#9 Dartmouth Women Host #18 Boston University in Midweek Tilt

"Big Green Puts 'D' Back in Dartmouth" - LaxMazagine.com Feature

Shannie MacKenzie named the WomensLacrosse.com National Defensive Player of the Week in addition to her Ivy Player of the Week award.

The #9 Dartmouth women's lacrosse team will put its brand new top-10 ranking on the line this week when it plays host to #18 Boston University, looking to extend its winning-streak to six games.

Dartmouth vs. Boston Univ. Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Game 7: #18 Boston University (5-4, 1-0 Amer. East) at #9 Dartmouth (5-1, 2-0 Ivy)
Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 • 4:00 PM
Location: Hanover, N.H. • Scully Fahey Field
Multimedia: Livestats • Live Video ($)

Dartmouth - BU Series: Dartmouth leads, 9-4
Last Meeting: 4/22/09 • Boston, Mass.
Result: Boston 15 - Dartmouth 8
Streak: Boston +3
The Terriers have made headway in the series with three straight wins, all by at least five goals. Prior to that, Dartmouth had won nine of the first 10 including the NCAA first round in 2006, which started the Big Green's run to the NCAA national championship game.

FIVE MINUTES WITH COACH PATTON

Dartmouth has enjoyed balanced all over the field this season. Dartmouth's attack, which tallies an Ivy League best 14.33 points per game, has six players amassing more than 13 points to date and 13 total with a point or an assist. In the win over Yale, a 12-goal effort, eight different players contributed a point.

"I've always tried to instill attacking systems where all 7 attackers are important and involved," said head coach Amy Patton. "We had eight kids score some kind of point in that Yale game which makes me really proud and on the flip side we have seven or eight kids a game getting caused turnovers. That's what you're always striving for as a coach - balance. From top to bottom everyone we put on the field brings a strength and is playing to it."

Of those six leading scorers for the Big Green, four come from the sophomore class, with all seven members getting significant playing time this season. While Dartmouth has five seniors on the roster, just two are regular starters.

"We're playing our entire sophomore class right now and it's just gratifying to see how well those young women have stepped up," said Patton. "It's a tribute to how hard they worked in the off season to give themselves confidence for this year. We are getting a couple of freshmen in but it's nice for them not to have pressure on them, which we had in the last few years because we were so thin. I think their growth has been better without that."

In addition to sporting the Ivy's highest scoring offense, Dartmouth's defense ranks second in the nation with a paltry 5.83 goals against average (35 goals). While senior Julie Wadland anchors things in goal, the defense in front of her has given the opposition fits, allowing only 100 opponent shots total with just 79 on goal. In contrast, Dartmouth has scored 86 goals with 175 shots.

"This year we have the athleticism to play an aggressive style along with having an experienced, and probably the best, keeper in the country in the cage," said Patton. "The thing that's turned the corner for this defense is incredible trust which doesn't happen overnight. It's been cultivated and developed over the last few years, led by a core of Wads [Julie Wadland], Colleen [Olsen] and Shannie [MacKenzie].

TERRIERS COME TO TOWN
#9 Dartmouth continues its only homestand of the season — albeit a brief two games — against New England rival Boston University today. The Big Green will look to make it six in a row this afternoon, having not lost since its one-goal defeat at UNH to open the season. The Big Green and Terriers have traditionally had a spirited New England rivalry and Dartmouth will welcome back its loyal student fanbase after playing its last two home games during spring break. BU is Dartmouth's third ranked opponent of the season, but this will mark the first time that Dartmouth plays a ranked team that is lower than itself in the polls.

CAGING THE BULLDOGS
This past weekend, then #16 Dartmouth had little trouble moving to 2-0 in Ivy play with a 12-5 victory over Yale this past Saturday. The Big Green avoided the Bulldogs recent hot streak, which had seen them upset then #13 Boston University and nearly knock out Penn in a 7-5 loss. Dartmouth jumped out to a 3-0 lead and extended that to a dominant 10-1 lead at halftime. The Big Green got the first goal of the second half just 50 seconds in but Yale responded with three goals in a six minute span to make it 11-4 with 20:48 to go. Both defenses dug in, however, and each team got just one more goal in the contest. Sophomore Kirsten Goldberg scored three goals, as did rookie Hana Bowers, who got her first career point and then some. Sarah Plumb was all over the field, tallying two goals, four ground balls, four caused turnovers and three draw controls.

