2008 Woodie Awards
Field Hockey: UMass sweeps weekend pair from NU, DC
Nicholas O'Malley
Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Sports
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The Minutewomen (3-1) dominated Friday's game in a 2-0 shutout against the Big Green (0-1) in Dartmouth's first-ever home game at the recently-opened Chase Field. The Maroon and White then traveled to Brookline on Sunday and came out with a tough win over Northeastern, 2-1.
UMass broke losing streaks against both teams this weekend; a three- game streak against Dartmouth and a seven-game streak against Northeastern.
Freshman goalkeeper Alesha Widdall, who has only allowed one goal in three games, continued her stellar play at Dartmouth by putting up her second straight shutout and allowing only one goal on 11 shots against Northeastern.
"She's leading a young defense," Sowry said. "She's controlling the circle well, and she's definitely making it easier for the rest of the team."
The defense, which was expected to struggle early on in the season, has played well despite its youth. Led by sophomore Jaime Bourazeris and newly-added transfer Jackie Tait, the backfield has impressed early after losing three starters to graduation. Adding to the unit's depth is freshman Nikki Panciocco who, against the Huskies, saw her first playing time at UMass.
That defense held the Big Green offense to a single shot and one penalty corner in the first half. The Maroon and White maintained its dominance by finishing with an 18-8 shot advantage and a 15-5 corner advantage.
Penalty corners played a vital role in the offense's success as well, as it accounted for both Minutewoman goals.
The game's first goal came off a scrum following a botched corner feed that was recovered by Erin Parker. Parker then found Jill Powers in front of the net to put UMass up with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the half, giving Powers three goals in her first three games for the Maroon and White.
Twenty minutes into the second half, the Minutewomen increased their lead with sophomore Makaela Potts firing a bullet that was tipped in by Katie Kelly. Potts' assist was her first career point.
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