Women's Lacrosse Heads to New Hampshire to Face First Ranked Team of the Season

Photo of Sam McMahon and Delia Pais courtesy of DSPICS.com.

The Particulars
The Harvard women’s lacrosse team travels to No. 19 New Hampshire Tuesday afternoon for the first of six games this season against teams currently ranked in the IWLCA Top 20 Coaches Poll.

Last Time Out
Harvard (1-1) fell to John Hopkins, 15-10, Saturday. Sophomore Melanie Baskind led six Crimson players in scoring with four goals. Baskind, a first-year lacrosse player, was one of two Harvard athletes to score multiple goals. She also had four ground balls, won three draw controls and caused four turnovers.

Senior Katherine Martino made seven saves in the net and caused three turnovers, while sophomore Ellen Gleason collected four ground balls.

Scouting Harvard
Freshman Alexis Dal Col is one of six Crimson players who has found the back of the net. She leads the team with six goals, while classmate Jennifer VanderMeulen is second in goals with five and sophomore Melanie Baskind has four. Danielle Tetreault has a team-high two assists.

Sophomore Tyler Petrpulos paces the team with seven ground balls, followed by Baskind with six. Baskind and sophomore Ellen Gleason lead the way with four caused turnovers each.

Katherine Martino has played all 120 minutes in goal, making 14 saves. She sports an 11.5 goals-against average and a .378 save percentage.

Scouting New Hampshire
The Wildcats are 4-0 on the young season and 3-0 at home. Hayley Rausch leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and six assists. Shaunna Kaplan is second in points with 15 on five goals and 10 handouts.

Kate Keagins has a team-best 10 draw controls and team-high eight ground balls. Jess Cossotis leads the way in caused turnovers with five.

Kate Gunts has covered the net in all four games and boasts a 7.75 goals-against average. She has 24 saves and a .436 save percentage.

The Crimson and the Wildcats
This will be the 36th meeting between New Hampshire and Harvard, with the first meeting in 1975. The Wildcats hold a slim, 18-17 lead in the series.

Jess Halpern scored the game-tying goal with two second left in the second half to force overtime against the Wildcats in last year’s meeting on Cumnock Field. New Hampshire scored twice in overtime for an 11-9 victory. Halpern had three goals, while Sara Flood and Tyler Petropulos has two each.

Harvard holds the record for most consecutive wins in the series, logging seven-straight victories between 1992 and 1998.

First Year Touch
All 10 Harvard goals in the Crimson’s season opening win over Massachusetts were scored by freshmen. In fact, all the points in the game were scored by first year players. Alexis Dal Col had five goals and Jennifer VandeMeulen had four goals and an assist.

Tough Road Ahead
Six upcoming opponents are currently ranked in the IWLCA Top 20, including three of the next four.

Road Warriors
Harvard plays its first four games of the season on the road.

Homeward Bound
When Harvard returns home on March 17, it will be the first of four straight contests at home. The Crimson will have a stretch of nine of 11 games at home.

On the Horizon
The Crimson opens its Ivy League campaign against No. 3 Penn Saturday in Philadelphia. Game time is slated for noon.