ORANGE CRUSHED
Then #16 Dartmouth made a bold statement with a dominant 17-10 victory at #6 Syracuse, a game in which the Big Green held a 10-goal lead midway through the second half. After going down 2-0 in the first 1:15 of the game, Dartmouth went on a 4-0 tear and never trailed again, including a run of four goals in 1:32 to get that 4-2 lead. It was a game of runs for the Big Green, which also scored five unanswered during a seven-minute span later in the first half and four in a span of 2:16 early in the second. Dartmouth led 10-6 at halftime and quickly extended the advantage to 17-7 with 16:30 to play in the game, stunning the Syracuse faithful with a running-clock lead. The Orange did score three goals in the next five minutes, but Julie Wadland kept them off the board in the final 11:09. Greta Meyer (5g, 1a) and Sarah Parks (4g, 2a) were the stars offensively for the Big Green in a balanced offense-defense effort.

TOP-10 DEBUT
Dartmouth jumped seven spots in the IWLCA Coaches poll to sit at number nine this week - it's first top-10 ranking since early in the 2007 campaign. Inside Lacrosse looks even more favorably on the Big Green, putting it at eighth after sitting anywhere from 11th to 14th in the past three weeks. Six Dartmouth opponents are currently in the IWLCA Top-20 with three in the top 10. Six are ranked by Inside Lacrosse and a seventh, UNH is receiving votes.

A LOOK AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Boston University comes into today's game ranked 18th and having faced four ranked teams this year. Two of the Terriers last three games — both losses — have come against Notre Dame and Yale, both teams that Dartmouth has defeated this spring. The Terriers do have wins over Ivy foes Brown and Harvard and a victory over William & Mary, 15-10. Though Boston University has played three more games than Dartmouth, the Terriers have scored fewer goals, 84 to the red hot Green's 86. Boston features six players with 10 or more points to date, led by McKinley Curro's 26 points (17g, 9a) and Traci Landy's 23 points (20g, 3a). Xan Weitzel is the big playmaker for the Terriers with a team-best 13 assists. Rachel Collins does the dirty work in midfield, with 25 ground balls, 15 draw controls and eight caused turnovers. Goalie Rachel Klein has started all nine games and sports an impressive 8.35 goals against average with a .520 save percentage and 79 saves.

MACKENZIE TABBED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior defender Shannie MacKenzie was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on March 29 after her role in a 2-0 week against #6 Syracuse and Yale. At Syracuse, she was personally responsible for guarding Tee Ladouceur, who came into the game leading not only the Orange, but the entire nation in points per game at 6.33. MacKenzie held Ladouceur to just one point, a goal, and only two shot attempts as well as four turnovers. Against Yale, MacKenzie helped hold the Bulldogs to just 16 shots and 21 turnovers and harassed Jenna Block behind the cage all day, helping hold her to just one goal.

BOWERS BREAKS OUT
Freshman Hana Bowers had a breakout game against Yale, scoring her first collegiate goal and adding two more for good measure. In addition to her three points, Bowers also caused three turnovers.

PLUMB'S PLAY HEATS UP
Sophomore midfielder Sarah Plumb really came into her own last week, asserting herself against the nation's elite and an Ivy League upstart. She was named the Dartmouth Female Athlete of the Week for her efforts against Syracuse and Yale. One of the Big Green's most diverse players, Plumb tallied six points, seven draw controls, five caused turnovers and four ground balls on the week.

HOLDING DOWN HOMEFIELD
With a 3-0 record at home this season, the Big Green has given up just eight goals in two contests on Scully Fahey Field, defeating Vermont, 22-2, Columbia, 15-1, and Yale, 12-5. Two ranked foes, Boston University on March 31 and Penn on April 17, are scheduled to travel to Hanover this spring.

RPI ROUNDUP
Laxpower.com's power ratings rank the Big Green at sixth in the nation, with an RPI at 10th and a strength of schedule rating of 23rd. Those ratings give bonus points for scoring margin as well as location of the game, with Dartmouth's two wins over top-10 teams coming the road.

ROAD WARRIORS - FOR NOW
Dartmouth plays eight of its 14 regular season games on the road this season and the first three have been against teams that are currently ranked. The Big Green has gone 2-1 on the road, with both victories coming over top-20 programs at #12 Notre Dame and at #6 Syracuse, and a one-goal loss at UNH.The Big Green still must travel to Princeton and Maryland late in the year.

Schedules