UMass Dartmouth returns eight starters as Corsairs shoot for Little East Conference tournament berth

(Dartmouth, MA) - Heading into his fifth season with the UMass Dartmouth women's lacrosse program, head coach Jerry Jennings has eight starters returning from last year's 10-7 team, including one of the top scorers in the Little East Conference.

The return of senior captain Emily Valorz (Milton, MA) makes life much easier for Jennings and the Corsairs. The career leading scorer in women' s lacrosse at UMass Dartmouth, Valorz was selected to the New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) All-Southern Division team last season. Valorz finished sixth in the NEWLA scoring race and led the Corsairs with 52 goals and 13 assists for 65 points. In 17 games for UMass Dartmouth, Valorz took a team-leading 150 shots on goal and averaged 3.1 goals and almost an assist per game.

"We are looking forward to continuing our winning ways," said Jennings during the pre-season. "While graduation took a huge toll last season, newcomers and reserves from last year are much improved."

While opposing defenses are well aware of Valorz's abilities on offense, the Corsairs have several experienced players to diversify their attack. Senior attack and captain Cara Hart (Lawrence, MA) will be another important player of offense after scoring 17 goals plus 10 assists for 27 points last season. Sophomore Megan Corfield (Framingham, MA) had a solid rookie season last year with 15 goals and two assist for 17 points and will be a welcomed addition to the Corsairs' offense.

One lineup change Jennings is planning for this season is to move senior captain Jen Burrows (Hubbardston, MA) from defense to attack. As a defender primarily last season, Burrows scored six goals and added four assists for 10 points.

The Corsairs' defense should be very steady with the return of veterans, including junior Shannon Curran (Framingham, MA) (11-11-22), senior Kerry Duffy (Quincy, MA) (2-2-4), senior Carlina Ferreira (Taunton, MA) (1-0-1) and sophomore Carla Centola (Waltham, MA) (3-0-3).

The graduation of Denise Saucier, the NCAA Division III statistical leader in goal from last season, is a big loss for UMass Dartmouth. Saucier was an All-League and All-New England selection in goal. Taking her place in the Corsair goal will be sophomore Liz Holland (Quincy, MA)

"We had a good spring training trip in Bermuda and it was a great aid in having the team bond and learn to play well together," said Jennings, who will work with assistant coach Mary Heitzman and student intern Jeff Garza this season.

"The captains' roles have always been a mainstay for the team and this year's leadership is outstanding," Jennings said about captains Valorz, Burrows and Hart.

UMass Dartmouth will play a 14-game schedule in the 2002 season, including six games within the Little East Conference. This will be the Corsairs' first season of women's lacrosse in the LEC after four years in the NEWLA.

The Corsairs will open LEC action on April 6 when they travel to Keene State College for a 2:30 p.m. game. After having made several appearances in the NEWLA playoffs over the last four seasons, UMass Dartmouth hopes to be in contention for the LEC Tournament which gets underway May 1.

"We've got a tough 14-game schedule, but we hope we can keep our winning tradition," Jennings said.