Knee deep in the Atlantic 10 conference schedule, the Massachusetts women’s soccer team will play two games at home this weekend for the last time in the month of October.
Coach Jim Rudy’s squad will face off against two teams that have beaten UMass just one time each in 13 total meetings.
Both Duquesne and St. Bonaventure have struggled through most of the 2001 season. The Bonnies are an atrocious 2-7-1 overall (1-2 A-10) and will ride into Amherst this afternoon on the heels of a woeful five game losing streak that has seen them outscored 13-3.
Sophomore forward Lisa Nicola will pack the most offensive punch for St. Bonaventure. After finishing second on the team in scoring as a freshman last year, the Canton, Ohio native is leading the team in goals as a sophomore. In fact, her four scores have accounted for half of the total goals scored by the Bonnies all season long.
“Lisa is a really quick, smaller player,” Rudy said. “We are really concerned about her.”
But memories of a Halloween 1999 1-0 loss at home to the Bonnies are keeping Rudy busy. In that game, then-sophomore goalkeeper Karen Cunningham and the team’s defensive system earned the win, despite being outplayed by the Minutewomen.
“[She] played spectacularly [in the ’99 match],” Rudy said. “They shut us out with a low-pressure sort of defense.”
The low-pressure, drop-back St. Bonaventure defense is tailor-made to extinguish the flames typically created in UMass’s fast-paced, forward-pushing offense.
“We usually pack the other teams into their own end, but this may be their choice,” Rudy said. “We like to go forward, we want to go forward. We are real concerned about that.”
Standout senior Brooke Bartlett will be as crucial as ever for the Maroon and White offense to get on the board. The midfielder’s deadly passing accuracy will help set her teammates up for shots and slice through the stingy Bonnie defense.
Sunday afternoon’s matchup against Duquesne should get physical. The Dukes were called for 16 fouls in a 3-0 win over Temple last week that snapped the team’s four-game losing streak.
The match-ups for the Duquesne game will be similar to the St. Bonaventure game in that both teams are likely to react to the Maroon and White offense similarly.
“They are used to absorbing pressure and they have a great goalkeeper,” Rudy said.
Dukes’ goalie Kristin Scharphorn had an amazing streak of road games last week. The junior made 28 saves, en route to the win over Temple and a 1-1 tie against St. Joseph’s. Scharphorn allowed just one goal en route to winning the A-10 Player of the Week award.
Rudy had nothing but praise for Dukes’ midfielder Lauren Bracco, an A-10 Preseason All-Conference Team selection.
“We tried desperately to recruit Lauren Bracco,” Rudy said. “She’s tough. I like her very much. She is big in the air and tough in the tackle.”
Positioned toward the front with Bracco will be senior Abbie Burns and junior Erin Marshall. The two upperclassmen have combined for nine goals on 18 shots in 2001.
“[Those three] will be a tough package [to deal with],” Rudy said.
Yes, the two teams the Minutewomen are playing are a combined 4-12-3 on the season, but this is not an easy weekend by any means.
“It doesn’t matter what their record is, they play everyone tight.” Rudy said, pointing out that last year, Duquesne played in 15 one-goal games and one tie.
Rudy knows that, during in-conference games, anything can, and will happen. Don’t expect him to let his team forget that either.
“We respect everybody,” Rudy said. “We have to because every game is so important [at this stage of the season]. We can’t afford to have upsets, letdowns, or poor performances.”
