Nov. 5, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass field hockey team, which clinched a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament with two must-win victories last weekend, will host the annual tournament on November 6-7 at Garber Field. The fourth-seeded Minutewomen will square off with top-seed Richmond on Friday, beginning at 12:30 p.m. before two-seed St. Joseph's and four-seed Temple take the field at 3:30 p.m. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 3 p.m.

2009 marks the third straight season that all four teams have appeared in the championship tournament. The UMass-Richmond semifinal will feature a rematch of last year's championship contest, as well as the winners of the last 13 conference titles.

In last season's final, Massachusetts toppled the Spiders 2-0 at Temple University. The Minutewomen received goals from Mary Shea and Cher King, while Alesha Widdall made three saves. In an earlier meeting this season, Richmond shutout Massachusetts 1-0 on a goal from Katelin Peterson in the 53rd minute. Peterson's goal came just over a minute after UMass had one of its best scoring opportunities of the game. After winning a penalty corner, Jaime Bourazeris' drive from the left side of the circle whistled just wide to the right, keeping the game scoreless.

The game between St. Joseph's and Temple will be a battle of two Philadelphia teams. The last time that the two teams have faced each other in the A-10 Championship was 2007, when St. Joseph's edged the Owls 3-2 before falling to UMass in the final game. Temple is coming off three straight wins over conference foes, including a 4-2 win over Richmond to secure a spot in the tournament. The Hawks, meanwhile, are fresh off a 7-0 victory at St. Louis in their season finale. They also defeated Temple earlier this season with a 4-0 win on October 10.

Tickets And Media Information:
Tickets are currently on sale for the 2009 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Tournament. To purchase tickets, please visit the UMass Ticket Office or call 866-UMASS-TIX. Ticket prices are $6 for adults, $4 for children and senior citizens, and $3 for students of an A-10 school.

If you are unable to travel to Amherst for this year's conference tournament, be sure to check out UMass All-Access to catch all the action this weekend. UMass will be providing audio and video coverage of each game over the course of the weekend. By logging onto UMassAthletics.com, fans can sign up to see the streaming video of all games during the tournament.

Massachusetts In 2009:
UMass is a combined 0-3 against teams in the championship tournament this season, but have momentum going into the tournament after two big wins in the final weekend of regular season play. The Minutewomen traveled to Philadelphia in mid-October for weekend matchups with the Hawks and Owls. In the Friday contest with St. Joseph's, Massachusetts was shutout 3-0 after a hat trick from Anne Shreuders. Despite dominating the play statistically in the first half with an 11-2 shot advantage, UMass found itself trailing 2-0 at halftime. The Hawks added another goal in the second half to defeat the Minutewomen. The game was UMass' Atlantic 10 opener and marked the Minutewomen's first loss to a conference opponent in over two years. The loss was UMass' first to an A-10 opponent in 15 games, and just second under head coach Justine Sowry, dating back to a 2-1 loss at Temple on October 12, 2007.

In the October 18 game against the Owls, the Minutewomen suffered a 2-1 double overtime loss. Bridget Settles scored off a scramble in front of the goal 3:45 into the second overtime period to give Temple the victory. After a scoreless first half, Makaela Potts scored early in the second half for the Minutewomen. The Owls scored nine minutes later and the game remained tied for the duration of regulation and through the first overtime until Settles' goal early in the second OT. UMass held the advantage in most statistical categories as it outshot Temple, 21-16, and drew more penalty corners, 10-7, but Owls goalkeeper Sara Dalrymple made 10 saves to carry her team. The loss dropped UMass to 0-2 in conference play.

UMass Report:
Potts leads the Minutewomen with 10 goals and 11 assists for 31 points, while Katie Kelly has the team lead in goals (11) to go along with six assists. Potts is tied for the A-10 lead in assists.

After being sidelined for the middle part of the season with an injury, Cher King has come on strong for the Minutewomen late in the year. With seven goals and four assists, she is third on the team in scoring. Her five goals last weekend helped propel the Minutewomen into the Atlantic 10 Championship, and she was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week.

