Competing for the first time in the Little East Conference, UMass Dartmouth finished tied for third with a 3-3 record and finished with an 8-8 overall record for the 2002 season.

Seeded fourth in the 2002 LEC Tournament, Coach Jerry Jennings' Corsairs picked up their first LEC Tournament victory with a 14-13 decision over #5 Western Connecticut in the quarterfinals before #1 Plymouth State ended the Corsairs' season with a 21-5 loss in the LEC semi-finals. The tournament berth was the fourth time UMass Dartmouth had played in the post season in the five seasons.

The 2002 season was the final season for several seniors who played an important role in the development of the Corsairs' young program.

Among the seniors playing their final season this year was tri-captain Emily Valorz (Milton, MA), the all-time career scoring leader for the Corsairs. Valorz lead UMass Dartmouth in both goals with 47 and points with 54. Valorz scored at least one goal in 14 out of the Corsairs' 16 games during the season, including a seven-goal performance against Western Connecticut in her final regular season game. Valorz also had a six-goal game against Southern Maine and added a pair of five goal games as well.

Her 3.38 goals per game average were sixth best among LEC scoring leaders and she finished second goals per game with a 2.94 average. Valorz was a First Team All-LEC selection at the end of the season.

With 21 goals (3rd on the team) and a team-high 16 assists, senior tri-captain Jen Burrows (Hubbardston, MA) was second in scoring for UMass Dartmouth. Her 2.31 points per game was 13th in the LEC and her 1.00 assist per game ranked her sixth in the conference. Among Burrows' best outings was a two-goal and four-assist effort for six points in a win against Curry College.

Despite the loss of some key seniors, the future for UMass Dartmouth is in the hands of some talented underclassmen. Sophomore Megan Corfield (Framingham, MA) proved that Valorz wasn't the Corsairs only goal-scoring option as she came through with 27 goals, second most for 2002, along with seven assists for 34 points, third best on the team. She was 15th in LEC scoring (2.13 points/game) and 13th in goals per game (1.69). Corfield had a six-goal game against Western Connecticut.

Another departing senior, Cara Hart (Lawrence, MA) was fourth in scoring with 12 goals and 13 assists (2nd on the team) for 25 points, followed by junior Shannon Curran (Framingham, MA) (16-8-24), an LEC Second Team selection, and first-year player Kristine Johnson (Walpole, MA) (14-9-23).

UMass Dartmouth also came up with a new goalie for the 2002 season to fill the slot left vacant by Denise Saucier, the NCAA Division III leader in saves percentage following the 2001 season. Sophomore Liz Holland (Quincy, MA) stepped in and did an excellent job for the Corsairs, finishing with a .573 saves percentage, second best in the LEC and an11.05 goals against average, fifth best in the conference.

 Last Updated On: 9/1/06