Here’s our weekly installment of Through the Maroon, our weekly UMass sports column where our staff digs deeper on the athletics program in Amherst.

Hannah Bevis 

For six years, the UMass field hockey team has been looking to climb back up the mountain toward an Atlantic 10 championship. 

The Minutewomen have consistently been one of the A-10’s top teams, but have fallen just short of capturing the postseason trophy during the last six A-10 tournaments. 

The team that has dominated the postseason during that time is St. Joseph’s, which has won five of the last six A10 titles (a run only broken up by VCU in 2021). 

If tradition holds true as it has for the last six seasons, the winner of the regular season will be the winner of the championship — the last time that wasn’t true was the last time UMass won the title back in 2016, when the Minutewomen dethroned regular season champ St. Joseph’s. 

The Minutewomen are looking to rewrite that story this year. It hasn’t been an easy road during the regular season — UMass finished in a three-way tie for second place in conference play with VCU and La Salle, earning the No. 2 slot in a tiebreaker based on head-to-head goal differential. 

It will be difficult, but the Minutewomen have plenty of players they can rely on, particularly when it comes to their defense. UMass players have earned A-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors four times this season — three of those went to sophomore goaltender Myrte van Herwijnen while the fourth was awarded to graduate student defender Josie Rossbac. The team’s also on a bit of a hot streak going into the semis — the Minutewomen haven’t allowed a goal in their last three games, outscoring opponents 11-0. Dempsey Crawford has been a key part of scoring during that run, picking up four points (3G, 1A) during that span.  

UMass will face VCU in the semifinals on Thursday at 2 p.m., a team they fell 1-0 to in the regular season. Fans can watch the game on ESPN-Plus.

Garrett Cote

Don Brown choked up in his postgame interview on CBS Sports Network. For all the slander and nonsense people spewed toward Brown throughout the program’s seven-game skid, that moment alone should change some perspectives.

This coach cares more than most, if not all.

UMass is lucky to have someone show up to work every single day as passionate and determined as Brown is, regardless of the consistent heartbreak that occurred in a stretch of several winnable games (Miami-Ohio, Eastern Michigan, New Mexico). 

Brown mentioned that he truly believes there is no turning back now. That the win – the second road victory this year, first time since 2018 they’ve had two in the same season – is a program-defining one.

Merrimack is next, an FCS school that has no business coming into McGuirk and keeping it close let alone win it. If the Minutemen win this one and can find a way to grab one more from either Liberty or UConn in their final two games, a four-win season is a step in the right direction.

The offense obviously has been miles better than previous seasons in recent memory, and a lot of the playmakers are eligible to return – most importantly the big three of Taisun Phommachanh, Kay’Ron Lynch Adams, and Anthony Simpson.

And the defense will have time to get healthy, use another off-season to reload in the portal to fill in missing pieces, and serve as a layer of foundation for the younger players who saw significant playing time to build off.

I do think, for once, that there is a lot to be excited about when it comes to UMass football. Yes, we all know nothing really matters if they don’t find a conference because there still essentially won’t be anything to play for, but a strong finish to this year and a bowl appearance next could leave the university with no choice but to find a conference for its football team.

If they somehow lose to Merrimack this weekend, forget everything I said.

Thomas Johnston

A few weeks ago I wrote about how UMass needed to close the season on a high note to try to build some momentum heading into next year. 

A win over Army followed by a victory over Merrimack would certainly help the cause. 

While it might not sound like much, getting the monkey off the back with that second win of the season can go a long way to building some confidence within the program. UMass hadn't won more than two games in a season since 2018. 

It's not easy to rid yourself of years of losing. Look at franchises like the Lions, the Jets, the Knicks; it's not easy to shake that reputation. It permeates through the locker room and each loss makes getting over the hurdle feel all the more difficult. 

Each win is important to changing that culture, as there's no doubt they have a coach in Don Brown who cares deeply about turning the program around. 

With Merrimack coming to Amherst on Saturday, it goes without saying that the Minutemen need a win. UMass hasn't won a home game since 2022, a win over FCS Stony Brook, and with another FCS foe on the docket here, the Minutemen must send their home fans back happy. A loss would just derail any of that forward momentum gained by the win over Army. 

Much of UMass' turn around on offense has been the play of Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams this season. His 926 yards on the ground rank fifth in the country while his nine rushing touchdowns are the 12th most in the FBS. 

The Minutemen have had three players drafted since 2019; Andy Isabella in the second round to the Cardinals in 2019, Isaiah Rodgers in the sixth round to the Colts in 2020 and Larnel Coleman in the seventh round to the Dolphins in 2021. Could Lynch-Adams be the next in line to hear his name called? 

That remains to be seen, but his play this season will certainly have gotten the attention of NFL scouts.