UMass defeats Yale, by Michael Araujo:

The Massachusetts field hockey team turned things around from Friday’s loss to hold on for a 1-0 victory against Yale (6-6, 1-2 Ivy League) on Sunday.

Senior Bella Ianni scored UMass’ (10-3, 3-1 Atlantic 10) lone goal less than a minute into the game, giving the Minutewomen a lead it would not relinquish.

The scoring play started with Claire Danahy, who forced a turnover at midfield. Danahy drove the ball down and delivered a pinpoint pass to Emilie Keij despite having two defenders on her heels. Keij flashed her own moves and sent a no-look pass to a diving Dempsey Campbell. With the Bulldog’s keeper overextending and leaving the net, Campbell, in a prone position, sent a pass to Ianni who got an easy goal.

The score was Ianni’s second of the season and her second in three games. The assist was Campbell’s first of the season.

“Our team over and over again has found a way to get it done,” head coach Barb Weinberg said. “Game by game it’s been different ways and I’m really proud that they came out with the win today.”

The Minutewomen take pride in being a pass-first offense, with 21 of its 33 goals (64 percent) being assisted. Yale’s primary objective was to disrupt the passing rhythm to throw UMass off its groove. The Bulldogs succeeded for the most part and operated on offense for extended durations as a result but failed to capitalize.

Yale’s inability to get in the scoring column was due in large part to a highly efficient game by the Minutewomen goalkeeper Myrte Van Herwijnen. The Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds of the first quarter after a takeaway in UMass territory, but Herwijnen made an athletic play as she dove out of net to block the first attempt, then jumped back on her feet to deflect another attempt at the buzzer. Herwijnen recorded three saves on 11 shots faced in the shutout victory.

“[Van Herwijnen] played fantastic,” Weinberg said of her rookie netminder. “She came out and had a lot of confidence from the start of the game. There were a few scrambles in front of the goal and she has a scrappy style about her so she was able to make second and third saves to keep the ball out of the net.”

On Friday, the Minutewomen fell to No. 9 Saint Jospeh’s, the defending A-10 champs.

“The big thing was rebounding mentally,” Weinberg said. “Emotions were high and the team felt a lot of pressure over the Saint Joseph’s game. After a game like that, you’re mentally and physically exhausted so it was really about our recovery and getting our minds in the right place.”

Friday’s game, by Jess Galvin:

UMass was unable to score against Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia Friday, leading to a 3-0 shutout for the Hawks.

The Minutewomen knew coming in it was not going to be an easy game against five-time A-10 conference champion and 2021 A-10 most outstanding player of the year Freke Van Tilburg.

The Hawks took control of the game almost immediately with a goal scored by Van Tilburg on a penalty corner less than four minutes into the game.

Less than five minutes later, senior midfielder Jess Beech went down after flying out and getting hit on another penalty corner attempt for Saint Joseph’s. Being a key player for the Minutewomen, Beech’s absence was felt in the first half. She remained sidelined for almost the rest of the half, coming back in with two minutes left of the second quarter.

Due to the Hawks smothering defense, UMass struggled to hold possession on the offensive end, only having one shot attempt on goal in the first half compared to eight for the Hawks. Penalty cards were also hurting the Minutewomen, with a total of three green cards throughout the game given to Josie Rossbach, Mali Herberhold, and Bella Ianni.

Shortly after Ianni’s penalty call, Van Tilburg scored on yet another penalty corner for the Hawks, making it 2-0 before the end of the third quarter.

The momentum continued for the Hawks for the remainder of the game, with a wide goal from the corner by Noa Schuringa to put them up 3-0 over the Minutewomen. UMass finished with only one shot attempt on goal for compared to 14 for the opposing Hawks.

UMass ends its three-game road trip with a 2-1 record and will host VCU on Friday at 2 p.m. at the Gladchuk Complex.

Michael Araujo can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @araujo_michael_.

Jess Galvin can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @jessgalvin1.