#21 Women’s Lacrosse Faces #8 New Haven Saturday on Alumni Day

Date	Saturday, March 24, 2018 (1 p.m.)
Matchup	#21 Merrimack (4-3, 2-2 NE10) #8 New Haven (3-2, 2-1 NE10)
Venue	Merrimack Stadium // North Andover, Mass.
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video
Social Media	@MerrimackWLAX // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The No. 21 Merrimack College women's lacrosse team will take on its fifth ranked opponent in eight games when it welcomes No. 8 New Haven to campus on Saturday (March 24). Game time from Merrimack Stadium is set for 1 p.m., and the program will also host Alumni Day on Saturday, as well.

BEER GARDENS AVAILABLE FOR HOME GAMES
Merrimack is pleased to offer a 21 Beer Garden on the stadium patio for select women's lacrosse home games (opposite the press box side, closest to the Merrimack Athletics Complex). The patio opens one hour before game time and closes midway through the second half. Light snacks are also available for purchase. 

ALUMNI DAY SET FOR SATURDAY
Merrimack will host Alumni Day on Saturday (March 24) prior to its matchup against the University of New Haven.

All women's lacrosse alumnae are invited to return to campus for a special afternoon to reconnect with old teammates. Mingle with fellow Warriors and enjoy great food at a pre-game tailgate party overlooking the brand-new Merrimack Stadium, then cheer on the team as they take on eighth-ranked New Haven in an important Northeast-10 Conference matchup! The pre-game party will be located on the near patio on the opposite side of the stadium's grandstand/press box.
To register, please click here!

Inside the Series:

• Merrimack owns a 10-10 record against New Haven, but the Chargers have won each of the last six meetings.
• Merrimack's last win came at home on May 4, 2011, in the NE10 Tournament as part of a 13-9 victory.
• Last year, the Chargers held off Merrimack's upset bid against the 12^th-ranked team in the country, as the Warriors ultimately fell, 11-10, on the road.

Last Time Out:

• Junior Amber Feminella became the ninth player in school history to hit the century mark in career scoring, netting her 100th tally as a Warrior early in the game, as Merrimack bounced back with a thorough 14-7 victory against Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday.
• Merrimack raced out of the gate by scoring the first two goals, with Feminella hitting the career century mark with 22 minutes even left in the half.
• That prompted the beginning of a back-and-forth stretch of 20-plus minutes, as the two teams traded goals before SNHU drew even at 3-3 with 12:47 left. The Warriors would go back up by two (5-3) with 8:24 left, and the schools would trade two more tallies apiece to send Merrimack into the break up by a 7-5 margin.
• Each team went goal-for-goal to start the second half before a lull of nearly 12 minutes saw neither side find a goal. Merrimack ended the scoring drought with 9:18 left, and the Warriors would net three more to close out it out.

Poll Watch:

• Merrimack's schedule features seven opponents that are ranked in the most recent Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) national rankings.
• The Warriors already faced Adelphi (ranked second when they played), Mercy (ranked 12^th), Pace (14^th) and Stonehill (20), and upcoming ranked opponents include Le Moyne (4), New Haven (8) and Assumption (25).

'Mack Facts:

• Merrimack's 4-3 start is its best six-game record since the 2011 season; that year, the Warriors finished 12-7 overall.
• The NE10's sixth-ranked offense enters Saturday averaging 15.29 goals per game, as the Warriors have posted double-digit goal totals in each of their first seven games, doing so for the first time since the 2011 season when they did so in their first eight games of the year.
• Junior Amber Feminella leads Merrimack – and the NE10 – with 31 goals and ranks second overall with 37 points on the season.
• She is one of five Warriors with double-digit scoring figures, closely followed by freshman sensation Haley Bartlett, who has 22 points (19g, 3a).
• Eleven different Warriors have found the back of the net at least once this season.
• Sophomore Olivia Colletti leads the team with 23 draw controls, while freshman Kelsey Daly has caused a team-most nine turnovers.
• Sophomore Tammy Nguyen has started every game in net for Merrimack and owns a .429 save percentage and a 11.69 goals against average.

Scouting New Haven:

• New Haven enters the weekend at 3-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. They fell to second-ranked Adelphi on Tuesday (19-4) before winning a 21-19 shootout against Franklin Pierce last Saturday.
• The Penmen average 16.40 goals per game (4^th/NE10) but allow 15.00 per game defensively (10^th).
• Mackenzie Reh, Jessica Mazliah and Caroline Maher are both over 20 points in scoring for New Haven with 25, 22 and 21, respectively, as the former has a team-high 19 goals on the year.
• Raven Linton's 42 draw controls are most for a team that averages 20.00 draw controls per game (2^nd/NCAA). Courtney Duffy leads the Chargers with 10 caused turnovers, as well.
• Gianna Guerra has started the last two for New Haven and three out of five games overall and owns a 16.34 goals against average and .451 save percentage.

Inside the Matchup:

#21 Merrimack (4-3, 2-2 NE10)	Category	#8 New Haven 3-2, 2-1 NE10)
3/17 at #14 Pace (L, 16-10) 3/20 vs. SNHU (W, 14-7)	Recent Games	3/17 vs. Franklin Pierce (W, 21-19) 3/20 vs. #2 Adelphi (L, 19-4)
15.29	Scoring Offense	16.40
11.14	Scoring Defense	15.00
107-221 (.484)	Goals-Shot Attempts (Pct.)	82-131 (.626)
26-59 (44.1)	Free Positions Made-Att.	18-24 (.750)
20.00	Ground Balls	17.60
12.71	Draw Controls	20.00 (2nd/NCAA)
16.00	Turnovers	16.00
9.29	Caused Turnovers	5.80
102-123 (.829)	Clears	64-89 (.719)

 
Up Next
Merrimack will head up to Vermont for a Wednesday (March 28) afternoon matchup against Saint Michael's College beginning at 3:30 p.m.