Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Women’s lacrosse finishes regular season play this weekend

With the end of the regular season in sight, the No. 9 Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team is hoping to make a strong statement in its final two regular season games before postseason play begins.

The Minutewomen (14-1, 5-0 A-10) are set to play in a pair of crucial Atlantic 10 matchups to close out the regular season schedule.

First up for UMass is a date with La Salle in its final home game of the season Friday afternoon. Then the Minutewomen will travel to Temple to finish the regular season on Sunday.

Although neither team can mathematically catch UMass in the standings, they could help out Richmond in its quest for the A-10 regular season title. The Spiders, who fell at home in overtime to the Minutewomen 15-14 on March 30, have a conference record of 4-1 and will need to win its final two games and have UMass lose both of its games this weekend to claim the regular season title.

Even if Richmond can win both of its final two games,  both of which are on the road, the thought of the Minutewomen dropping its final two games is hard to fathom.

Dating back to last season, UMass has won its last 12 conference games and is looking to complete its second undefeated regular season in conference play in a row.

The first team with a chance at ending this streak is the Explorers (9-5, 2-3 A-10). Not long ago, La Salle was considered to be the second-best team in the Atlantic 10, winning nine of its first 11 games, but the Explorers have fell on hard times with three-straight conference losses.

Although La Salle ranks near the bottom of the conference in goals per game, it has a trio of players with over 30 points this season and four with over 20 goals. These four players are Caitlyn Brostrand, Melanie Sarcinello, Lauren McDermott and Claire Andrews.

The Minutewomen hold a substantial edge over the Explorers in almost every statistical category, including ground balls and draw controls per game. La Salle also has the least amount of assisted goals per game in the conference, averaging over four less than UMass, which ranks first in the A-10.

One category La Salle will look to use to its advantage is the turnover differential. The Explorers average a conference-best 10.36 turnovers per game while the Minutewomen are near the bottom with a15.20 turnover ratio.

Although La Salle holds a statistical edge in goalkeeping statistics behind its goalie Megan Corliss,  she has  faced  more shots than UMass goalie Katie Florence, slightly skewing the amount of saves the two make in comparison.

The Owls (8-7, 2-3 A-10)  have also hit a rough patch as of late, losing its last two games, albeit close and on the road.

Temple is set for a pair of conference games at home this weekend, first against Saint Joseph’s on Friday and then Senior Day against the Minutewomen on Sunday.

The Owls have their share of offensive threats including Stephanie Markunas, who leads the team in assists (21) and points (48). Junior Stephany Parcell leads the team in goals with 33. Other scoring threats include Karly Cohen, Missy Schweitzer and Charlotte Swavola, each scoring over 20 points and 15 goals on the season.

Temple ranks second in the conference in draw controls with 13.80 per game. Markunas leads the Owls with 40 draw conrols. Although impressive, she still trails UMass’ all-time draw control leader Nina Sarcona and senior Ali Houlis.

Look for the UMass offense, led by the nation’s leading scorer Katie Ferris, to try to take advantage of a Temple team that ranks last in save percentage and near the bottom of the conference in saves per game and goals against average.

The Owls’ starting goalie is Tess Bishop, whose .367 save percentage has her outside of the top 10 in the conference.

A single win this weekend would give the Minutewomen the regular season Atlantic 10 championship and a No. 1 seed in the following week’s A-10 tournament, along with being well on its way to a fourth-consecutive tournament championship.

A pair of wins would make this UMass team the second-best team, in terms of winning percentage and overall record, in program history. Two more wins would also place them second in school history for most wins in a season. As of now, UMass is behind the 1982 national championship team, that went 10-0, and the 1979 team, which posted a 15-1 record.

Cameron McDonough can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_McDonough.

 

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