Women’s Lacrosse Welcomes No. 2 Adelphi Saturday in Home Opener

Date	Saturday, March 10, 2018 (3:30 p.m.)
Matchup	Merrimack (3-1, 1-0 NE10) #2 Adelphi (2-1, 1-0 NE10)
Venue	Merrimack Stadium // North Andover, Mass.
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video
Social Media	@MerrimackWLAX // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After four straight games on the road, the Merrimack College women's lacrosse team – off to its best start in seven years – will take on defending national champion and second-ranked Adelphi on Saturday at Merrimack Stadium, marking the program's first-ever contest at its new home venue. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.

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. 

Inside the Series:

• Adelphi owns a 16-1 record against Merrimack in the all-time series.
• That lone win came in the first-ever meeting in 2001 (10-9).
• The Panthers have won 16 straight games over the Warriors.

Last Time Out:

• Merrimack defeated Stonehill for the first time since the turn of the century and knocked off a ranked team for the first time since 2013 in an 18-10 on the road on Tuesday.
• The opening 30 minutes were a tale of two halves; Stonehill had the hot start, outscoring Merrimack by a 4-1 margin in the first 10 minutes of regulation, but the Warriors would answer with five straight tallies to take a 6-4 lead with 8:30 left. The Skyhawks drew even with just under five minutes to play in the frame, Merrimack answered with another, but the Skyhawks had the last strike of a back-and-forth first half to send it into the break all even at 7-7.
• Merrimack took control of the game with the first five goals of the second half, building a lead as large as 12-7 with just over 20 minutes to play. The visitors' lead would never shrink to less than four goals from there on out, limiting the Skyhawks to only three second-half tallies while finding the back of the net 11 times in the final 30 minutes to start their conference slate off 1-0.
• Freshman Haley Bartlett led all Warriors with seven points (6g, 1a), while junior Amber Feminella (3g, 3a) and sophomore Ally DaCosta (1g, 5a) had six points to highlight the offense. Sophomore Tammy Nguyen was excellent in net, turning away 12 shots.

Poll Watch:

• Merrimack's schedule features six opponents that are ranked in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) preseason national rankings.
• The Warriors already faced Mercy (ranked 12^th when they played) and Stonehill (20), and upcoming ranked opponents include Adelphi (#2), Le Moyne (4), New Haven (7) and Pace (19).

'Mack Facts:

• Merrimack's 3-1 start is its best four-game record since the 2011 season, as well; that year, the Warriors finished 12-7 overall.
• The NE10's fifth-ranked offense enters Saturday averaging 18.25 goals per game, as the Warriors have posted double-digit goal totals in each of their first four 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 21 points on a conference-best 17 goals and four assists.
• She is one of five Warriors with double-digit scoring figures, closely followed by freshman sensation Haley Bartlett, who has 17 points (14, 3a).
• Eleven different Warriors have found the back of the net at least once this season with all of them having at least two goals.
• Sophomore Olivia Colletti leads the team with 17 draw controls, while freshman Kelsey Daly has caused a team-most five turnovers.
• Sophomore Tammy Nguyen has started every game in net for Merrimack and owns a ..480 save percentage (2^nd/NE100 and a 9.75 goals against average (3^rd).

Scouting Adelphi:

• The defending national champions head to North Andover at 2-1 overall; their only loss was a one-goal loss to a Florida Southern squad that it met in last year's national title game.
• The Panthers average over 17 goals per game and allow an even 11 goals per game on defense.
• Alison Johnson paces the Panther offense with 19 points (6g, 13a); Kole Pollock and Riportella are the lead goal-scorers with 12 and 11, respectively.
• Michelle Scannell leads the team with 12 draw controls, while Kerry Ann Flavin has caused five turnovers on defense, the most on the team.
• Hailey Peterson has started all three games in net and owns a 11.50 GAA and a .378 SV%.

Inside the Matchup:

Merrimack (3-1, 1-0 NE10)	Category	#2 Adelphi (2-1, 1-0 NE10)
2/25 at STAC (W, 22-9) 3/6 at #20 Stonehill (W, 18-10)	Recent Games	2/20 at AIC Rollins (W, 15-11) 2/28 vs. AIC (W, 21-5)
18.25 (19th/NCAA)	Scoring Offense	17.33
9.75	Scoring Defense	11.00
73-140 (.521)	Goals-Shot Attempts (Pct.)	52-103 (.505)
15-31 (48.4)	Free Positions Made-Att.	8-22 (.364)
22.50	Ground Balls	19.67
13.50	Draw Controls	15.33
13.75	Turnovers	15.67
7.50	Caused Turnovers	6.67
62-73 (.849)	Clears	52-66 (.788)

 
Up Next
Merrimack will travel to Pace next Saturday for a 4 p.m. conference clash.