| Date |
Monday, Feb. 12, 2018 (3 p.m.) |
| Matchup |
Merrimack (4-13, 2-11 NE10) (2017)
Roberts Wesleyan (7-11, 4-4 ECC) (2017) |
| Venue |
Roberts Wesleyan Stadium
Rochester, N.Y. |
| Multimedia |
Live Stats |
| Social Media |
@MerrimackWLAX // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's lacrosse team opens the 2018 season on the road against Roberts Wesleyan College on Monday afternoon. Game time from Rochester, New York, is set for 3 p.m.
Inside the Series:
- Merrimack and Roberts Wesleyan are meeting for just the third time on Monday and for the third straight season.
- Last year, Merrimack posted a wire-to-wire, 15-11 victory on the road, scoring 42 seconds into the game and never looking back.
- Merrimack took the series opener two years ago in North Andover by a 16-11 final score; the Warriors also never trailed in that game and led by as many as nine goals.
Last Look at 2017:
- Merrimack's successful 2017 campaign took shape in a variety of ways.
- On the field, the Warriors were competitive game in and game out, nearly knocking off two ranked teams over the course of the season.
- A successful infusion of a large freshman class added depth that had not been seen in years to the lineup, while two first-year captains and a first-year head coach helped guide a young squad throughout the spring.
- When all was said and done, Merrimack had won more conference games than it had in any of the previous three seasons, setting the stage for an exciting 2018 slate.
'Mack Facts:
- Not only will Merrimack have its top scorer back from a year ago; the Warriors will have the services of six of its top eight scorers from the 2017 campaign. Altogether, Merrimack brings back over 75 percent of its offensive contributions from last spring.
- Now a junior and a newly anointed captain, Amber Feminella led the team up front for the second season in a row, leading all Warriors with 42 points on a team-best 29 goals and 13 helpers.
- Fellow junior Bridget Schofield was one of the Warriors' top two-way players, ranking second on the team in overall scoring (34 points) while also leading the team in draw controls (49), caused turnovers (21) and ground balls (32).
- Senior Annette Ruggiero, now a two-time captain, contributed 22 goals last season – ranking fourth on the team – while also adding 25 ground balls and 32 draw controls.
- Classmate and fellow two-time captain Carly McKenna was as much of a two-way player as anyone on the roster last year, starting 10 games while playing 16. She added a career-high five goals while totaling 16 ground balls during that span.
- Returning starters and rising sophomores Courtney Capobianco and Gretchen Krall will look to build on stellar debut seasons. Both started all 17 games and had double-digit ground balls. The former caused seven turnovers while the latter finished with six.
- Merrimack brings back all three goalkeepers from last season. Junior Lauren Trepaney played nearly more than twice as many minutes as the next-closest goalie on last year's roster and posted a 14.22 goals-against average and .442 save percentage while picking up a pair of wins over 12 starts. Senior Alexa Petzold has plenty of experience over her career and played in nine games last year while starting five. She won two of those starts, had a goals-against average of 10.10 and a save percentage of .366.
Poll Watch:
- Merrimack's schedule features six opponents that are ranked in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) preseason national rankings.
- Among those ranked are Adelphi (#1), Le Moyne (4), New Haven (8), Mercy (12), Stonehill (17), and Pace (18).
Scouting Roberts Wesleyan:
- Roberts Wesleyan finished last year with a 7-11 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the East Coast Conference (ECC).
- The Redhawks were 4-5 at home and 3-6 on the road. They qualified for the ECC Tournament before bowing out to top-seeded LIU Post in the semifinals.
- RWC will be looking to replace the services of 2017 graduate Cassley Jackowski, who was an All-American and led the country in scoring (83-35—118). The Redhawks do, however, bring back their next seven top scorers, including two 40-point producers in Johannah Price (36g, 8a) and Megan Burham (27g, 13a).
- The Redhawks will also be looking to sophomore Victoria Greco in net after graduating last year's starter, Shannon Knapp, who played every minute between the pipes last season.
Inside the Matchup:
| Merrimack (4-13, 2-11 NE10) (2017) |
Category |
Roberts Wesleyan (7-11, 4-4 ECC) (2017) |
--
-- |
Recent Games |
--
-- |
| 9.76 |
Scoring Offense |
11.94 |
| 12.76 |
Scoring Defense |
11.94 |
| 21.6 |
Shots/Game |
26.4 |
| 43-92 (46.7) |
Free Positions Made-Att. |
47-112 (.420) |
| 269 |
Ground Balls |
349 |
| 179 |
Draw Controls |
200 |
| 303 |
Turnovers |
300 |
| 105 |
Caused Turnovers |
153 |
| 231-323 (.715) |
Clears |
264-315 (.838) |
Up Next
Merrimack will head back to New York – this time south to Long Island – to take on nationally ranked Mercy College in another midweek matchup against an ECC team next Wednesday (Feb. 21) at 3 p.m.
