Dartmouth Begins 2016 Saturday at Home vs. UMass Lowell

GAME 1
Dartmouth Big Green (0-0) vs.
UMass Lowell River Hawks (0-0)
▶ Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 ▶ 1:00 PM
▶ Hanover, N.H. ▶ Scully-Fahey Field
▶ All-Time Series: 0-0
▶ Last Meeting: First Meeting
▶ Streak: N/A

SATURDAY'S GAME
The Dartmouth women's lacrosse team opens the 2016 campaign Saturday at home against UMass Lowell. The season-opening draw control is set for 1 p.m. at Scully-Fahey Field.

44 AND COUNTING
The Big Green have come a long way since their first varsity season in 1973. This year's team marks the 44th in program history and is scheduled to play 15 regular-season games, 11 more than the pioneer team of '73 that went 2-2.

OPENERS
All-time, Dartmouth is 22-21 in season openers following last season's delayed opener at UConn that was pushed inside the Huskies' Mark R. Shenkman Training Center due to snow in front of no media or spectators. The loss snapped a four-year run of season-opening victories for the Green and White.

SO EARLY!
Saturday's game marks the earliest starting date for a season in program history. The previous mark for earliest start was last season when Dartmouth and UConn played indoors on Feb. 21.

HOW WE FINISHED
A rough start to the 2015 season was eventually remedied late in the year as the Big Green finished 3-11 overall and 3-4 in Ivy League play, claiming fifth in the league standings. Dartmouth won three of its final five games of the year, including finishing the spring on a two-game win streak thanks to a late OT goal at Columbia from then-sophomore Courtney Weisse in the finale.

SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks begin their second season as a program after an inaugural 2015 campaign. Head coach Carissa Medeiros' team features 14 freshmen, 13 sophomores, one junior and a pair of seniors. UML was winless in their first season, going 0-17 in 2015 with an 0-6 mark in America East play. The top-three scorers from that inaugural season are all gone leaving sophomore Taylor Sokol and her 16 points (5g/11a) as the team's top-returning point producer.

AGAINST THE RIVER HAWKS
This marks Dartmouth's first game ever against UMass Lowell. The River Hawks played two Ivy opponents in their first season, dropping games at Brown (13-6) and Harvard (12-1).

PRESEASON HONORS
Senior co-captain Jaclyn Leto and an All-Ivy League First Team selection in each of the last two seasons was named an Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American in mid-December. Leto was recognized with a spot on the Honorable Mention Team after an outstanding junior season that saw the New Jersey native post career highs of 43 goals and 47 points en route to a spot on the IWLCA All-Northeast Region Second Team in addition to her unanimous selection on the All-Ivy team.

SO CLOSE…
Leto needs just two more goals to become the 17th player in program history to reach 100 for her career. She enters the season with 98 to her credit and is within 20 of moving into the top-10 at Dartmouth.

ROOKIE-HEAVY ROSTER
The Big Green have a 25-player roster entering the 2016 season, 10 of which are first-year players set to make their collegiate debuts in green and white this spring. The team boasts just four seniors and six juniors for 10 total upperclassmen, giving the younger players an opportunity to develop more quickly in 2016.

MILESTONE WATCH
Taryn Deck
– 9 goals
Jaclyn Leto
–      47 Career Games
–      98 Goals
–      117 Points (Needs 8 more to move into top-20 all-time at Dartmouth)
–      82 draw controls (One more to tie for 11th all-time)
Courtney Weisse
–      19 games played
–      9 goals
–      17 points

FOLLOW ALONG
All seven of Dartmouth's home games will be carried live in HD on the Ivy League Digital Network this season. Fans can also follow the action using live stats provided by DartmouthSports.com.

WHAT'S AHEAD?
Following Saturday's tilt with UML, the Big Green will remain home for a contest against in-state rival New Hampshire on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Game time is set for 3 p.m. from Scully-Fahey Field.

Schedules