The No. 17 Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team will begin conference play on the road this weekend when they face Atlantic 10 rivals, Richmond and George Washington.
Friday’s clash with the Spiders (4-5) is a repeat of last year’s A-10 tournament final, which the Minutewomen (9-1) won 16-12, despite a furious rally late by Richmond. UMass coach Angela McMahon sees the finals rematch as a test for her squad.
“Obviously it’s going to be a huge test for us to play the team we met in the finals the last two seasons,” said McMahon. “I expect a really competitive game, and they’re a really good team. Huge rivalry for us.”
This year’s Spiders team lost their front three from that dramatic A-10 showdown, however, they retain the top scorer from that game, Mary Flowers, who notched four points (one goal, three assists). Danielle Schaevitz and Gabi Wiegand both recorded hat-tricks in that game, and Schaevitz contributed twice in the late six-goal outburst. Julianne Nicola also chipped in three assists.
Unfortunately for Richmond, Schaevitz and Nicola all graduated last year.
Now, Flowers, Sam Stevenson and Caitlin Fifield, lead the team, with 35, 35, and 33 points, respectively. Fifield and Flowers are two of only four seniors on a team that includes 11 freshmen.
The Spiders stacked the front end of their schedule with top-ranked opponents, including No. 5 North Carolina, No. 9 Virginia, and No. 7 Duke. They went 0-3 against those teams, but McMahon sees those games as proof that Richmond is a strong team.
“They only started slow because they played the top teams in the country, and they gave those top teams a very good game,” said McMahon. “I think that they proved that they are capable of playing with some of the best teams in the country. We’re really going to have to pick up our game. We know they are a very worthy opponent.”
The Richmond defense is similar to the UMass defense in that they have both conceded a fairly large amount of fouls – 239 for Richmond, 216 for the Minutewomen. However, where they differ is in goal. UMass’ netminder, Katie Florence allows just 8.62 goals per game, a more impressive statistic than her counterpart, Victoria Roebuck, who has conceded 13.62 goals per game.
The Minutewomen stays on the road following their encounter with the Spiders, to match-up against the Colonials (6-3) on Sunday.
Last season UMass cruised to a 21-6 win against GW in Amherst. The Minutewomen received four goals from sophomore Katie Ferris, and Nina Sarcona (three goals, five draw controls), Jackie Lyons (three goals, two assists), Cori Murray (three goals), Lauren Terracciano (three goals) and Haley Smith (three goals) also contributed.
McMahon won’t overlook the GW squad that is quietly putting together a solid season.
“They’re actually having a really good season,” said McMahon. “They’re off to a good start, and they have some pretty dynamic players as well.”
Sarah Phillips is one of those dynamic players. The senior recorded two assists against the Minutewomen last season, and now leads the conference this season with 25 helpers. She is second on the team with 19 goals. Megan Seidman, who recorded a hat-trick in the Amherst visit, leads her team with 22 goals, while four other players have double digits for goals.
“Again, it is a big test for us, a big road trip,” said McMahon. “It will be big for us going forward, playing Friday then Sunday. It is pretty much how the rest of our A-10 schedule goes.”
The Minutewomen started with five games at home, but they won’t see a run like that for the rest of the season. McMahon won’t be changing much, as her team prepares for a number of road tests going forward.
“We just need to make sure we do what we are good at,” said McMahon. “We need to make sure that the opportunity, and the shots, that we are getting, that we make every opportunity count, because we know that they can come right back and score. We just need to make sure we make our chances count.”
Jeffrey Okerman can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Okerman.
