By Cody Lahl on December 13, 2012 11:48 AM
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The University of Massachusetts and head coach Carla Tagliente announced the addition of midfielder and forward Izzie Delario on Thursday morning. Delario is an incoming-freshman who will start her collegiate career during the 2012 spring semester after graduating high school early. Delario brings a wealth of playing experience to Amherst as the 5-foot-5 attacking player has already found success at the high school, club and national levels.
Delario went 72-3-0 during high school competition, capping the four-year starter's career with regional and academic All-America honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. In tandem with her scholastic success, Delario played for the WC Eagles club program and earned a U19 National Championship with the squad while also competing for the U17 U.S. Junior National Team.
"We are very excited for Izzie to join the program," Tagliente said. "To be able to
graduate and come to college a semester early requires a tremendous
amount of hard work, discipline, maturity and excellence in and out of
the classroom. Izzie embodies all of that, but what's most impressive is
her character. She is a great person and will make this program better
on and off the field."
UMass field hockey will announce the rest of its incoming signees during the NCAA's national signing period in February.
By Cody Lahl on November 7, 2012 9:08 PM
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With their 2-1 overtime victory vs. Rider (15-6 overall) on Tuesday, the Minutewomen field hockey team earned the right to participate in the upcoming 2012 NCAA Tournament. UMass will make its 23rd appearance in the event when the Minutewomen face #5 Syracuse (17-2) at host-Penn State University on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.
Harry Plumer recounted the dramatic final moments of UMass' NCAA Tournament Play-In Game victory over the Broncs for the Springfield Republican.
Peter Cappiello recapped the play-in game for the Daily Collegian and highlighted how team unity has helped the Minutewomen to secure its recent success on the field.
Check on UMassAthletics.com to keep up-to-date on UMass' participation in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
By Cody Lahl on November 5, 2012 9:52 AM
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With their 5-0 drubbing of #16 nationally ranked and #1 seed Richmond to earn the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon, the UMass field hockey team earned the right to host an NCAA Tournament play-in game against Rider University on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. on Garber Field.
By Cody Lahl on November 1, 2012 8:37 PM
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The UMass field hockey team and its home facility - Garber Field - will
serve as the host for the 2012 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament
beginning Friday, Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. The Minutewomen enter competition as
the No.2-seeded squad and will face No. 3 seed Temple during the
semifinal round of play at 2 p.m. on Friday. Below are a few links
related to the event...
The Atlantic 10 Conference has set up a page on its website with information related to the event for fans.
UMass,
as the host of the event, will also provide coverage of the entire
championship through UMassAthletics.com and a tournament central page, including live statistics and
web streaming.
By Cody Lahl on November 1, 2012 10:31 AM
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With the Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Tournament beginning on Friday, Nov. 2, the conference announced its regular season award winners on Thursday. Seven members of the UMass program combined to earn 12 laurels this season - the most of any team in the A-10.
Sophomore Lauren Allymohamed was tabbed the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year - the fourth consecutive season a UMass student-athlete earned the laurel - while second-year head coach Carla Tagliente was named the Coach of the Year.
Read up more on each of the awards UMass received here or through the official Atlantic 10 release.
By Cody Lahl on October 23, 2012 11:45 AM
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The UMass field hockey team continued its strong second-half performance on the 2012 season with a pair of road victories against A-10 foes La Salle, 4-1 and Saint Joseph's, 5-1 to move the squad's undefeated streak to five consecutive games. The Minutewomen now own a 10-8 overall record and 4-1 mark in conference play entering the final regular season weekend.
As a result of the recent success, UMass has gone from unranked in to NFHCA Top-25 Poll to holding down the No. 18 spot in the current standings.
The pair of wins also netted the Minutewomen three individual honors as senior forward Nicole Cordero was named A-10 Player of the Week, freshman goalkeeper Sam Carlino totaled A-10 Rookie of the Week and senior defender Thando Zono tallied Co-UMass Athlete of the Week laurels.
