AMHERST, Mass. -
Riding a three-game unbeaten streak, the UMass women's soccer team will begin Atlantic 10 play this weekend as the squad will play host to Saint Joseph's on Friday at 4 p.m. on Rudd Field before heading to Pittsburgh, Pa., to take on Duquesne in a 2 p.m. match. Coming off a 2-1 victory over Saint Peter's, the Minutewomen are currently 1-4-2 on the year.
Saint Joseph's is currently 3-3-2 on the season with wins over Binghamton (1-0), Saint Peter's (5-2) and Syracuse (1-0). The Hawks have played to two scoreless ties, at Delaware and vs. Penn.
Eight players have combined for 24 points for Saint Joseph's, paced by Maggie Lupinski's 12 points. Lupinski has scored six of the squad's nine goals, while no other individual has scored more than once, all with three points or less.
Christine Neal has seen the bulk of the time in net for the Hawks, starting six of eight games and playing a total of 580 minutes. Neal holds a 0.93 goals against average and .778 save percentage. She has a record of 1-3-2 with three shutouts.
Scouting Duquesne
Duquesne enters the weekend with a record of 3-4-0 and will play at Charlotte on Friday evening. The Dukes' three wins have come against Robert Morris (3-0), Bucknell (1-0) and College of Charleston (1-0).
Six individuals have produced a total of 17 points through seven games for Duquesne, led by Samantha Kaiser's four goals for eight points. Morgan Herbert is the only remaining member of the Dukes with two or more goals on the year as she has a pair for four points.
Gabby Morin has played all 608:58 minutes for Duquesne and holds a 1.33 goals against average and a .743 save percentage with three shutouts.
Series History
UMass holds a 9-2-0 all-time record against Saint Joseph's and is 8-4-0 all-time against Duquesne. Both series began in 1996.
The Minutewomen defeated the Hawks, 3-0, in the teams' last meeting on Sept. 28, 2007, in Philadelphia. Current redshirt junior Sydney Stoll scored the game winner in that contest. Saint Joseph's last win in the series was a 1-0 overtime victory in 2004.
Stoll also scored in UMass' last meeting with Duquesne on Sept. 30, 2007, in Amherst, but the Minutewomen were edged by the Dukes, 3-2, in that contest. Classmate Megan Gould assisted on the tally by Stoll for her first career point. UMass' last victory over Duquesne came on Oct. 29, 2006, in Pittsburgh, Pa., a 1-0 decision courtesy of a goal by current senior Cristina Adams, her first of her collegiate career.
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.
More On OT
From Sept. 9 to Sept. 17, the Minutewomen played three straight double overtime games for the first time in school history and went 0-1-2 in those contests. In 2008 and 2007, the squad played five-consecutive overtime games (third game in that stretch was a single OT) spanning the final two games of 2007 and the first three of 2008, which were by far and away the most in school history. There had never been more than two consecutive overtime games.
Last season, UMass set a program record with six overtime games, all coming in the first nine matches of the 2008 schedule. The previous high was four in 2007.
Among The A-10 Leaders
Freshman goalkeeper Emily Cota is among the league leaders for goals against average as she is tied for second in the Atlantic 10 with a .875 save percentage and is fourth with a 0.84 goals against average.
Cota has played in six of seven games for a total of 323:20 minutes.
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 seven 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).
Napoli's First Head Coaching Victory
UMass' 2-1 win over Saint Peter's on Sept. 19 marked the first career head coaching victory for Angela Napoli.
The Minutewomen scored a pair in the first half courtesy of Sydney Stoll and Therese Smith and finished the contest with a decisive 22-6 shot advantage.
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.
