Corsair women's lacrosse program showing signs of maturity entering 2001 season

(Dartmouth, MA) - As the women's lacrosse team enters its fourth year as a varsity sport at UMass Dartmouth, head coach Jerry Jennings thinks the program is starting to show signs of maturity.

The 2001 Corsairs will be lead by a pair of league all-stars along with a talented group of first-year players, who give UMass Dartmouth more depth and experience than they have enjoyed in the program's first three years.

"For the first time in our team's history, we will field a team with 12 players, who have competitive experience in women's lacrosse," said Jennings, who has been with the women's lacrosse program since its inception. "That, plus the return of our two all-conference players, and the return of our starting goalie from two year ago back, puts the team in a good position heading into the season."

UMass Dartmouth returns four of the Corsairs' top five scorers from last year's team, which posted a 5 -7 overall record. Back for another season is junior attacker/midfielder Emily Valorz (Milton, MA), UMass Dartmouth's leading scorer last season with 44 goals plus 16 assists for 60 points. Valorz averaged 3.7 goals and 1.3 assists per game for a 5 points per game average.

Valorz was joined on the New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) All-Southern Division Team by sophomore defender Shannon Curran (Framingham, MA). With 14 goals and an assist for 15 points, Curran was sixth in scoring for the Corsairs last season, while also leading the UMass Dartmouth defense. Without a returning starter in goal last year, Curran and the Corsairs' defense managed to limit opponents to a goals against average of 10.1, while the offense scored 12.2 goals per game.

In addition to Valorz, UMass Dartmouth's offense will also benefit from the return of three other top scorers from last year, senior attacker Aimee Williams (Centerville, MA), senior attack/midfielder and co-captain Jess Delaney (Winchester, MA) plus senior attacker Karyn Besegai (Plymouth, MA). Williams was second in scoring for UMass Dartmouth last season, netting 32 goals and 7 assists for 39 points, while Delaney was third with 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points. Besegai had 13 goals and 5 assists for 18 points to tie for fourth in the team-scoring race.

UMass Dartmouth will also welcome back senior goalie Denise Saucier (Sudbury, MA), who returns to the team after being away last season on an internship. When Saucier did not play last season, it forced Jennings to move senior co-captain and midfielder Kristen Keene (Sudbury, MA) into net with very limited experience. While Keene did a solid job in goal last season, Saucier's return means the Corsairs will have an experienced goalie this season. The move also allows Keene to return to the starting lineup at midfielder.

As a sophomore in 1999, Saucier stepped into the staring lineup in goal and had a tremendous season for the Corsairs. She appeared in 13 of the Corsairs' 14 games that season and had a goals against average of 10, while coming up with a save percentage of .694 and a 7-6 won-loss record.

UMass Dartmouth's 22-player roster for the 2001 season includes five seniors and eight juniors to go along with one sophomore and eight first-year players. Also joining the Corsairs this season will be first-year assistant coach Skip Lobono.

The Corsairs will return to California for their season-opening three-game trip with games against Claremont-McKenna on March 20, followed by University of Redlands on March 22 and Whittier College on March 24.

UMass Dartmouth will return to New England for the Corsairs' home opener on March 27 against Western New England College at 3:30 p.m. The Corsairs will again compete in the New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance with their eye on returning to the NEWLA Playoffs after missing out last season. In its first three years as a varsity program, the Corsairs have twice qualified for the NEWLA post season tournament.