Oct. 29, 2007

MASSACHUSETTS (11-8, 6-1 Atlantic 10) wrapped up regular season play on Oct. 27 with 3-0 victory at Rhode Island. With the victory, the Minutewomen win a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title, their first since 2001. Kara Murphy (Dedham, Mass.), Jaime Bourazeris (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), and Christine Rodgers (Leominster, Mass.) all scored goals in the win. Becky Letourneau (Greenfield, Mass.) made two saves in goal for her seventh shutout of the year. The Minutewomen finish the regular season in a tie for the regular season conference championship with Temple at 6-1. They have kept six of their last eight opponents off the scoreboard and their 11 victories are the program's most since 2001. The Minutewomen get the number two seed and will face number three seed Richmond. The two clubs met on Oct. 21 with UMass coming away the victory, 1-0, on in Amherst, Mass.

RICHMOND defeated Saint Louis 3-0 in the regular-season finale on Oct. 28. Sophomore Adrian Pickar (Ijamsville, Md.) scored her fifth goal of the season just 7:23 into the match and sophomores Megan Thompson (Gap, Pa.) and Sarah Blythe-Wood (Harare, Zimbabwe) added goals as Richmond finished 5-2 in conference play. It marked the sixth-straight season that the Spiders (6-12, 5-2 Atlantic 10) have posted a conference winning percentage over .700. The five-time defending Atlantic 10 Champion Spiders have won 47 of their last 49 games against A-10 competition, which dates back to the start of the 2001 season. Richmond is the third seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and will play second seed Massachusetts in the semifinals on Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. at Saint Joseph's University.

SAINT JOSEPH'S lost its season finale on Saturday afternoon, falling to Temple, 4-2 on Oct. 27. The Owls (10-8, 4-3 Atlantic 10) scored two goals in the first minute of the second half to take a lead they would never relinquish. Jen Wrublesky (Langhorne, Pa.) and Kellie Walter (Horsham, Pa.) also scored for the Hawks. As a result of the loss, Saint Joseph's will be the fourth seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship where the team will be vying for its first Conference championship since 1995. Saint Joseph's ended the regular season with three wins in its final four contests. The Hawks are led by senior goalie Rebecca Cunfer (Manheim, Pa.), who has amassed 86 saves and four shutouts this season. Saint Joseph's will have a rematch with Temple in the tournament semifinals at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 2.


TEMPLE sophomore forward Dannah Brehm (Carlisle, Pa.) netted three goals, including two in the first minute of the second half, to lead the Temple field hockey team to a 4-2 win over Saint Joseph's and the 2007 Atlantic 10 regular season title on Oct. 27. It is Temple's (15-5, 6-1 Atlantic 10) first-ever regular season A-10 title and thanks to a 6-1 Conference record, the team will enter the Conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Owls are riding a six-game winning streak and seek their first A-10 Championship since 1994. Temple is led by senior Alli Lokey (Bainbridge, Pa.), a four-time A-10 Player of the Week selection who leads the Conference with 18 goals. The Owls will have a rematch with the fourth-seeded Hawks at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 2.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dannah Brehm (Temple)
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Jen Wrublesky (Saint Joseph's)