The Massachusetts field hockey team kicks off a series of home games Thursday against No. 1 Syracuse with hopes of better results than its previous stretch of home games.
The Minutewomen (5-8, 0-1 Atlantic 10) went 2-4 in their last time homestand that spanned from Sept. 14 to Oct. 3, including three one-goal losses, two of which came in overtime. UMass did, however, outscore its opponents, 21-15, in the stretch.
The Orange (12-0) are tied for first place in the Big East standings with Connecticut, whom the Minutewomen faced last Wednesday in a 2-0 defeat.
UMass now has the challenge of playing three games in four days, with A-10 foes Saint Louis and Virginia Commonwealth coming to Garber Field Friday and Sunday, respectively.
However, UMass coach Carla Tagliente said her squad is well prepared for the upcoming games and that they will match up nicely against high-caliber competition, including a Syracuse team that will statistically be the toughest opponent UMass has faced thus far.
“It’s a lot to manage, but we’ve been preparing for this for over a week now,” Tagliente said. “We’ve seen a bit of each team on film already, we’ll take it one game at a time … Syracuse is up first, they’ve had a number of great results, but we feel confident that we match up pretty well with them.”
Sophomore defender Lauren Allymohamed, who sees the team as a united front, especially in practices, echoed that same confidence.
“We have just had the same intense practices,” Allymohamed said. “We are working hard, connecting every day as a team and are looking forward to taking each game as it comes.”
Assistant coach Shannon Taylor returns to the Minutewomen for their game against her alma mater Thursday after missing the last two games to compete with the United States Women’s National Team in the Champions Challenge held in Ireland.
Taylor tallied three goals in the tournament, while former UMass goalkeeper Alesha Widdall made her first international appearance in the cage for Team USA en route to taking home silver medals in the contest.
This time against Syracuse, Tagliente and fellow assistant coach Roz Ellis have the benefit of Taylor’s experience in the Big East after finishing her collegiate career with the Orange after transferring from Richmond in 2006.
“Shannon’s played under (Syracuse coach) Ange (Bradley), helped out with their team a little bit and she knows them pretty well,” Tagliente said. “We’re well prepared, but it does help having Shannon on the sideline.”
Syracuse leads the all-time series against the Minutewomen with 15 wins in 22 meetings.
In the two team’s most recent meeting last season, UMass fell to the Orange in New York on Oct. 3.
UMass’ biggest challenge will be to limit the offense of the Orange, who have eight players with double-figures in points.
Leading the scoring is senior forward Kelsey Millman with 21 points, followed by sophomore Lauren Brooks and junior Leonie Geyer, who have 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Leading the charge for the Minutewomen are senior midfielder Kim Young, forward Nicole Cordero and defender Thando Zono with a total of 38 points combined.
Tagliente said the pressure and anticipation heading into big games against ranked opponents is nothing new for her squad.
“With the number of quality teams we’ve played this year … I think we’re used to that kind of build-up and anticipation to play a team of high caliber,” Tagliente said.
She also made it clear that her players won’t be intimidated by Syracuse’s ranking.
“(The No.1 rank) is just a number to us right now, we’re more focused on Syracuse and who they are – where they’re weak, where they’re strong – and that’s where our focus is right now,” Tagliente said.
Peter Cappiello can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Cappiello.
