The River Hawks completed their undefeated regular season with the fourth NE-10 Regular Season Title in program history and earned a bye through the first round of the tournament.
The Panthers, on the other hand, stand at 13-8 overall and earned the fifth seed in the tournament by playing to a 6-4 conference record in 2010. Adelphi upset #4 Southern Connecticut in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday afternoon in New Haven.
UMass Lowell is averaging a conference-best 5.15 goals per game while allowing just 0.20 per tilt. The Panthers are letting up just 1.76 goals per game to opponents and netting 2.57 of their own.
The River Hawks are led offensively by the senior trio of NE-10 First Team All-Conference selections Sammy Macy (Tewksbury, Mass.), Katie Enaire (Amesbury, Mass.) and NE-10 Player of the Year Liz Day (North Andover, Mass.), who have combined for 65 goals on the year. Macy recently broke the program record for points in a season, tallying 68 (27g, 14a) so far this year.
Defensively, NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) has let up just four goals on the year, as UMass Lowell has outscored opponents 103-4 during the regular season. She has amassed a .947 save percentage and 0.21 GAA. The River Hawk defensive corps has helped the squad to out-corner opponents 239-92 this year and only allows 6.6 shots per game.
Adelphi has been led this season by junior forward Jeanette Heimerle, who has tallied 42 points (13g, 16a) on the year and classmate and fellow forward Julianne Gerbino with 14 goals and 11 assists to date.
Goalkeeper Lucia Vigliotti has played the majority of the Panthers’ season between the pips, allowing 23 goals on the year and recording an 11-5 record to date. She has a 1.83 GAA and .772 save percentage through Tuesday’s game.
The teams met just once during the regular season, playing less than two weeks ago in Lowell on Nov. 6. The River Hawks picked up a 5-1 victory over the Panthers, as Enaire recorded a hat trick and the team notched four goals in the first frame to secure a decisive win. Macy and freshman Rachel McCarthy (Reading, Mass.) also notched goals for the River Hawks, while Crystal Gray scored the lone Adelphi goal in the game. The River Hawks outshot the Panthers 29-10 in the game and out-cornered their foe 18-7.
This marks UMass Lowell’s ninth consecutive trip to the NE-10 Tournament and eighth straight appearance in the semifinals. Adelphi joined the conference in 2009 and has made the tournament both seasons.
Last year, UMass Lowell earned the third seed and defeated Southern Connecticut in the first round before falling to Bentley in the semifinals. After an early loss to Merrimack in the first round last season, this marks the Panthers’ first time in the semifinal round.
UMass Lowell is looking to advance to the championship game for a chance to earn its sixth NE-10 Tournament title in program history and first since 2007. Despite missing the championship game last year, the River Hawks made it to the title match for the seven previous seasons.
Tickets are available at the entrance to Cushing Field and can be purchased for $5 for adults, $3 for children (12 and under) and seniors and $1 for students with a valid ID.
The winner of this semifinal game will take on the winner of the second semifinal game between #2 Stonehill and #3 American International College. That game will be played on Friday at 3:00 p.m. on Cushing Field following the UMass Lowell game. The Championship will take place the following day, Saturday, Nov. 20 at 2:00 p.m.
www.goriverhawks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment