AMHERST — The term “battle-tested” perhaps doesn’t quite fit a team as best as it does the UMass field hockey team.

Over the course of the season, the Minutewomen have played six nationally ranked opponents, including the No. 1 team (at the time) in the country (Northwestern), the No. 5 team in the country (UConn) and the No. 6 team in the country (Saint Joseph’s).

UMass maneuvered through a difficult Atlantic 10 Conference, its last time doing so before moving to the Mid-American Conference (MAC), with an undefeated record (7-0). And on Thursday morning at 11 a.m., the Minutewomen – ranked No. 1 in the conference tourney – travel to Philadelphia for the Atlantic 10 semifinals against No. 4 VCU.

The only time the two teams met this fall came back on Sept. 20, a game UMass won 2-0 at home. Elena Cloconeanu and Paula Lorenzini scored the two goals in the Minutewomen’s shutout win, one in which goalie Myrte Van Herwijnen stopped seven shots to earn the clean sheet.

This season, UMass (14-4, 7-0 A-10) has done its damage by committee. Part of what makes the Minutewomen so dangerous is their ability to hurt teams from all different directions. Claire Danahy leads the team in points with 25 (six goals, team-high 13 assists), but five other players have also tallied 14 or more points.

Elani Sherwood (eight goals, four assists), Cloconeanu (eight goals, two assists), Dempsey Campbell (six goals, three assists), Hannah De Gast (three goals, nine assists) and Lorenzini (six goals, two assists) have played exceptionally well for head coach Barb Weinberg’s squad this season.

The UMass field hockey team is a well-oiled machine with plenty of big-game experience. The Minutewomen are hoping to bring home some hardware from Pennsylvania in their final season in the Atlantic 10.

The winner of UMass and VCU will take on either No. 2 Saint Joseph’s or No. 3 Richmond in the championship game slated for Saturday at noon.

Men’s soccer

As the old adage goes in sports, it’s important to peak come the postseason, and the No. 3 Minutemen are doing just that ahead of their Atlantic 10 quarterfinal matchup with No. 6 Saint Louis. Alec Hughes just broke the program record with his 48th and 49th career goals in a 5-1 UMass blowout over St. Bonaventure, and the Minutemen have won four straight contests by a combined score of 9-2 as they head into postseason play as the third seed in the conference.

UMass did not face Saint Louis in the regular season, but the Minutemen did defeat the Billikens in this very game a year ago. In 2023’s Atlantic 10 quarterfinal, UMass battled to a 2-2 draw with Saint Louis before advancing 4-3 on penalty kicks. It would ultimately lose in the semifinals to VCU, but at least the Minutemen are well aware they have what it takes to get past Saint Louis once again.

Outside of Hughes’ 14 goals in 13 games (he missed three games this season), Andrew Ortiz has provided a pop on offense – scoring four goals and dishing out three assists. Next to Ortiz in the midfield is Matt Cence, a junior with a team-high eight assists. Cence and Hughes have developed a strong connection on the field.

Elsewhere, the Minutemen have received production from Aidan Kelly (four goals, two assists), Oliver Akintade (three goals, two assists), Shane Velez (three goals, one assist) and Johan Feilscher (two goals, three assists). Even when teams key in on Hughes, they have other options to strike.

UMass is second in goals (40) and fourth in goals allowed (19) in the Atlantic 10. The game with Saint Louis kicks off this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Rudd Field in Amherst, the winner advancing to the semifinals.

Women’s soccer

The last time the Minutewomen lost a game prior to Wednesday night came back on Oct. 13, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Dayton. That’s their only loss in the last 46 days. And on Wednesday night, UMass had the chance to avenge that loss in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament, as the third-seeded Minutewomen traveled to Ohio for a big matchup with the Flyers – a spot in the A-10 title game on the line. The game was played after print deadline.

Ella Curry and Karina Groff each scored a goal for UMass in the only meeting of the season between the two A-10 powerhouses. This season, Bella Recinos leads the Minutewomen in both goals scored (nine) and points (20), starting in all 19 games in 2024. Recinos, Ashley Lamond (five goals), Chandler Pedolzky (four goals, three assists) and Ella Curry (four goals, three assists) have all contributed offensively. Throw in Emma Pedolzky (three goals, three assists) and Grace Pinkus (two goals, two assists), and UMass – the fourth-highest scoring in the conference – has plenty of goal-scoring options entering the final stretch of the season.

A win would send the Minutewomen through to the championship, set for Sunday against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 1 Saint Louis and No. 5 St. Joe’s.