Sept. 4, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. - UMass field hockey hits the road this weekend for a pair of non-conference games. Head Coach Justine Sowry's Minutewomen (1-1) travel to Hanover, N.H. on Friday for a 3 p.m. match against Dartmouth (0-0), then head to Brookline, Mass. to take on Northeastern (1-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Series History
In 33 years, the Minutewomen and Big Green have met 29 times with UMass holding a 19-9-1 advantage. Dartmouth however, has won the last three match-ups, two of which came in overtime. The third came last season, on Oct. 24, when the Big Green defeated the Minutewomen, 1-0, at Garber Field.

UMass and Northeastern have met on the field hockey field even more often, 35 times, with the series deadlocked at 16-16-3. The Huskies have dominated series as of late, winning seven-straight and outscoring the Minutewomen, 33-9, in that stretch. It was Halloween 1999 the last time UMass defeated Northeastern, 2-0.

Scouting Dartmouth
Friday's game will be the season-opener for Dartmouth. The Big Green is coming off a 6-11 season a year ago that saw them post a 1-6 mark in the Ivy league, placing it seventh. They return seven starters from last year's squad.

Senior midfielder Ashley Hines is the leading returning scorer for Dartmouth. The Newburyport, Mass. native had 16 points on seven goals and two assists in 2007. She tallied to game-winning goals and was named second team All-Ivy. Another senior captain from Massachusetts, Kristen McCormick from Stoughton, returns to anchor the Big Green defense.

Senior Jordan Sedlacek returns in goal for Dartmouth after getting the majority of the playing time last season. She had a 3-7 record as a junior with a 2.60 goals against average. Sedlacek posted double-digit saves in four games.

Amy Fowler is in her ninth year as head coach of the Big Green. A 1993 graduate of Iowa, she has posted a career record of 69-72. As a player, Fowler played in three NCAA Final Fours and was twice named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team.

Scouting Northeastern
Northeastern is currently 1-1 on the season after shutting out Northwestern, 3-0, last Saturday and then dropping a game, 2-1, to Providence on Thursday afternoon. NU was 9-12 overall in 2007 with a 4-4 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play, good for fourth place. The Huskies have lost six starters from a year ago.

Senior midfielder Ashley Bascetta returns as the team's leading scorer from last year. She finished the year with six goals and one assist for 13 points and already leads the team in shots this season with five. The next five top-scorers from 2007 have been lost to graduation. Sophomore midfielder Pam Aldridge leads the team in the early going this season with three points on one goal and one assist.

Senior Colleen Duffy takes over the starting goalkeeping duties in 2008 after playing a total of just under 17 minutes in 2007. She didn't allow a goal in that time and hasn't allowed one this year after making seven saves in Saturday's shutout win over Northwestern.

The Huskies are coached by Cheryl Murtagh, who is now in her 21st season. She has a career record of 293-142-10, all while at Northeastern. Murtagh is a 1981 New Hampshire graduate. She is assisted by Zowie Tucker, who starred at UMass from 1997-2000 as the Minutewomen's goalkeeper.

At Boston College (8/29)
UMass didn't trail at any point and carried a 2-1 lead into the final 10 minutes of the game, but two late scores by No. 13 Boston College gave the Eagles (1-0) a 3-2 victory over the Minutewomen (0-1) on Friday night at the Newton Campus Turf Field. Despite the loss, a transfer made a big first impression as Jill Powers scored UMass' first goal. Senior captain Erin Parker scored UMass' second goal. Sophomore Katie Kelly picked up an assist in what was the season-opener for the Minutewomen.

Vs. Quinnipiac (8/31)
Three separate players scored as UMass field hockey displayed a diversified offense to go along with a tough defense in the Minutewomen's 3-0 victory over Quinnipiac on Sunday afternoon at newly renovated Garber Field. Jill Powers, Katelyn Orlando, and Cher King all scored in what was the first game played at Garber since all new seating was installed over the summer. Jaime Bourazeris notched the first multi-assist game of her career with two, while Powers also added a helper. Alesha Widdall earned the victory in goal for her first career win and shutout.

Looking Ahead
The Minutewomen return home for a Friday night clash with No. 4 Connecticut on Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. on the Garber Field turf. The Minutewomen suffered two losses to the Huskies last season, a 3-2 heartbreaker in the regular season and the 4-1 defeat that ended UMass' season in the NCAA Tournament.