Nov. 6, 2007

PRINCETON, N.J. - Massachusetts junior forward Lauren Gillespie scored with 9:26 remaining in regulation to lift UMass over 17th-ranked Princeton, 2-1, Tuesday in an NCAA Championship play-in game in Princeton, N.J.

The Minutewomen struck first after junior Katelyn Orlando found senior midfielder Kara Murphy, who punched in her third goal of the season at the 35-minute mark. Princeton tied the game shortly after and the teams remained locked up until Gillespie deflected Jaime Bourazeris' shot high into the net for the game-winner.

Senior goalkeeper Becky Letourneau was effective between the posts stopping a season-high 12 saves.

With the win, Massachusetts moves on to the NCAA Championship and is scheduled to play Connecticut (20-2) on Sat. Nov. 10, at 11 am in Storrs, Conn.

UConn is led by senior Lizzy Peijs, the Big East Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, and junior Jennifer Kleinhans, the Defensive Player of the Year. The Huskies claimed both the conference's regular season and tournament titles in the same season for the eighth time in the program's history.

The Minutewomen have won nine of their last 11 games, including a Conference-record 10th Championship title. The team is led by first-year head coach Justine Sowry, the 2007 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, and is playing in its first NCAA Championship game since 2001.