AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass women's soccer team will play its final non-conference road match of the season this Thursday, Sept. 17, when the Minutewomen will head south to Hartford, Conn., to face Hartford in a 6 p.m. match. Coming off a draw at New Hampshire on Sunday, UMass is 0-4-1 on the year.
UMass holds a commanding 10-5-2 lead in the all-time series with the Hawks, which began in 1986.
The Minutewomen won the last meeting in 2007, 4-0 in Amherst. Celebrating her 19th birthday, Sydney Stoll led the charge by scoring the first two goals of the contest.
The last win for Hartford was a 2-1 victory in Amherst in 1994. In the five matches since, UMass has outscored the Hawks, 11-0.
America East Flavor
Hartford the last of four teams from the America East conference that UMass will face before beginning Atlantic 10 play on Sept. 20 vs. St. Joseph's.
It also marks the third of three straight games against America East squads, following Albany (Sept. 9) and New Hampshire (Sept. 13). The Minutewomen fell in its first two matchup against AE opponent, 2-0 to Boston University on Aug. 30 and 1-0 in double overtime versus Albany, before playing to a scoreless draw at New Hampshire on Sept. 13.
Two members of the UMass coaching staff have previously been assistants at America East institutions. Angela Napoli spent the 2004 season as an assistant coach for Albany, while John Conlon was an assistant coach at his alma mater, New Hampshire, from 2005 to 2008.
Scouting Hartford
Hartford is 3-3-0 thus far on the year including wins over Central Connecticut, Iona and Northern Colorado. The Hawks have scored four or more goals in two of their three victories with just one it its three losses combined.
Seven players have combined for the team's 11 goals. Alex Uscilla is Hartford's leading scorer with eight points on three goals and two assists. Mary Beth Hamilton has seven points on two goals and three assists.
In net Lauren Brodeur has played all 540 minutes and holds a 1.83 goals against average and a .800 save percentage with one shutout.
Scoreless Tie Tidbits
The 0-0 tie vs. New Hampshire on Sept. 13 was the third scoreless draw in the past two seasons for the Minutewomen.
In total, the program has logged 12 scoreless ties all-time: 2009, 2008 (2), 1995, 1993 (2), 1989, 1988, 1983 (3), 1980.
Two of the remaining seven, Sydney Stoll and Meghan Gould, returned to the lineup after missing all of 2008 with injuries. In her first two seasons with the Minutewomen, Stoll played in 28 games with 18 starts and totaled 18 points on seven goals and four assists. Gould started 13 of 14 games she appeared in as a sophomore in 2007.
Freshmen Meredith Fox and Jess Howe both made their first collegiate starts on Aug. 28 at Holy Cross. Sophomore Lauren Yelinek, who is in her first season with the Minutewomen, also made her UMass debut as a member of the starting lineup in that contest. Fox, Howe and Yelinek have started all five matches thus far.
Changing Of The Guard
After long-time head coach Jim Rudy announced his retirement in late may after 21 seasons at the helm for the Minutewomen, Angela Napoli was appointed as head coach on July 21.
Napoli, a 2000 UMass graduate and native of nearby Longmeadow, takes over after spending for season as an assistant coach on Rudy's staff. In her four previous seasons as an assistant, the Minutewomen compiled a 34-30-6 record, including an 11-6 mark in 2006.
A four-year letterwinner in goal for the Minutewomen (1996-1999), Napoli played in 35 career games (starting 27) and posted a 1.38 goals against average. Currently, she ranks seventh all-time in the UMass record book in career shutouts (13) and saves (159).
Luckey played every minute of all 18 games last season and posted a 1.05 goals against average while also recording five shutouts.
Smith, who started 17 contests in 2008, finished her sophomore campaign second on the team in points with eight (three goals, two assists) and is the top returning scorer for UMass. She had two game-winning goals and trailed only Vanessa Patry (13 points) in point production. Patry is back with the Minutewomen, but in a new role as an assistant coach.
Close To Home
Nearly 60 percent of the UMass roster is made up of players from Massachusetts.
A total of 13 players hail from the Bay State, while four come from Pennsylvania, two are from New York, with one each from Connecticut, New Jersey and Tennessee.
New Faces
There are six new additions for the Minutewomen in 2009, five freshman and one sophomore transfer. Emily Cota (Green Lane, Pa.), Marissa Dos Santos (Ludlow, Mass.), Meredith Fox (Chalfont, Pa.), Jenna Goodwin (Weymouth, Mass.) and Jess Howe (Wilbraham, Mass.) are the five members of the freshman class.
Lauren Yelinek, a native of Ludlow, transferred closer to home after spending her freshman season at Texas Tech. Yelinek played in 13 matches for the Red Raiders in 2008 and tallied six assists, which tied for fifth-most in Texas Tech history for a single season.
Cota, who was tabbed a top-100 recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.com, was named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Rookie Team. She made her collegiate debut on Aug. 30 against Boston University and played a scoreless second half, making one save.
