Finals Recap
SJU found their offensive circle quickly with an aerial to start the game and a UMass turnover, SJU made their first shot at the 30-second mark. UMass had a hard time even getting it out of their defense with SJU's high press. UMass was able to get a little bit of offense, but it was quickly scooped up by a Hawk player. UMass was giving SJU too much room on the press, allowing them to transfer and find channels easily. After a clean break for SJU ended with a foul from a UMass player, the Hawks received the first penalty corner of the day. Manu Ghighliotti was able to get a shot off, but it was stopped by a defender. UMass finally made it in their offensive 23rd with 5 minutes on the clock, but the ball was turned over.
SJU started the quarter with some back-passing to make some room to change fields. They played with patience, not making many forward movements unless there was a clear pass to make. UMass gained possession back in the second minute and tried to play it down the sideline to baseline, but it resulted in a turnover. SJU then stepped on the gas to bring it back to their offensive 23. With momentum and some more patience, SJU picked up another corner. The UMass goalie tried to get the call taken back, but was unsuccessful. The initial shot was blocked by the goalie, but Sol Borensztein was able to score off the rebound for a 1-0 lead. Off the restart, UMass got caught in their defensive 30 and turnover the ball. The rest of the quarter went back and forth, but nothing came of it.
UMass started the third quarter with a drive over the sideline in their offensive 23. SJU quickly regained possession and went down to their offensive circle. Under two minutes into the quarter, SJU picked up another penalty corner. The shot went off a defensive body, resulting in another corner. This one went in after Lily Santi tipped in the shot taken by Freke Van Tilburg. UMass went with the same approach on the restart, a big ball to the sideline in the offensive 23. This attempt was a little more successful as they were able to stay down there for 2 plays. The ball went back and forth for a while, going from one offensive circle to the other. UMass started to press a little bit higher, but it did not have much effect on SJU's outletting. UMass started to gain some momentum by doing in-and-out passes but kept getting cut off in the middle of the field.
The fourth quarter started off with the ball being stuck in the midfield. SJU then made a couple of shots without making a goal. SJU got a penalty corner in the 48th minute but came up with nothing after it hit an offensive foot. UMass was quick with the rebound, making it into their offensive 30 before being met by a defender. It was turned over at the 23rd-yard line. SJU was then able to get another corner. This time Freke van Tilburg took a straight shot that ended in a goal. With the score at 3-0, the Hawks did not let down the pressure and picked up another corner. The drag flick from van Tilburg was saved by Myrte Van Herwijnen and so was the subsequent rebound. UMass tried to get into their circle but kept getting stopped outside of it.
SJU won the Atlantic 10 Championship 3-0 and will get the A10's NCAA tournament berth.
Atlantic 10 Finals Preview
How They Got Here:
SJU went 14-4 overall and 7-0 in the A10. All their losses come to ranked teams, and 3 of the 4 came back in September. They played VCU in the semifinals and won 2-1.
UMass Amherst went 14-5 overall and 6-1 in the A10. Their lone A10 loss came against SJU on October 7th. Three of their losses come against ranked teams, and the other two losses came against Albany in a shootout and Northeastern. They faced Lock Haven in the first round and won 4-2.
Key Players:
SJU:
Lily Santi - Santi is a junior from New Jersey. She currently leads the team in goals with 16, assists with 9, and in points with 41. She has the 7th highest points per game in D1 with 2.28. Her shot-on-goal percentage is 0.689. She also is 5-6 for strokes and is the team's primary stroke taker.
Freke van Tilburg - The senior from the Netherlands has 23 points this season, composed of 8 goals and 7 assists. She averages 2.6 shots per game.
Manu Ghiglotti - The junior from Argentina has 9 goals and 2 assists this season. She has the most shots on the team with 57, making her average 3.17 shots per game.
Robin Bleekemolen - Bleekemolen is a senior goalie from the Netherlands. She had 16 goals against her and 43 saves. Her save percentage is 0.729, and her goals-against average is 1.06. Her goals-against average is the 9th best in the country.
UMass:
Jess Beech - Beech is a senior midfielder from Marlow England. She leads the team in goals with 8 and also has 3 assists.
Mali Herberhold - The freshman from Bavaria has had a strong showing in her first year, with 7 goals and a team-high 9 assists.
Emilie Keij - Keij is a senior midfielder from Belgium. She leads the team in defensive saves this year with 2. She has also had a goal and 2 assists this season. She also will insert on corners.
Myrte van Herwijnen - In goal is a freshman from the Netherlands. She has 28 goals against her and has recorded 80 saves. Her save percentage is 0.741 and her goals-against average is 1.53.
Matchup History:
The last time these teams played each other was in early October, resulting in a 3-0 SJU victory. Van Tilburg scored 2 of the goals in the game, and SJU outshot UMass 14-1.
In the all-time record between the teams, UMass has won 13 and SJU has won 10. In the last 10 games, SJU has won 7.
Prediction
SJU has a 67% chance of winning the A10 tournament.
Semifinals Recap
Saint Joseph's vs. VCU
VCU scored first, but SJU came back to win.
After leading shots 2-0 in the first quarter, VCU converted on their lone shot of the second half. Camila Rosenbrock scored off a corner. SJU had five shots in the quarter, which allowed Leigh James to even the game.
SJU kept up the pressure with 8 shots in the third quarter. Off one of the shots, James scored again to put SJU in the lead.
VCU could not get a shot off in the fourth.
Saint Joseph's will move on to the finals on Saturday.
Massachusetts vs. Lock Haven
Jazim Palma's two goals were not enough to give Lock Haven the win. UMass Amherst came out with the 4-2 win.
The game was almost dead-even in shots with UMass Amherst having 13 and Lock Haven having 12. Lock Haven led in corners 11-6.
Less Beech and Paula Lorenzini both scored in the second for UMass. In the third quarter, Steph Gottwals and Mia Smith added two more in the win.
UMass moves on to the finals.
Semifinals Preview
The Atlantic 10 semifinals start on Thursday, November 3 at 11:00
The matches are as follows:
Game 1: Saint Joseph's vs. VCU
Game 2: Massachusetts vs. Lock Haven
Saint Joseph's vs. VCU
SJU leads the all-time series between the 2 teams with 10 wins and 5 losses. In the last ten games, VCU has only beaten SJU once, back in April 2021 during the shortened spring Covid-19 season.
The last game between the two teams resulted in a 2-0 win in favor of SJU.
Based on games played since October 18, 2019, SJU has a 76% chance of winning and moving on to the finals.
Massachusetts vs. Lock Haven
UMass has won 14 of the 16 games between these teams. Their last loss was in March 2021 during the shortened Covid-19 season.
When the teams played each other last weekend, UMass won 4-0 scoring in every quarter except the second.
Based on the 5 games played since 2019, UMass has an 82% chance of winning.