There is no place like home.
And with a click of its maroon heels, the Massachusetts field hockey team finally returns to Amherst to host Providence College on its own turf (Richard F. Garber Field), after playing eight of its first nine games on the road.
Today’s contest marks an end to a six-game road trip, in which UMass failed to make a stop in Kansas, but seemed to go almost everywhere else.
“We’re not going to know what to do with ourselves,” Head Coach Patty Shea laughed. “We’re going to have to get on the PVTA bus and take a ride around campus before the game.
“It will be nice to be home,” she added, speaking more seriously. “Though, sometimes there are more distractions at home. The road gives you time to settle in and think about the game.”
Both the Minutewomen [3-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10] and the Friars [7-4, 1-3 Big East] are coming off losses, so both teams will be looking to right the proverbial ship. The Maroon and White’s defeat was especially heartbreaking, falling to Syracuse last Saturday when the Orangewomen scored the game-winning goal with no time left on the clock.
However, according to Shea, that game is ancient history.
“It’s over and done with,” the fifth year coach said. “We have another game to play.”
Even though UMass ended up losing to Syracuse, many positives were taken out of the contest, not the least of which was the fact that the Maroon and White went head-to-head with a Top 20 team.
“We took it to them and had control of the game,” Shea said. “We had a ball position field advantage and controlled the field space, but we didn’t take advantage of our chances and they did.”
Thus far, the Providence offense has been led by Courtney Dow, who has totaled five goals and three assists. Jennifer Chin has also been impressive, notching four goals (including a game-winner against Rutgers on September 29) and an assist in 11 games.
Although no other Friar player has totaled more than two goals, the team has garnered a winning record behind a stifling defense along with outstanding goal play. Netkeeper Meghan Moran has especially shined, posting a 1.53 goals against average to go along with four shutouts.
“They are a very good team,” Shea said. “They are disciplined and have great speed on the forward line. It is a great regional rivalry and their kids play with a lot of emotion. We always play them in a nail biter.”
Nowhere was this nail biting tendency more evident than in last year’s game between the two squads, as the Minutewomen finally prevailed after two overtime periods and two periods of penalty strokes. Two years ago, UMass squeaked out another one-goal win, and in Shea’s five-year tenure, Providence and Massachusetts have had all their games but one decided by a single score.
The game against the Friars will also be a good test for UMass, as it tries to prepare for the up and coming A-10 play. And that, according to Shea, is what really counts in the regular season.
“You can’t look at the end result,” Shea said, “because our goal has been the process [of getting better] all along.”
Today’s game will be a good test of just how far along the process the Minutewomen are.
