And then there were two.
The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team hosts its final two games of the regular season this weekend at McGuirk Stadium when Richmond and George Washington come to town.
The Minutewomen have coasted through the Atlantic 10 conference handedly over the past few seasons, with their last conference regular season loss coming against La Salle April 18, 2010, while Alexis Venechanos was the head coach.
And while consecutive conference wins No. 35 and 36 will be no easy task for UMass, head coach Angela McMahon believes although going undefeated in conference play isn’t discussed amongst the players, it’s definitely something in the back of their minds.
“We really are trying to stay in the moment with that but I think that there is an unspoken expectation amongst the team,” she said. “We come to win every single game. We want to carry on the tradition from the alumni that have come before this class and to keep UMass at the top of the A-10.”
The Spiders (8-7, 5-1 A-10) will be the first test for the Minutewomen this Friday and are certainly the most battle-tested team in the conference, having played against national powerhouses No. 3 Duke, No. 5 Virginia and No. 17 James Madison in their non-conference schedule.
Despite being outscored 41-15 in those three games, defender Morgan Walker knows Richmond is difficult to play and said that the locker room is as focused as it’s been all season.
“Richmond has definitely been one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced in my four years, and even before I was here,” Walker said. “We’re really hyped about it and everyone’s been watching a lot of film on them.”
Similar to UMass, the Spiders are a team that prides itself on defense, having the second best goals against average (10.75), trailing only the Minutewomen (6.17) in that category. Goalkeeper Emily Boyce is the catalyst of their defensive unit and is third in the conference in total goals allowed.
Offensively, attack Emily Doyle is pacing Richmond holding team-high’s in goals (27), assists (26) and points (53). Baily Zeer and Anna Jeszeck each have more than 20 goals this season, and will keep UMass’ defense – the best in the nation in terms of GAA – busy all game.
Colonials final test
UMass ends it regular season on Sunday against the Colonials (7-8, 4-2 A-10) at 1 p.m. on Senior Day. George Washington gained momentum last weekend with back-to-back double-digit goal performances against Duquesne and Saint Bonaventure.
The Colonials have struggled this season away from home and are just 1-5 on the road. In those six games, they have allowed 92 goals to the 54 they’ve scored on the offensive end.
Offensively, George Washington is led by the conference’s leading goal-scorer Rachel Mia, who has 43 goals. Despite having zero assists on the year, Mia’s 43 points are tied for a team high with Jamie Bumgardner, who has 16 goals and 27 assists.
If the Minutewomen can win both games this weekend, it would mean that the senior class – Walker, Vallareli and Amy Tiernan – would have won every conference game they’ve played at UMass. Although Walker didn’t want to get too far ahead of herself, she knows just how significant that feat would be to both the seniors and the underclassmen.
“It would mean a huge deal to all of us,” Walker said. “It sets the standard high for the people that are still in the program and it gives them confidence to have the same success that we did these last four years.”
McMahon said Walker and Tiernan have plans to attend graduate school, while Vallarelli wants to pursue a career in coaching once the season concludes.
“They’ve all been fantastic,” McMahon said. “What I’m proud of the most is how they’ve grown as people both on and off the field. They all would tell you that they aren’t stopping on Sunday and they have the expectation that we are going want to go a lot further and keep this team together.”
Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.
