Women's Lacrosse Hosts No. 7 Boston Universtiy in First Home Game

Particulars
Harvard hosts No. 7 Boston University in its first home game of the season Wednesday at Cumnock Field. The game is the first of four straight at home for the Crimson, who have a total of eight games on campus.

Scouting Harvard
The Crimson is 2-2 on the season after falling in its Ivy League opener last Saturday.  A quartet of newcomers lead the Crimson offensive with 29 of Harvard’s 36 goals this season. Rookie Jennifer VanderMeulen leads the way with 13 goals and 15 points. Sophomore Melanie Baskind (playing in her first season of lacrosse) and Alexis Dal Col both have six goals, while Danielle Tetreault has four goals and two assists.

VanderMeulen has a team-best nine draw controls and is 8-for-10 on free position shots this year. Baskind leads the way in caused turnovers and is second in ground balls with 10. Tyler Petropulos has a team-best 12 ground balls.

Katherine Martino has 27 saves in the net and sports a 11.07 goals-against average and a .391 save percentage.

Last Time Out
Harvard fell to No. 4 Penn, 16-6 Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field. Freshman Jennifer VanderMeulen led the Crimson with three goals and an assist. VanderMeulen scored the first goal of the game, but the Quakers answered with five straight scores. The Crimson closed the gap at 5-3, before Penn scored six more to take an 11-3 advantage.

VanderMeulen won a team-high five draw controls, while sophomore Tyler Petropulos scooped up three ground balls and caused three turnovers to lead Harvard.

Scouting the Terriers
Boston University won its first three games of the season but has dropped its last two, both to nationally ranked teams. The Terriers fell last week to No. 5 Duke, 10-6, and 18 Vanderbilt, 10-5, on the road. Traci Landy leads the BU offense with 14 goals on the season. She also has a team-best nine draw controls. Hannah Frey is second in scoring with nine goals, while Xan Weitzel leads the team with eight assists.  Ten Terriers have found the back on the net through five games.

Rachel Klein and Rachel Collins both have 15 ground balls to lead the team, while Corcoran Downey leads the way in caused turnovers with nine. Klein has 46 saves in the net and sports an 8.22 goals against average. She sports a .535 save percentage.

Upset City
Tuesday’s win over No. 15 New Hampshire is the second time Harvard has upset a ranked team under head coach Lisa Miller. Last year, Harvard knocked off No. 20 Cornell in Ithaca.

First Year Touch
All 10 Harvard goals in the Crimson’s season opening win over Massachusetts were scored by freshmen. In fact, all the points in the game were scored by first year players. Alexis Dal Col had five goals and Jennifer VanderMeulen had four goals and an assist.

Tough Road Ahead
Harvard will play six opponents currently ranked in the IWLCA Top 20 during its 2010 campaign.  The Crimson is in the middle of three straight contests against nationally ranked teams.

Road Warriors
Harvard plays its first four games of the season on the road.

Homeward Bound
When Harvard returns home on March 17, it will be the first of four straight contests at home. The Crimson will have a stretch of nine of 11 games at home.

On the Horizon
Harvard plays its first home game of the season Wednesday, March 17 against Boston University. First draw is slated for 4 p.m. on Cumnock Turf.