At the beginning of the season, Maura Crowell wondered which player or players would step up and provide offensive punch for her hockey team at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Last year's one-two scoring punch of Melissa Belmonte and Andrea Ciarletta graduated, leaving the ice with a combined 43 goals and 82 points. Enter sophomore Maria Nasta of Andover, a transfer from New England College in Henniker, N.H.
Nasta picked up an assist in a season-opening win at Salve Regina. She scored a pair of goals the next game against nationally ranked Manhattanville College and hasn't looked back.
In 17 games, Nasta has found the back of the net 15 times and, with 17 assists, leads the team with 32 points. Her goals- and assists-per-game averages rank among the nation's best in Division 2 and are tops in the Eastern College Athletic Conference East.
"She has been the answer to all the questions we had about replacing what we lost with the graduation" of Belmonte and Ciarletta, Crowell said. "She has generated all of our offense this season and has kept us in the hunt for the ECAC East championship. I knew she would be a great addition to the program, but what she has already accomplished this season is mind-blowing."
In the Beacons' first 17 games, Nasta has been held scoreless in just four. She potted two or more goals in four games and had her first career hat trick against Connecticut College, becoming just the fifth player in program history to accomplish the feat.
"Her best strength is her goal-scoring ability," Crowell said. "She can find the back of the net at any given time and has an uncanny ability to do so when we really need it. She also moves the puck well to her teammates and has already broken the school record for most assists by a sophomore."
Just behind Nasta in the UMass-Boston scoring column are a pair of freshmen from Woburn, Rachel Sousa, who has 10 goals and 14 assists, and Lauren Duran, who has 6 goals and 6 assists. They skate on the same line and rank among the highest-scoring in ECAC East.
Sousa "is the best passer on the team and therefore has great vision on the ice," Crowell said. "Not only can she pass, but she can bury the loose pucks in front of the net and has been doing so all season long.
"We just moved [Duran] to forward from defense to join Nasta and Sousa on our first line and she has been explosive. She is a bull along the boards, often winning battles and dishing the puck to her line mates. She also has the hardest shot on the team, and when the opportunity presents itself, she will fire it from anywhere in the offensive zone."
Late last month, Duran was the ECAC East Player of the Week and Sousa its Rookie of the Week. Duran earned the honor after celebrating her switch from defense to offense with 4 goals and 5 assists in three games, while Sousa had 3 goals and 4 assists in those games.
The connection to this region doesn't end with that trio. Also playing prominent roles are senior and assistant captain Katherine Wall of Arlington, and sophomores Amanda Cianculli of Billerica and Katelyn Corsi of Belmont.
"Wall [5 assists] is a great penalty killer for us and she takes as much pride in keeping pucks out of our net as she does in scoring them, and for a forward, this is a rare and special quality," Crowell said. "Cianciulli [2 goals, 5 assists] is a major part of our defensive unit. She is tough and solid, and is the fastest skater on the team. She brings a high skill level to the ice every day and has been outstanding for us all season.
"Corsino [2 goals, 3 assists] made the move from defense to offense halfway through last season and she's never looked back. She is one of our smartest players out there, mastering our systems, educating others, and getting herself in the right spot at the right time."
The Beacons were 9-8-0 heading into this weekend's games at Castleton State and at Plymouth State.