By Cody Lahl on October 15, 2012 12:21 PM
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After three games in four days, the UMass field hockey team recorded an undefeated week that included a 2-1 come-from-behind win over No. 1 Syracuse and a pair of A-10 Conference victories. The three-game winning streak earned the team and a few of its individual players considerable praise this week...
J. Anthony Roberts provided a photo gallery and Harry Plumer added a short recap for the Springfield Republican following the defeat of No. 1 Syracuse.
By Cody Lahl on September 24, 2012 9:36 PM
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After
the final horn to Friday's field hockey contest against Vermont sounded, the
Minutewomen cleared the field with a 10-1 blowout victory over the visiting
Catamounts. Nicole Cordero, Kim Young and Thando Zono totaled multi-goal performances against Vermont, with Zono adding a pair of a assists to lead the game with six points. Molly MacDonnell, Brooke Sabia, Alexa Sikalis and Renee Suter each added one goal during play. In addition to Zono, Hannah Prince, Sikalis and Callie Sweigart each recorded a pair of assists while Marisa Dunn, Kate Heineman and Noralie Weisthuis chipped in an assist each.
The show of offensive force by UMass is rarely seen at the
collegiate level and had only occurred in the history of the program on a few
occasions. Here is a look at how rare the feat of totaling double-digit goals
is in the history of the illustrious program...
Previously, the UMass Minutewomen field hockey program has recorded 10 or more
goals in only two contests in the 38 years the program has existed. Once on
Oct. 25, 1979 against Smith College (11-1 victory) and again on Oct. 25, 2009
at Saint Louis (10-1 victory).
After a 30-year span of not recording double-digit goals (1979-2009; 650
games), the Minutewomen went only 53 contests since routing Saint Louis in 2009
before matching the feat against Vermont.
Since the 11-1 win over Smith College pre-dates the modern collegiate
athletics era, the 10-goal outing against Vermont ranks as only the second such
double-digit goal effort against a NCAA Division-I opponent.
In all of Division-I field hockey this season there have only been seven
games where a team has scored more than 10 goals, with UMass' performance
against Vermont tying for the second-most this season behind Virginia's 14-goal
outing vs. Towson.
In tandem with the number of goals scored, UMass recorded a tie for the
second-most points notched in a single game with the win over Vermont. The 31
points by the Minutewomen has been equaled this year on four occasions across
Division-I, while only being eclipsed once (Virginia vs. Towson).
The Minutewomen return to action at Garber Field with a 2 p.m. contest against the University of Maine on Sunday, Sept. 30. Admission to all home field hockey contests is free.
The UMass field hockey team will be entering the heart of a six-game homestand in the coming days, the longest such stay at Garber Field on the season. After hosting No. 7 Northeastern on Friday evening, the Minutewomen will challenge No. 11 Boston University on Tuesday, Sept. 18 a 4 p.m.
Initially set to be an evening contest, the start time was moved up to 4 p.m. in accordance with the current university avoidance of nighttime activity due to concerns over mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile Virus. The contest against Vermont scheduled for Friday, Sept. 21 will also begin at 4 p.m.
For fans who are unable to make it to Garber Field at 4 p.m. for the contest with BU, the University of Massachusetts will offer live statistics and a web streaming of the game.
In its most recent contest, Thando Zono recorded a last-minute goal to extend the game into overtime, where UMass (3-4 overall) eventually fell to Northeastern (6-0), 4-3 in the 77th minute. Peter Cappiello of The Daily Collegian recapped the excitement of the contest.
When Nicole Cordero notched the overtime game-winner at No. 17 Boston College on Sunday, the UMass field hockey squad improved to 3-1 on the season. Each of the three wins have come over teams ranked in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Top-25 Poll. Read up on how the team has been recognized for the early-season success below:
The NFHCA noticed UMass' success and awarded the Minutewomen the No.19 spot in their national rankings this week. Senior midfielder Kim Young also received accolades following a pair of goals and an assist on the weekend, taking home UMass Athlete of the Week honors.
