Just two encounters remain in the regular season for the No. 9 Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team which has already secured a playoff spot, and will soon move its focus to the next phase of the season.
However, with a perfect in-conference record intact, the Minutewomen (14-1, 5-0 Atlantic 10) will be trying to bring home their second-consecutive regular season title.
UMass rides a 12-game regular season A-10 winning streak into this weekend’s games against La Salle and Temple. The Minutewomen last suffered a conference loss against the Explorers (9-5, 2-3 A-10) at the end of the 2010 season. After facing off with La Salle at home, UMass travels to Philadelphia to take on the Owls (8-7, 2-3 A-10).
This is a key weekend for both of the Minutewomen’s opponents, as well as for themselves. A single win this weekend wraps up the A-10 regular season title, as well as the top seed in the conference tournament in Richmond. Should Richmond (8-6, 4-1 A-10) match UMass’ record, the tie would be in favor of the Minutewomen, who hold the tie-breaker following an overtime win at the end of March.
A loss in both games would not be a catastrophe as far as seeding goes for UMass. Due to tie-breakers, the Minutewomen can only fall as far as the No. 2 seed.
Below the top two seeds is a traffic jam of teams jostling for the final positions in the tournament.
Below UMass and Richmond are George Washington and Duquesne, who both have identical, 3-2 conference records. The Colonials (9-5, 3-2 A-10) face off with the Dukes (10-5, 3-2 A-10) on Friday, in a battle for the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
The loser of that matchup would fall into a potential tie with La Salle and Temple, who occupy the fifth and sixth positions heading into the weekend. If one or both win their games on Friday, they would be tied for the final spot with the loser of Friday’s game between GW and Duquesne heading into the final day.
Ferris shooting for 100
When the Minutewomen resume action this weekend, sophomore attacker Katie Ferris will open just 13 points shy of 100. With three 10-point games this season, Ferris seems poised to break into triple digits before the end of the regular season.
Beyond the two regular season games remaining for UMass, there will be at least one A-10 semifinal game. The three-time defending A-10 champions are in position to receive an NCAA tournament bid, which would offer the star attacker more games to jump the 100 barrier.
Ferris has been an integral part of the Minutewomen offense this season, which ranks third in the nation. The sophomore has contributed 3.47 goals per game, on her way to 52 through 15 games, lifting UMass’ scoring average to 16.2 goals per game.
It hasn’t just been goals, however. Ferris has also registered 35 assists, bringing her to the 87 point mark for an average of 5.8 points per game. The attacker has provided nearly a quarter of the Minutewomen’s points per game, and will look to continue that mark for the rest of the season.
Jeffrey Okerman can be reached at [email protected]u and followed on Twitter @MDC_Okerman.
