Last year it would have been shocking. The Massachusetts field hockey team just did not give up that many goals. In fact, over a 10 game span in October and November, the Minutewomen gave up three goals total, winning all 10 while they marched to the Elite Eight of the NCAA field hockey tournament.

With arguably the best netkeeper in the country in Zowie Tucker, and with experienced and effective backs in Jill Fantasia, Anke Bruemmer and Kerry Ann Jaggassar, the Maroon and White finished the season as the nation’s top ranked defense, giving up a mere 0.74 goals a game.

Unfortunately for head coach Patty Shea and the rest of her squad, this year’s team has been a different story. Over the first seven contests of the season, UMass has already given up a total of 23 scores, including three of those in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to UConn.

Last year, the Minutewomen gave up 18 goals the entire year.

“We knew we would be scored on this year, but we have also scored more goals than we had last year at this point,” Shea said. “Teams are putting goals in on us, but we are putting them right back.”

Despite Shea’s optimism, some things are definitely amiss for the Maroon and White, as it has struggled to a 2-5 record. Because the offense has played solidly thus far, the brunt of the blame must fall on a defense that was so staunch only a season ago.

“You have to take chances and go and attack,” Shea said. “There are sections of the field where you should take 100 percent risk and other sections where you should take 0 percent risk. At times we have been caught taking risks in areas we shouldn’t be.”

Though proper risk taking has been some of the problem, the most notable difference between this year and last has been something that nobody can do anything about, the loss of second team All-American goalie, Tucker.

And although sophomore Ashley Egland has filled in admirably, she has had some rough outings, giving up four or more goals more than half of the times she has patrolled the UMass net.

In addition, although the defensive core from last season has remained largely in place, it has not been the mold of consistency that it once was. Bruemmer, who Shea had called the best defender in the country, has been called on to carry more of the offensive load, and while she has done this (seven goals), it has been at the expense of some of her defensive responsibilities. After all, she can’t be everywhere at once.

This would have left more of the responsibility in the backfield on Jaggassar, but in the third game of the season, she went down with an injury against Boston College and has not played or practiced since. Suddenly, what was once a known strength turned into a giant question mark, and at times, this inexperience has been costly.

Against UConn, with the game still very much in reach, the Minutewomen failed to get back in position and watched as a crosscourt pass by Lauren Henderson was deflected by Kelly Stolle over the shoulder of Egland for the score. This made the score 3-1, and for all intents and purposes, clinched the win for the Huskies.

“We had a break down on recovery defense,” Shea said. “We were ball watching and they took advantage of it with a great deflection.”

Despite its record, however, UMass has shown occasional bright spots. Against the Huskies, the offense was aggressive and constantly pressured the opposing defense. The freshman played like veterans, most notably Heather Kenney, Ashley Gilbert and Adrianne Monaco and defensive lapses seemed to be fewer and farther between.

Shea especially liked what she saw.

“It was the best game we played all season,” the fifth year coach said. “We passed and moved the ball well, gave some great give and gos, and stayed to the game plan. You always hate to lose to UConn, but we are ready to put it on the line again. Every game we have gotten significantly better.”

Saturday’s “moral victory” also reminded Shea of a loss her team had three years ago to Boston University, which ended up being the turning point of the season.

“The result was a loss on the scoreboard, but it was the best moral victory,” Shea said. “From that point on we [nearly] swept the rest of the season.”

It still remains to be seen whether the UConn game has a similar effect.