AMHERST — In Angela McMahon’s nine-year tenure, UMass has been the dominant force in Atlantic 10 women’s lacrosse.
The Minutewomen won the regular-season title in McMahon’s first eight seasons as coach and put up a combined record of 77-2 against league foes. And for the most part, UMass was simply steamrolling past its conference opponents with ease. It played in just eight one-goal or overtime games over those eight seasons, while 38 games were decided by 10 or more goals.
This year was a little different for UMass, however. The Minutewomen still navigated the Atlantic 10 with a perfect 9-0 record, but three of those games were decided by one goal or fewer. They were tested in a manner they haven’t been in a long time, but ultimately persevered to learn lessons in how to win that they hope will be helpful this weekend when they travel to George Mason for the A-10 tournament.
“It really plays into our experience overall as a team,” senior attacker Kiley Anderson said. “There’s no situation throughout this season that we haven’t seen so far, so it’s really prepared us for this upcoming week.”
UMass opens play Friday at 1 p.m. against fourth-seeded Saint Joseph’s – an 18-15 winner over VCU on Thursday – as it tries to regain the crown it lost in stunning fashion last year to Richmond. In fact, both of McMahon’s losses in conference play came last year – a 17-16 overtime setback at VCU that snapped a 61-game regular-season winning streak in A-10 games and the 12-11 overtime defeat in the championship game. It was the first time since 2008 that the Minutewomen didn’t participate in the NCAA Tournament.
“Last year for us returners, it stung a lot,” Anderson said. “This year, it’s a whole new team and a whole new program. We have a whole new culture going for ourselves. We wiped the slate clean and we’re just going for this one.”
McMahon made several changes after last season, most notably installing a new offense that is more aggressive and better suits the talent UMass has on the roster. But more important for the coach was taking the lessons from last season and applying them to a new team that lost two key senior leaders. She said she felt like the Minutewomen lost focus on some of the finer details at times last season and it cost them in some of those tight losses.
She said her emphasis this week in practice has been to instill those reminders about how the small plays in a game can add up in a tournament setting.
“We’re just really trying to focus in on the details right now,” McMahon said. “In that championship atmosphere, those little things come down to winning or losing whether it’s a ground ball or unforced error. It’s all about the little things and taking care of business and doing the things that we can control – exerting our effort, having positive attitudes and just enjoying the time we have together.”
Anderson said the new offense relies on three “non-negotiables” – aggression, ball movement and patience – which she says plays into the strengths of this year’s offense. UMass has improved this season with its lacrosse IQ, McMahon said, in terms of understanding when to push for more and when it’s better to rein in the attack. The changes have provided the distinctive balance to the offensive third of the field that UMass has lacked in years past when one or two players dominated the scoresheet.
The Minutewomen have five players with at least 30 goals and four with at least 60 points, forcing teams to find new schemes to try to slow down the high-powered attack. Anderson, whose 56 goals lead the team by a wide margin, is second in points to Kaitlyn Cerasi’s 72 points – seven more than Anderson. Two-time Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year Stephanie Croke is close behind at 63.
“It shows how much we move the ball and how much confidence we have in each and every person,” McMahon said. “When it comes to this time of the season, you need that (depth) because it’s pretty easy to shut one person down. We always are having every person who steps over – including the defenders who sometimes step over – we want everybody being aggressive and being a threat and everyone seems to have bought into that.”
On the other end of the field, the Minutewomen have received a boost from the return of junior goalie Lauren Hiller at the beginning of conference play. The North Andover native has posted a .478 save percentage in nine appearances this year for UMass with a 10.26 goals against average, but it is her on-field leadership that has made the most difference. UMass is particularly young on defense with three sophomores and a freshman starting most games on the back line, and Hiller has brought a calming presence to the inexperienced group.
“She’s done a great job just stepping up speaking and being a leader,” McMahon said. “When things have gotten a little tight, she’s been stepping up and making some very timely saves. But it’s more her voice and her composure and her steadiness in cage that makes everyone else more comfortable and confident out there.”
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS — Croke and McMahon both earned league honors Wednesday when the Atlantic 10 announced its postseason awards for the 2019 season. Croke defended her title as the midfielder of the year after posting career highs in goals, points and draw controls this season. Meanwhile, McMahon was named the league’s coach of the year for the seventh time in nine years, sharing the honor with George Mason’s Jessica Morgan.
UMass placed three players on the first team with Anderson and Cerasi joining Croke on the first team while sophomore defender Ally Murphy was named to the second team. Freshman defender Amy Moreau and keeper Gina Carroll were members of the All-Rookie team.