The UMass field hockey team’s season continues on after it received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament during Sunday’s selection show. The Minutewomen will travel to Harvard on Friday for a first-round regional matchup against No. 6 Yale.
Two seasons after reaching the Final Four, UMass returns to the NCAA Tournament after going 18-2 this season, losing to No. 4 Connecticut during the regular season, and to Miami (OH) in overtime during the MAC Championship this past weekend.
“So excited for this team,” said head coach Barb Weinberg in a media release. “They performed well all season long. We really felt they had a great performance in the championship game against Miami. We obviously fell just a little bit short, and I am so happy for this team, the seniors, the grad students, that they get to play for one more.”
Eighteen wins are the most for UMass since it won 19 in 2013 on the way to the Elite Eight.
Graduate student Niamh McKenzie led the Minutewomen with 20 goals and 47 points. She started all but one game this fall. Freshman Amber Farion proved to be a welcomed addition to the team, recording 19 goals this season.
The team’s 4.4 assists per game is the highest in the NCAA this season. Senior Megan Carpenter has the most on the team with 17.
UMass dominated its schedule, outscoring its opponents 96-12, and avoided being shut out.
The Minutewomen’s schedule was no cake walk either. The team beat No. 3 Harvard, No. 15 Liberty and the No. 20 RedHawks in the regular season. The loss to the Huskies went all the way to five rounds of a sudden-death shootout.
The winner of Friday’s contest moves on to play the winner of Harvard and Old Dominion on Sunday.
