The Massachusetts field hockey team took care of business Friday afternoon against Columbia (0-1). The Minutewomen (1-2) powered behind an offensive barrage in the first quarter led by their newcomers.
The first goal of the game came off a corner for UMass after Paula Lorenzini fired a shot that the Lions padded away to the stick of Elani Sherwood. The freshman fired it into the net for her first collegiate goal. Just five minutes later, Cara Falconer tallied her first collegiate goal as well into the left side of the net.
“[The Freshman] players have worked so hard,” head coach Barb Weinberg said. “With our older talented players over the last few years with the covid season, the younger players have continued to work and now they found their place in the lineup. So, I’m really proud of their process and being able to work their way in there.”
The third goal of the game for UMass came with a minute left in the first quarter. Savanna Henderson took a pass from Dempsey Campbell and fired it into the net to extend their lead 3-0 just 14 minutes into the game. The goal was Campbell’s second assist of the game and Henderson’s first collegiate goal.
The final goal of the dominant first half for UMass came from junior Gabrielle Benkenstein who tipped the ball into the net to take a commanding 4-0 lead into halftime.
At halftime, the Minutewomen switched things up in goal, putting freshman Macarena Gonzalez in for goalkeeper Myrte van Herwijnen.
“[Gonzalez] is a really talented goalkeeper and she is playing behind one of the best goalkeepers in the country,” Weinberg said. “So she and [van Herwijnen] work really well together. I know that for max long-term development that she needs to get in as many games as we can get her in. I thought she came out there with a huge presence and she was ready and prepared for it.”
UMass only had three saves on the day, which speaks to the level of defense it was playing. Columbia, though, tacked on a goal with five minutes left in the game when Nicole Campolattaro squeaked one by the freshman goalkeeper to make the final score a more favorable 4-1.
“We played a really good game against Maine last Friday,” Weinberg said. “And, regardless of the result, we were really trying to take the process out of that and we worked on our goal scoring ability a lot in practice this week. So, in terms of the first quarter, what we were able to do today, practice definitely paid off.”
The Minutewomen have a fast turnaround with a game slated for Sunday, Sept. 8 against Dartmouth. Face off is set for 1 p.m.
“[The coaches] said to the team, we’re going to celebrate this win,” Weinberg said. “There are definitely some mistakes we made, especially on the defensive end today. So, we’ve got to improve that before Sunday.”
Owen Shelffo can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @owen_shelffo.
