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

Ferris, Houlis Receive A-10 Honors

The high honors continued this week for the undefeated Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team, and this time it was a combination of both offense and defense.

Sophomore attacker Katie Ferris was named the Atlantic 10’s Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks and was also named co-UMass Athlete of the Week. This marks the second time that Ferris received the honor from UMass, the first being after her 10-point game against Holy Cross in the squad’s opening game.

Senior defender Ali Houlis also received recognition from the A-10, being named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week.

All of these awards come after the Minutewomen dominated their two opponents last week. UMass defeated New Hampshire, 17-5, and Sacred Heart, 21-7.

Ferris continued her early season success on the offensive end with a combined nine points and eight assists in the two wins.

Against the Wildcats, she posted her second 10-point game of the season with five goals and five assists. Her other 10-point game came against the Crusaders, when she led the team in goals, with four, and assists, with three.

On top of these stats, Ferris also shot 9-for-12 from the field, caused a turnover, gained four draw controls, and picked up two groundballs.

Ferris now leads the team in goals (20), assists (12), and points (32), after the first five games.

Currently, she is in a tie for seventh place in all of Division I women’s lacrosse with four goals-per-game and tied for fourth in goals overall with 20. She is also tied for 11th in assists-per-game, averaging just over two, and tied for fifth in overall assists with 12.  Ferris also stands in a tie for first place in points with 32 overall and in a tie for third in points-per-game(6.40).

Ferris’ offensive explosion in the first five games has helped leapfrog the Minutewomen into first amongst all teams in scoring offense with 17.80 goals-per-game.

At this point last year Ferris had totaled 17 goals and one assist. Given her standing this season, it’s reasonable to think she will be able to break her overall numbers from a year ago if she continues her current pace.

Last year, she scored 56 goals and recorded 16 assists and 72 points. She is only four assists shy of tying her overall assist total from last year after just five games. This proves that she has developed into a multi-dimensional offensive threat that can score and find an open teammate.

Houlis led UMass’ defense, which only allowed a combined 12 goals in the team’s two wins.

In the two wins, Houlis was a nightmare for opposing offenses. She was constantly putting pressure on her opponents and causing turnovers and other mistakes.

Against the Pioneers, in the first half, it seemed nearly impossible for Sacred Heart to get the ball into the offensive end against Houlis and UMass’ swarming defense.

She led the team with 10 groundballs and three forced turnovers, along with four draw controls and an assist.

Nine of her groundballs came in the game against UNH. The wintery conditions made for a very sloppy game played by both sides and Houlis was able to take advantage of that and scramble for all the loose balls. Currently, Houlis leads the team in groundballs with a combined 14.

This week marked the third consecutive week that the Minutewomen were acknowledged by the A-10 for their play. In the previous week, Tanner Guarino was named the A-10 Offensive Player of the Week. Ferris received the same honor the week before that.

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

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