The No. 11 Massachusetts field hockey rounded out its weekend in Ohio with a game in Oxford, walking away with a 3-1 victory and handing Miami (Ohio) its first loss on home turf in over a year. After conceding to Ohio on Friday, the Minutewomen (9-1, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) bounced back and showed out against the RedHawks (6-2, 3-1 MAC).
Penalty corners made all the difference in the matchup, with all four goals being the result of a penalty corner.
In the final minutes of the second quarter, graduate student Elena Clococeanu put the ball in the back of the net off a penalty stroke to bring the scoreline to 2-0. Finding her way around Miami goalkeeper Nicky Sjouken, the German national picked up her first tally of the season and the first game of her UMass tenure where she recorded a goal and an assist.
After going the first 30 minutes without giving the RedHawks any penalty corner opportunities, the Minutewomen put Miami on the penalty corner five times in the second half. The RedHawks found their sole tally on their fifth attempt, with Clara Bertolot grabbing a rebound and putting it away before the UMass defense could regroup. It was the first goal of the freshman’s collegiate career.
Late-game penalties have been a theme in the Minutewomen’s play this year. On the season, 55.6 percent of all penalty corners that UMass has given its contenders, have come in the fourth quarter. However, through its three previous games, the team held its opponents to just five total corner attempts.
Just over three minutes into the game, the Minutewomen earned their first penalty corner of the match and made quick work to capitalize on it. Gabby Benkenstein found the tally off a pass from Clococeanu to open the scoring.
The goal marked the South Africa native’s third on the season, matching a level of productivity through the first ten games that the senior has not reached since her freshman year.
Out of Miami’s 12 shots on goal, UMass’ defense limited it to putting just five of those on goal. Goalkeeper Myrte van Herwijnen took care of three out of the five shots, and one of her teammates stepped in to deny a rebound shot that she couldn’t get to.
Responding just two minutes after Bertolot put the RedHawks on the scoreboard, Lina Kroeger sealed the insurance goal for the Minutewomen on their seventh penalty corner of the match. Benkenstein and Cara Falconer registered the assists on the freshman’s second goal of the season. Benkenstein’s performance Sunday closed out the senior’s third match this season where she contributed to multiple goals.
With less than five minutes left in the game, Miami pulled its goalkeeper for the extra attacker, looking for any kind of offensive momentum to keep itself alive as time expired. Working to stave off its first in-conference loss this season, the RedHawks kept the ball out of their own net when they faced a UMass attempt but couldn’t find their own mark to bring the game within one.
Sunday proved the Minutewomen’s offensive capabilities. On Friday, Ohio locked them out, handing them their third in-conference shutout loss since 2022. Against Miami, it improved to 7 of 10 shots on goal. All four Minutewomen starters who tallied shots – a group including all three goal-scorers – put every one of their shots on goal.
Next up, UMass returns home for another MAC matchup against Central Michigan, scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ will stream the Friday game at Gladchuk.
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge.
