Sept. 5, 2009

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AMHERST, Mass. - A balanced offensive attack and a huge second half performance in net by Alesha Widdall led #17 UMass field hockey (2-1) to a 4-3 victory over #9 Iowa (0-3), 4-3, at the UMass Invitational on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Garber Field. The Minutewomen trailed, 2-1, one minute into the second half but rattled off three-straight goals while Widdall made seven second half saves to lead UMass to the victory over the Hawkeyes, a Final Four team from a season ago.

The #9 Hawkeyes are the highest ranked team UMass has defeated in almost nine years. The last time the Minutewomen defeated a higher ranked opponent was on Sept. 30, 2000, a 2-1 victory over #7 UConn at Garber Field.

Freshman Kara Charochak started off the scoring with the first goal of her career, coming 13 minutes into the game when she knocked in a rebound on a scramble in front of the Iowa net. After Jaime Bourazeris' orginal shot was blocked, Cher King took a shot off the rebound that was saved by Hawkeye goalie Kathleen Mcgraw, but Charochak was there for the rebound.

Iowa knotted the score at one apiece with six and half minutes left in the half when Sarah Drake sent a shot through a screen and into the goal. The game went into halftime tied 1-1 with Iowa holding a 6-5 shot advantage and a 4-2 penalty corner advantage.

The Hawkeyes took the lead less than a minute into the second half when Drake struck again, this time coming up with the ball in scramble in front of the UMass net and finding the back of the goal just 54 seconds in.

King evened the score for the Minutewomen just 41 seconds later, dribbling up the right side and blasting a shot from just inside the circle that beat Mcgraw just inside the left post. The senior's first goal of the season tied the game at two and started the UMass run.

Bourazeris scored her second goal of the season 55 minutes into the game when she poked in a rebound off a penalty corner, giving UMass a 3-2 lead.

The lead reached 4-2 in the 63rd minute when Katie Kelly, UMass' leading returning scorer from last season, got her first of the year by coming up with another rebound in front of the Iowa goal and sending it home.

The Hawkeyes made a late run, started off by Jess Werley deflecting in a Sarah Pergine shot in the 65th minute that pulled them within one. Iowa would earn three penalty corners in the final five minutes. The last came with under a minute left, but Widdall made an outstretched save on Tricia Dean shot with 23 seconds left that sealed the victory.

Widdall finished with eight saves on the day to Mcgraw's four, while Iowa outshot UMass, 18-11, and outcornered the Minutewomen, 11-4.

Iowa and Boston University close out play at the UMass Invitational on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Minutewomen return to action on Friday when they head to Albany to take on the Great Danes at 2:30 p.m. UMass will then face James Madison the following day in Albany at 2:30 p.m.