov. 22. The honor, which was voted on by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), caps a season of several individual accolades for Kinneman, who led the Owls to an 8-12 overall record and 4-2 in A-10 play.