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They have made remarkable strides, but the Minutewomen’s first round matchup against four-time defending championship Northwestern shows just how hard it is to build an elite program in collegiate women’s lacrosse.
The Wildcats (20-0) offense was too much for UMass (11-9) to handle, as the Minutewomen lost 23-6 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament late Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats advanced to the second round where they will host Princeton next week, as the Tigers defeated
‘It was tough, we played really hard, but Northwestern’s a great team and they played an unbelievable game today,’ freshman goalkeeper Katie Florence said. ‘I’m proud of the way we fought all the way through for 60 minutes, but in the end, they just controlled the game.’
‘Katie Florence continues to be one of the most consistent goalies I’ve ever coached,’ UMass coach Alexis Venehcanos said. She is very level-headed, she was getting lots of shots and she stood in there strong and kept us the game early. Unfortunately we just gave up too many shots and we [couldn’t score].’‘ ‘
Katrina Dowd led the Wildcats with seven goals, Hannah Nielson scored four goals and two assists, and Mary Kate Casey notched a hat trick.
UMass fell behind by five goals early before back-to-back goals by sophomore attacker Haley Smith and senior midfielder Meghan Reddy (who scored UMass’ first goal) cut NU’s lead to 3-6 with 21 minutes, 27 seconds left in the first half. It appeared that the Minutewomen had stopped the bleeding, but Northwestern promptly answered with an 8-0 run to put the game away. UMass did not score its fourth goal until Nina Sarcona found the net with 3:24 left in the first half.
A goal by Jesse O’Donnell was sandwiched between two Northwestern goals before halftime as the Minutewomen trailed 16-5 at the end of the half.
‘We came into this game prepared, we knew what to expect, but unfortunately we couldn’t stop them right from the start,’Venechanos said. ‘When it was 6-3 [Northwestern] we had some momentum, but we didn’t get the next three or four draws and 6-3 turned into a bigger [deficit].’
Before the game, the Minutewomen talked about how important draw controls were to staying competitive. UMass reasoned that if they could keep Northwestern from getting several possessions in a row, the Minutewomen might keep the game close. Dominance in the draw circle is one of the reasons why the Wildcats are undefeated, and Sunday was no exception as they finished with a 23-8 advantage on the draw.
‘Their sticks were [on the ball]. No matter where we went, their sticks were there. We tried our best, but we didn’t come up with as many [draws] as we usually do,’ said Reddy, who had a single season record 77 draw controls coming into this game, but couldn’t get one against NU.
Stephanie Hopkins scored the lone goal for UMass in the second half as the Wildcats poured in seven more scores.
With the 2009 season now over, UMass must look to the future. They will lose two captains, senior defender Jackie Rosenzweig and senior attacker Holly Drown, in addition to Reddy. These are big losses, but 21 of their 24 players are returning, including leading scorer Jackie Lyons (44 goals, 27 assists) along with 14 freshmen, as the Minutewomen hope to build and return to the NCAA Tournament.
‘What we have to do now is build on momentum for next year’s team. We’re going to miss the seniors, but we will look to continue the hard work that this team had this season,’ Venechanos said. ‘I think just getting to the tournament and understanding all the preparation that goes into it is hard to substitute. I’m very proud of this team; they are a very special team.’
Scott Feldman can be reached at [email protected].