The Minutewomen will continue to face top-notch competition as the team heads to No. 3-ranked Maryland on Saturday, Sept. 8 for an 11 a.m. contest. Follow along with the game through live stats. The contest will also be streamed online as a radio broadcast hosted by Maryland's radio network, WMUC.
Michael Counos of the Daily Collegian previews UMass field hockey's big game on Friday against Richmond. The Minutewomen, 5-0 and alone in first by one game in the Atlantic 10 standings, close out conference play and their home schedule against the Spiders at Garber Field at 1 p.m. Friday will also be Senior Day, with Christine Cutry, Amanda Dietz, Nikki Panciocco, and Alesha Widdall all being honored prior to the game.
"I think this group of seniors is just very resilient, take everything in stride and just always keep competing and understand that nothing comes easy and they have to work for it," said UMass coach Carla Tagliente.
The Massachusetts field hockey team looks to stay undefeated in Atlantic 10 conference play as they take on Saint Joseph's and Saint Louis this weekend. UMass currently sits at 3-9 overall and 1-0 in A-10 play. The Minutewomen host St. Joe's today at 3 p.m. at Garber Field.
"It was important for us to come out and play strong and send a message for the rest of the conference," said Head Coach Carla Tagliente.
Michael Cuonos of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian has a recap of UMass field hockey's 4-1 loss at No. 4 UConn on Wednesday night. It was a tale of two halves in Storrs, as the Huskies used a 16-1 shot advantage in the first half to build a 3-0 lead and, though UMass controlled the second half of play with a 8-2 shot advantage, the Minutewomen were unable to close the gap.
"We were prepared but we just had a tough first half and they were more aggressive than us and it comes down to matching their aggressiveness which has been a problem for us all season," said Head Coach Carla Tagliente. "I was really happy with our play in the second half but we can't expect to win the game after the way we played in the first half."
The UMass field hockey team begins a four-game road stretch tonight at No. 4 Connecticut at 7 p.m. The Minutewomen are looking for another victory over the Huskies, just as they did last season when they upset the Huskies, 1-0 at Garber Field.
The UMass defense will be tested against the high-scoring Huskies offense that has amassed 27 goals already this season. The scoring is spread around evenly amongst the Terriers' front line, with four players who have scored at least four goals. Hunnable, despite starting just one game, leads the team with seven goals, followed by Ali Blankmeyer and Jestine Angelini each with five.
"It's the second and third shots that are hurting us right now," said UMass coach Carla Tagliente. "Most of the goals we're giving up are on second and third shot opportunities so it'll be important for people to make sure they are marking their person and boxing out on defense."
De'Shawn Townsend of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian writes the wrap on Friday's field hockey loss to No. 17 Boston University, 3-0 at Garber Field.
UMass failed to recover from an early Terrier lead off-an unassisted goal by junior forward Tabi Hatch. With forward Leslie Zules assist, Hatch scored off a corner pass from the left side. The Minutewomen (2-6) had a couple opportunities on the goal but defender Callie Sweigart and forward Nicole Cordero could not connect with the back of the net.
"We were confident but we lost structure throughout the game" said UMass coach Tagliente.
Michael Counos of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian writes in today's edition on the UMass field hockey team and how, despite being 0-4 against ranked opponents this season, the Minutewomen's difficult non-conference schedule will prepare them well for Atlantic 10 play. UMass (2-6) started 2010 with a 3-5 record before running the table in the A-10, winning the conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
"There are good teams in our conference but I think that there is a lot of pressure in these non-conference games and a lot of pressure moments so this prepares us well mentally when stepping into conference play when we need to win those games," said Coach Carla Tagliente.
Since 2008 UMass is 16-3 in A-10 play including clean sweeps in 2008 and 2010. The next time the Minutewomen return home to Garber Field is Oct. 14 against Saint Joseph's.
