Big Green Kick Off 2020 Season Saturday at UMass

GAME 1
No. 22 Dartmouth (0-0) vs.
UMass (1-0)
Saturday, February 15, 2020 | 1 PM
Amherst, Mass. | Garber Field
Dartmouth Leads Series, 21-10-1
Last Meeting: March 1, 2019 | W, 19-7 | Hanover

SATURDAY'S GAME
•   The Dartmouth women's lacrosse team kicks off the 2020 campaign Saturday at UMass in a 1 p.m. contest.
•   The game will mark the start of the team's 48th season.

LAST TIME OUT
•   The Big Green ended last year in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Colorado, 16-13, in a first-round match-up.
•   Though it ended in a defeat, the 2019 season, as a whole, was a success as Dartmouth claimed its 13th Ivy League title in the process, finishing the season with a 6-1 mark in league games and 11-6 overall.

OPENERS
•   Following last year's 21-15 loss at No. 7 Northwestern, Dartmouth dropped to 24-23 all-time in season-opening contests.

SCOUTING UMASS
•   The Minutewomen already have one game under their belts, a stunning come-from-behind Win vs. No. 5 Boston College at home.
•   UMass took down the Eagles, 15-11, by scoring six of the game's final seven goals to earn the first-ever victory against a top-5 team in program history.
•   The game was also the first win versus a ranked opponent since a 2017 NCAA Tournament contest against No. 10 Colorado.
•   Haley Connaughton and Kaitlyn Cerasi were the sparkplugs for the home team, scoring four goals each in the win.
•   For her efforts, Cerasi was named the IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week as well as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week.
•   In goal, Lauren Hiller made 13 saves to earn the win, the 40th of her career.

LAST TIME AGAINST UMASS
•   These teams met last season in Hanover, with the contest serving as the Green's return to the field after a two-week break for exams.
•   There was no rust for the home team as Dartmouth scored 19 times and won by 12.
•   Leading the way were then-juniors Ellie Carson and Katie Bourque, who each found the back of the net four times.
•   The Dartmouth defense held a UMass team that was averaging more than 18 goals a game coming into the contest to just seven, a staggering 11 fewer than normal. In 60 minutes of action, the Minutewomen only managed 23 shot attempts, 16 fewer than the Green and White.
•   In goal, Becca Wade made her first career start and stopped 11 to earn her first career win.

100-POINT PLAYERS
•   As the season starts, both Carson and Bourque are north of the century mark in career points.
•   Carson comes into the spring with 110. She has 100 in just the last two years, registering 63 as a sophomore and then 37 last year while still recovering from an injury.
•   Bourque has 106 points in 48 career games with a career-high 46 coming last season.

ON THE DRAW
•   These two teams were two of the most prolific squads on the draw last season as UMass set an all-time NCAA record, averaging 19.11 in 19 games in 2019.
•   Dartmouth's 18.35 per game would have been a record in any other year, but was the third best in 2019 and therefore the third best all-time.
•   However, in the game between the two played in Hanover, the Big Green dominated the draw, winning 19 of 27.

FOLLOW ALONG
•   Fans unable to make the game on Saturday can follow along with live stats provided by UMassAthletics.com.
•   There is no stream of Saturday's game.
•   Moving forward, all Dartmouth home games and Ivy League road games will be streamed on ESPN+.

GOOD LUCK, COACH!
•   Saturday also serves as the first career game as a head coach for Alex Frank, who took over as the fifth in program history last July.

WHAT'S AHEAD?
•   The Big Green will open the home portion of its schedule next Saturday, Feb. 22 when they play host to Boston University at 3 p.m.
•   That game will be carried on ESPN+ and will follow the men's home opener set to start at noon against Bryant.

Schedules