- Mid-season winning streak turns season around as Corsairs finish 6th in LEC and qualify for tournament
(Dartmouth, MA) - A four-game winning streak in the middle of the season turned UMass Dartmouth's 2000 season around and helped the Corsairs finish sixth in the Little East Conference and qualify for the LEC's post season tournament.
Coach Marilyn Ritz's Corsairs didn't go down without a fight in the LEC Tournament, falling, 1-0, in penalty strokes to third-seeded Southern Maine. UMass Dartmouth finished the campaign with a 7-11 overall mark and 4-6 record for 8 points and sixth place in the final LEC standings.
UMass Dartmouth was led by senior co-captain Jen McGuinness (E. Taunton, MA), who capped her final season by being named a Little East Conference First Team All-Star From her midfielder position, McGuinness finished the season with 4 goals and 3 assists for 11 points, second best on the squad. Senior Erin McDonald (Greenfield, MA), another Corsair co-captain, was named to the LEC Second Team All-Star squad at her forward position. McDonald was the Corsairs' third-leading scorer with 3 goals and 4 assists for 10 points. Three of McDonalds goals were game-winners for the Corsairs.
The Corsairs' leading scorer for the season was first-year forward Wendy Crowther (Dartmouth, MA). Crowther appeared in all 18 games, scoring team-high 5 goals plus 2 assists for 12 points, including a game-winning goal. Among the Corsairs' other top scorers were sophomore Jen Davis (Westford, MA) (4-1-9), Kristen Greene (Medfield, MA) (2-1-5), senior co-captain Sandra Methe (Whitinsville, MA) (1-2-4) and junior Amanda Panek (Foxboro, MA) 1-2-4.
Goaltending chores for 2000 were split three ways between Jen Burrows (Hubbardston, MA) and first-year goalies Annette Niemczyk (Blackstone, MA) and Meaghan Apostolec (Plymouth, MA). In 7 games, Burrows had a 1.30 goals against average and one shutout for a 2-4 record. Niemczyk also appeared in 7 games and finished at 1-5 with 2.5 shutouts and a 1.71 GAA. Apostolec was in net for 6 Corsair games, putting together a 4-2 record with a 0.89 GAA with 2.5 shutouts and only 5 goals allowed in 393 minutes of action.
After opening the season with a 2-5 record and a 1-2 mark in the LEC, the Corsairs ran off 4 straight wins to get to 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the LEC. The streak started with an easy 6-0 win over Framingham State and continued with a 3-2 double overtime win against Stonehill College. UMass Dartmouth followed with a pair of LEC shutouts over Bridgewater State (3-0) and Fitchburg State (1-0) to put the Corsairs back into the LEC race. In recognition of their efforts during the streak, Davis was selected the LEC Player of the Week and Apostolec was the LEC Rookie of the Week.
At the conclusion of the season, 5 members of the Corsair field hockey team were named National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Academic All-America selections. Davis, sophomore Erin Dziedzic (Palmer, MA), Greene, Methe and co-captain Sarah Tuxbury (Sudbury, MA) each earned grade point averages of 3.3 or higher during the semester and were honored by the NFHCA.
|