A lot has been made early in the field hockey season of new head coach Carla Tagliente's attacking style of play that she has brought to the Minutewomen, but as Matt Strong of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian points out in Friday's edition, Tagliente has also brought a new style of play to the defense that the group is beginning to adjust well to. Strong mentions how assistant coach Roz Ellis has been crucial in mentoring the defense and talks to former UMass four-year-starter Jaime Bourazeris, who is helping the team this season.
With the new defensive approach comes a new mindset, which incorporates an offensive attitude. It gives the defense a chance to push the ball up the field, thus creating more shots and scoring opportunities.
"The biggest key as it is with any defensive structure is to communicate and stay organized," said Bourazeris.
Dick Baker of the Springfield Republican has a story today on UMass field hockey's 4-1 loss at home to No. 3 Maryland on Sunday. Baker points out in the story that, despite the loss, the Minutewomen played the National Champs tough, outplaying them for much of the first half. Baker says UMass has shown much improvement under first-year coach Carla Tagliente since the beginning of the season.
"It was two different games," Tagliente said. "I was proud of the way we stepped up in the first half. The second half was a little different story. But this is a game of momentum. If we had scored the first goal in the second half, or had the first corner, things might have been different."
Matt Strong of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian has a story today on the UMass field hockey team as it prepares for a challenging home weekend of non-conference games. On Friday, the Minutewomen host No. 20 Northeastern at 6 p.m., and on Sunday, UMass faces No. 3 and defending National Champion Maryland at Garber Field at noon.
Sunday's matchup against the Terrapins will be a rematch of two UMass losses last season, including a 4-2 loss in the NCAA Tournament. Both losses came at Maryland. Strong highlights how it will also be new head coach Carla Tagliente's first game coaching against her alma mater, where she was a four-time All-American, and how she brings a more offensive-minded system to the UMass program.
The UMass field hockey team played its home opener on Saturday at Garber Field, shutting out Harvard, 3-0. Not only did the team improve to 2-3 on the season as it kicked off a four-game homestand, but prior to the game a ceremony was held honoring the 30th anniversary of the Minutewomen's 1981 National Finalist team. Many players from that '81 squad came back to UMass for the occassion. Check out coverage of Saturday's win below.
Check out Dick Baker's great preview of the UMass field hockey season from over the weekend in the Springfield Republican and MassLive.com. Baker looks at how new head coach Carla Tagliente is taking over a program that has had recent success, but is implementing a new system and the squad must adjust to the loss of three key senior starters from last season's team. Baker also points out that senior All-American goalie Alesha Widdall will play an integral role for the Minutewomen in 2011.
UMass, after dropping its opener on Saturday to Boston College, looks to rebound today with a 2 p.m. game at Vermont. There will be free live video of the game online.
The defending A-10 champion Minutewomen field hockey team has begun its first preseason camp under Head Coach Carla Tagliente. Check out the video from the first day of practice.
Dick Baker of the Springfield Republican in his Local College Notebook talks about UMass field hockey getting ready to begin its first preseason under new head coach Carla Tagliente. Baker points out that the A-10 regular season title could come down to the final conference game of the year, an Oct. 28 meeting between the Minutewomen and Richmond at Garber Field.
The USA U-21 squad is coached by former UMass player and assistant coach, and current Boston College coach Ainslee Lamb.
Also, new UMass head coach Carla Tagliente is the head coach of the USA U-19 squad. She is assisted by UMass alum and current Duke head coach Pam Bustin. Stay tuned for updates on what the U-19'ers are up to during their training season.
Good luck to Alesha as she represents the Red, White, & Blue!
Nick O'Malley of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian has a nice story on former field hockey coach Justine Sowry. The column focuses on how Sowry, now the head coach at Louisville, took the UMass program to the next level in her four years at the helm of the program.
Sowry was replaced on Jan. 7 when UMass announced the hiring of Northwestern Associate Head Coach and former US National Team member Carla Tagliente as field hockey head coach.
On Friday, UMass announced the hiring of Carla Tagliente as field hockey head coach. Tagliente takes over a program that has won the Atlantic 10 title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in three out of the last four years. Below is coverage:
