The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team returns to the friendly confines of McGuirk Stadium at 3 p.m. today for an Atlantic 10 clash with Saint Joseph’s.
The No. 10 Minutewomen (11-1, 2-0 A-10) enter the game on a four-game winning streak, including two crucial A-10 wins at Richmond and George Washington last weekend.
The Hawks (4-7, 0-2 A-10) have been on a losing streak, having lost four straight, including two A-10 matchups against George Washington and Richmond.
From an all-time standpoint, UMass has dominated the Hawks, holding a 17-3 advantage in the series which includes an 18-4 stomping at SJU to close out a perfect A-10 record last year.
The Minutewomen come into this game with one of the top offenses and one of the top offensive performers in the country – Katie Ferris.
Ferris is on pace for a record-setting season for the Minutewomen. Ferris is averaging over three goals a game and, if she matches her average against the Hawks, she will reach the 100-goal mark for her career. And she is also five points away from tying the single season record of 74, set by Whitney Thayer in 1981.
Impressively, Ferris has racked up these numbers in 12 games and there are still five games left in the regular season, in addition to potential playoff games.
Ferris’ talents aren’t going unnoticed either, as her combined 13-point performance last weekend earned her the A-10 Player of the Week award.
The Hawks counter Ferris with an offensive star of their own in Grace Dinn, who is putting up strong numbers for this year, leading the team with 33 goals and 35 points.
But other than Dinn, the roster is potentially troubling for Saint Joseph’s. Only two other Hawks have put up double-digit goals this season, Val Paolucci (14) and Abby Ananian (13).
Meanwhile, UMass has six other players in double-digits after Ferris, including Lauren Terracciano, Jesse O’Donnell, Nina Sarcona, Tanner Guarino, Sam Rush and Cori Murray.
The Minutewomen hold a huge statistical edge over Saint Joseph’s in every offensive category. UMass scores almost six more goals per game then the Hawks with 16.08 – which is good for third overall in the nation – compared to Saint Joseph’s 10.20. The Minutewomen also hold the edge in shot percentage and shots per game.
And with this high-powered Minutewomen offense, there’s a stellar amount of assists as well. The Minutewomen own the assist category with a staggering 90 dimes, while the Hawks have 29 dishes. UMass’ total is second only to Florida, which has 109.
Defensively, the two teams stack up more evenly. UMass is allowing an average of 9.75 goals per game, while Saint Joseph’s is averaging a slightly better average of 9.40.
Behind the defense is UMass goalkeeper Katie Florence, who has made 52 saves and averages 9.39 goals against per game. The leading netminder for Saint Joseph’s is Alisha Aquilino, who has a comparable 10.45 goals against average, but has made a remarkable amount of saves with 71.
A continued strength for UMass is its ability to win draw controls. The Minutewomen are ranked first in the nation, averaging 17 draw controls a game and they have 204 in total. In contrast, the Hawks have managed 109 draw control wins for an average of 9.91 per game.
Abby Ananian leads the Hawks with 42 draw controls, with Dinn behind her with 16. Besides Dinn and Ananian, Elizabeth Fox has earned a double-digit tally of draw controls with 14.
But for the Minutewomen, the leader in draw controls continues to be Nina Sarcona, who has 63 so far this season and an average of 5.73 per game, which is good for third in the country. Five other UMass players have double-digit draw controls.
Cameron McDonough can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_McDonough.
