#15 Women’s Lacrosse Travels to Saint Michael’s Wednesday

Date	Wednesday, March 28, 2018 (3:30 p.m.)
Matchup	#15 Merrimack (5-3, 3-2 NE10) Saint Michael's (0-5, 0-3 NE10)
Venue	Duffy Field // Colchester, Vt.
Multimedia	Live Stats
Social Media	@MerrimackWLAX // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The 15^th-ranked Merrimack College women's lacrosse team will look for its third win in a row when it visits Saint Michael's College on Wednesday (March 28) afternoon. Game time from Duffy Field in Colchester is set for 3:30 p.m.

Inside the Series:

• Merrimack has a slight edge in the series against Saint Michael's at 12-11 all-time.
• The Warriors snapped a three-game skid against the Purple Knights last year after a 13-6 victory in North Andover last March. Merrimack is 7-5 in 12 meetings in Colchester but is looking for its first win at Saint Michael's since 2012.

Last Time Out:

• Freshman Meghan Dzialo exploded for a career-high six goals while sophomore Ally DaCosta set up five goals herself, as Merrimack upset No. 8 New Haven in a 13-8 victory on Saturday at Merrimack Stadium.
• Merrimack set the tone early with a goal just 39 seconds into the game, but New Haven responded with the next two, giving the Chargers a 2-1 lead just past the five-minute mark.
• That would be the first and only time that the visitors would ever lead in the cost, as Merrimack tied the game with 23:06 left to play, setting up a string of three straight Warrior goals to push the Warriors ahead for good. Merrimack closed the half on a 6-1 scoring run to take a 10-4 lead into the midpoint.
• The Warriors hit the crossbar on an early scoring opportunity in the second half, and New Haven would use that fortuitous bounce to tilt the momentum in their favor, scoring three straight goals to turn a six-goal deficit into a three-goal game (10-7) with 25 minutes left.
• But with the Chargers mounting a rally, Merrimack scored a huge man-up goal before adding insurance tallies later in the half to take a 13-7 lead and yielded just one more the rest of the way.

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), Stonehill (20) and New Haven (8), and upcoming ranked opponents include Le Moyne (4), Bentley (24) and Assumption (25).

'Mack Facts:

• Merrimack's 5-3 start is its best six-game record since the 2011 season; that year, the Warriors finished 12-7 overall.
• The NE10's fifth-ranked offense enters Wednesday averaging 15.00 goals per game, as the Warriors have posted double-digit goal totals in each of their first eight games, doing so for the first time since the 2011 season when they also did so in their first eight games of the year.
• Junior Amber Feminella leads Merrimack – and the NE10 – with 33 goals and ranks fourth overall with 39 points on the season.
• She is one of seven Warriors with double-digit scoring figures; freshman Haley Bartlett ranks second with 19 goals, while junior Bridget Schofield is second in overall scoring with 24 points. Sophomore Ally DaCosta leads the Warriors by a wide margin with 16 assists.
• Sophomore Olivia Colletti leads the team with 25 draw controls, while freshman Kelsey Daly has caused a team-most 10 turnovers.
• Sophomore Tammy Nguyen has started every game in net for Merrimack and owns a .422 save percentage and a 11.79 goals against average. Junior Lauren Trepaney owns a 5.78 goals against average and .619 save percentage with over 83 minutes of work.

Scouting Saint Michael's:

• Saint Michael's is still in search of its first win this year, entering Wednesday at 0-5 with an 0-3 league mark.
• The Purple Knights rank 14^th in the league in scoring (10.40) and 13^th in scoring defense (16.40).
• Senior Kealy Moyna's 20 points pace the Purple K nights, as she has 11 goals and nine helpers.
• Annie Martin's 18 draw controls and 13 ground balls are most for Saint Michael's, while Emma Coleman leads the team with 13 caused turnovers.
• Alexis Bower and Victoria Putnam are nearly even in playing time for Saint Michael's; Putnam has a slightly better goals against average (15.62) while Bower's save percentage of .442 is better.

Inside the Matchup:

#15 Merrimack (5-3, 3-2 NE10)	Category	Saint Michael's (0-5, 0-3 NE10)
3/20 vs. SNHU (W, 14-7) 3/24 vs. #8 New Haven (W, 13-8)	Recent Games	3/18 vs. Assumption (L, 21-7) 3/20 at Saint Anselm (L, 20-10)
15.00	Scoring Offense	10.40
10.75	Scoring Defense	16.40
120-254 (.472)	Goals-Shot Attempts (Pct.)	52-129 (.403)
27-62 (43.5)	Free Positions Made-Att.	9-33 (.273)
158	Ground Balls	90
100	Draw Controls	52
126	Turnovers	83
76	Caused Turnovers	44
122-145 (.841)	Clears	82-99 (.828)

 
Up Next
Merrimack returns to action with another midweek road trip to American International next Tuesday (April 3) at 7 p.m.