CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard Women's Lacrosse (8-5, 4-2 Ivy League) takes a six-game winning streak into its final regular season contest at Princeton (6-8, 3-3 Ivy League) Sunday (April 30) on ESPNU. A win against the Tigers, and Harvard would clinch its second straight appearance in the Ivy League Tournament. Harvard has won eight of its last nine games overall, and with eight wins, has its most victories since the 2017 season.

QUICK HITTERS 

- Last Saturday against Columbia, junior Maddie Barkate had five points (three goals, two assists) and a career high 14 draw controls, and both Callie Hem (five goals) and Riley Campbell (four goals, assist) also had five points to lead Harvard to a 19-4 win over Columbia. Junior goalie Chloe Provenzano made six saves to earn the win.
- Harvard has not yet clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament but is in position to do so with a win against the Tigers. The Crimson would clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with a victory, and a spot in a 4 p.m. semifinal contest next Friday (May 5) in Philadelphia. Up to five teams could finish 4-3 in conference play for three available spots in the Ivy Tournament (Penn has already qualified as the No. 1 seed), which would create a tie breaking scenario decided by Ivy League protocol.  
- Callie Hem (41 goals, 3^rd in Ivy League) and Riley Campbell (33 goals, 8^th in Ivy League) are one of the most potent offensive duos in the Ivy League (T-No. 2 scoring pair in the league). Hem leads Harvard with 55 points (41 goals, 14 assists), and 63 shots on goal. She leads the Ivy League with an average of 4.23 points per game and is third in goals per game (3.15). Campbell is seventh in the Ivy League in points per game (2.54).
- Junior midfielder Maddie Barkate (88 draw controls) has been dominant, recording the most draw controls of any Harvard player since 2004 (8^th all-time in Ivy League history for a single season). Barkate leads the Ivy League with an average of 6.77 draw controls per game (14th, NCAA).
- Several Harvard first-years have had an immediate impact for the Crimson. Charlotte Hodgson is third on the team in goals scored (19), ground balls (21), and draw controls (21). Hannah Shiels has double digit goals (10) and ground balls (16), and Despina Giannakopoulos is tied for the team lead with 15 caused turnovers to go along with 18 ground balls.
- Despite missing three games, sophomore Grace Taylor leads the team with 23 ground balls. Caroline Mullahy (22 ground balls) and Ilana Kofman (21 ground balls) have also been key to Harvard's possession game. Senior captain Shea Jenkins (15 caused turnovers, 41 draw controls, 16 ground balls) has also been impressive.
- Harvard is first in the Ivy League with an average of 19.62 ground balls per game (6^th, NCAA), and has picked up more ground balls than the opposition in all but four games this season, including a season high 33 ground balls against Yale on April 15.
- Harvard is third in the Ivy League in clearing percentage (86.7%), with senior captain Stephanie Hong helping the Crimson in that category. 
- Harvard returned all six players that earned All-Ivy League honors last season, including leading scorer Callie Hem (34 goals, 10 assists), and midfielders Grace Hulslander (19 goals, six assists, 50 draw controls) and Shea Jenkins (31 ground balls, 21 caused turnovers) each earned First Team All-Ivy honors. Maddie Barkate (22 goals, five assists), Stephanie Hong (27 ground balls) and Grace Taylor (31 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers) earned All-Ivy Honorable Mention.

WE CAN DO HARD THINGS
During Harvard's April 15 game vs. Yale, Harvard highlighted the efforts of the Mass General Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program (AYA), honoring sophomore Grace Taylor, who has helped bring awareness to the program. Harvard women's lacrosse has helped raise over $6,500 for the AYA program through its awareness drive.

THE MATCHUP

A LOOK AT PRINCETON
Princeton features six 20-plus goal scorers, headlined by Kari Buonanno (29 goals, 17 assists) and MacKenzie Blake (35 goals, five assists). Princeton is second in the Ivy League with an average of 14 goals per game, but also allows 13.93 goals per contest. Goalie Amelia Hughes leads the conference with 10.5 saves per game, and a .435 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Princeton owns a 34-18 record in the all-time series against Harvard, with the Crimson seeking its first win over the Tigers since April 14, 2012. Last year, in an Ivy League Tournament semifinal contest on May 6, 2022 in New Jersey, despite a phenomenal effort by goalie Chloe Provenzano (15 saves), the Crimson fell 13-6 to the Tigers. Caroline Mullahy scored twice, and Maddie Barkate had a goal and an assist in the contest, with Grace Taylor adding six ground balls.

NOTES AND STORYLINES 

PARTY LIKE ITS 1996
Harvard is in search of its seventh win in a row, which would be its best winning streak since the 1996 season (won seven in a row that year). Harvard has averaged 14.83 goals per game during the streak and is allowing just 7.5 goals per contest during that span.

HONG, JENKINS, LANGMUIR SERVING AS CAPTAINS
Last fall, Devon Wills, The Carole Kleinfelder Head Coach for Harvard Women's Lacrosse, announced that seniors Stephanie Hong, Shea Jenkins, and Meredith Langmuir will serve as captains for the 2023 season.

Hong, a midfielder from Bethesda, Md., was an All-Ivy League Honorable Mention selection in her first full season of college lacrosse. An IWLCA Academic Honor Roll selection, Hong emerged as a regular starter in 2022 and was a key part of Harvard's efforts on clears, recording 27 ground balls with six caused turnovers and six draw controls.
 
Jenkins, a midfielder from Newburyport, Mass., is a two-time All-Ivy honoree, earning First Team honors in 2022 and Second Team honors in 2019. She led the team with 31 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers in 2022 and was a force in the defensive end. She added 26 draw controls and was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on March 7 after Harvard's 9-8 win at Penn.
 
Langmuir, a midfielder from Providence, R.I., became a regular contributor in 2022, recording five goals in 11 games played, including standout performances in wins against Holy Cross (three goals) and Boston University (two goals). Langmuir is also an IWLCA Academic Honor Roll selection.

UP NEXT

Harvard will hope to compete in the Ivy League Tournament, to be held at Penn Park beginning with the semifinal round on May 5.