The 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons were notable as UMass' first serious foray into the national championship discussion, thanks to new head coach Chris Cobb and a sudden talent infusion led by Maura Grainger and URI transfer Cara Murphy. Grainger, who began her collegiate career with Providence College's NCAA Division I program, fired home 44 goals and 74 points during her first season in Amherst (the latter number a program record), and would go on to win UMass' first Zoë M. Harris Award the following year. Murphy, for her part, totaled 88 points in just 50 games over her two seasons. The Minutemen entered the 2008 ACHA National Tournament as the number four seed and battered Michigan State and Nichols by identical 5–2 scorelines to win Pool D, then topped Wisconsin (Pool C's second-place team) 4–1 in the quarterfinals. Things went down from there however, as Lindenwood (which was then in the heart of a streak of five consecutive title game appearances with four wins) knocked UMass off of the championship track in the semifinals. Rhode Island, with the stakes much lower than in the previous tournament, then defeated the Minutemen by a 3–1 count in the third-place game.