Alesha Widdall has been stellar in goal this year with a 1.46 goals against average and a .767 save percentage. The 2008 second team All-American is the A-10 leader in shutouts with six, while also contributing to two combined shutouts.

The Minutewomen have won 11 A-10 Conference Championships, more than all the other teams combined. That total includes the last two seasons' titles under head coach Justine Sowry. UMass is 28-8 all-time in A-10 Tournament games, dating back to the conference expanding to field hockey in 1988.

Scouting Richmond:
Richmond comes into the weekend with an 11-8 overall record and a 5-1 mark in conference play. The regular season conference champs are 1-6 against ranked teams, with the lone win being against UMass on Oct. 23.

Sarah Blythe-Wood is at the top of the A-10 stats in nearly every offensive category this season. She leads the conference in shots (79), points (48) and goals (19). Joining Blythe-Wood is Katelin Peterson, who is second on the team with 12 goals and three assists.

Jacki Raithel has started every game between the pipes this season for Richmond, boasting a 2.29 goals against average and a .703 save percentage.

The Spiders, since joining the A-10 in 2001, are 11-3 all-time in A-10 Tournament games with five titles (2002-06). Their three losses have all come at the hands of UMass, in 2001, 2007, and 2008.

Scouting Temple:
Temple is 8-11 overall and 4-2 in A-10. The Owls are the #3 seed in the tournament by virtue of a 4-0 loss to fellow 4-2 team Saint Joseph's.

Temple is led by Bridget Settles, who has amassed 12 goals and four assists to this point in the season. She is joined by Charise Young, who leads the Owls in assists (10) to go along with three goals.

Like Richmond's Raithel, Sarah Dalrymple has started each game for Temple this year, totaling a 2.43 goals against average and a .689 save percentage.

Temple is the lone A-10 team with a victory over Richmond in 2009, a 4-2 win on the last day of the season. The Owls defeated UMass, 2-1, and lost to Saint Joe's, 4-0, in the regular season.

Temple is 8-16 all-time in A-10 Tournament games with two titles (1991-94).

Scouting Saint Joseph's:
Saint Joseph's comes into the tournament with a 7-10 overall record and a 4-2 record in A-10 play. The Hawks claimed the #2 seed by defeating fellow 4-2 club Temple, 4-0.

Anne Schreuders leads St. Joseph's with 12 goals and seven assists for 31 points. Ellen Rowe is second on the squad with nine goals and an assist.

Kelly Swanick has seen a majority of the time in goal this season with a 2.77 goals against average and .629 save percentage.

The Hawks are 2-1 against the other tournament teams, with wins over UMass and Temple and a loss to Richmond.

Saint Joe's is 4-12 all-time in Atlantic 10 Tournament games, including a 1-2 record the last two seasons with both losses coming to the Minutewomen. The Hawks lone A-10 title was in 1995.

Last Time Out:
Facing two must-win games in order to make the Atlantic 10 Championship, Massachusetts scored six goals in each of their games last weekend. On Friday, UMass handled La Salle, 6-3 at Garber Field. After La Salle took an early 1-0 lead, Cher King went on to score four straight goals, including the game-winner in the 44th minute. Kim Young also netted two goals for the Minutewomen. Massachusetts also held the Explorers to no shots on goal during the second half.

On Sunday, UMass and West Chester faced off with the winner advancing to the conference championships. Katie Kelly led the Minutewomen with a hat-trick, while Young continued her scoring ways with the opening goal just 14 seconds into the first half. Massachusetts held the edge in penalty corners 8-3, with two of its goals coming off corner opportunities. Young was awarded for her efforts by being named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week.

All-Time History:
All-time, UMass is 7-9 against Richmond, with four of their meetings coming in the last two seasons. The two teams first squared off in 1994. The Minutewomen, however, substantially lead the all-time series' with St. Joseph's and Temple. Massachusetts is 24-4 against the Hawks and 29-11 against Temple in its history.