CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's lacrosse will open the 2024 season tomorrow (Feb. 17) at Jordan Field, as the Crimson will take on Colgate at noon in a game that will air on ESPN+.
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Coming off a strong season, the Crimson returns five of its six All-Ivy honorees from a year ago. In 2023, Harvard (8-7, 4-3 Ivy) made its eighth appearance in the Ivy League Tournament.
The first game of a doubleheader at Jordan Field (Harvard men's lacrosse faces Providence at 3:30 p.m.), the Crimson will play host to the first-ever Frosty Faceoff, with free coffee and hot chocolate, giveaways, and the Crimson Pub (21+) available to fans. The home opener also marks the annual One Love game where the program will highlight the importance of healthy relationships throughout the contest.Â
QUICK HITTERSÂ
- Harvard returns five of the six players that earned All-Ivy League honors last season, including leading scorer Callie Hem (43 goals, 16 assists), who earned First-Team All-Ivy accolades. Riley Campbell (36 goals, 13 assists) earned Second-Team All-Ivy honors, with Maddie Barkate (18 goals, nine assists), Charlotte Hodgson (24 goals, 24 ground balls) and Grace Taylor (25 ground balls, nine caused turnovers) earning All-Ivy Honorable Mention recognition.
- Harvard women's lacrosse was named a 2023 IWLCA Academic Honor Squad and had 14 individuals earn IWLCA Academic Honor Roll distinction for the 2022-23 academic year, which was the most among Ivy schools.
- The Crimson returns nine of its top-10 points leaders from last season.Â
- Harvard finished with 182 goals scored last year, which was good for the most since the 2018 season.Â
- Last season, the Crimson clinched a bid into Ivy postseason play by defeating Columbia, 19-4. Harvard met the top-seeded Penn in the Ivy League Tournament first round.Â
- Harvard had the third-most caused turnovers in the Ivy League last season, sitting just behind Yale and Penn.
- Seven first-years have been added to the roster for the 2024 season, including Rebecca Arpano, Callie Batchelder, Chloe Bednar, Hattie Manser, Grace Mullahy, Stella Shea, and Natasha Tribolet.
- Kenzie Kent rejoined the coaching staff in 2023-24 as an assistant coach. Kent returns to Cambridge after a two-year stint at Syracuse where she served in the same role. A former All-American, Kent began her coaching career at Harvard in 2019 after an extremely successful collegiate career at Boston College.
- Incoming midfielder Stella Shea was named to the Inside Lacrosse Power 100 Top 100 Freshmen heading into the season.Â
- Charlotte Hodgson also received preseason honors after being named as one of USA Lacrosse Magazine's Top Sophomores to Watch.
THE MATCHUP
- The Raiders are off to a 0-1 start, having lost their season-opener against Temple last Saturday. Caroline Panzirer is leading the way on offense with two goals. Kait Henning, Lucy Licata and Devon Maillet each have a goal as well. Lauren Solis leads the team in ground balls (11), while Josie Cavallo has two caused turnovers to date.
- This is the first meeting between Harvard and Colgate in women's lacrosse since 1983. Harvard leads the all-time series, 2-0.
NOTES
WILLS INDUCTED INTOÂ NATIONAL LACROSSE HALL OF FAME
- Devon Wills was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in January after a remarkable collegiate and professional career.
- An Ivy League athlete, Wills studied and played at Dartmouth where she left her mark in the cage. Wills was named to the All-Ivy team in all four years as a member of the Big Green and was also a three-time IWLCA All-America Second-Team honoree.
- Professionally, Wills became the first female player to be drafted to the Major Lacrosse League after being selected by the Long Island Lizards. Wills was also selected by the Long Island Sound with the second overall pick in the inaugural United Women's Lacrosse League Draft. Wills led her club to the first-ever UWLX championship after posting an 8.29 GAA and a 6-1 record. Wills made eight saves in the championship game in a 13-8 victory where she was named MVP.
HARVARD PICKED FOURTH IN IVY PRESEASON POLL
- Harvard was picked to finish fourth in the 2024 Ivy League Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll, the league announced earlier this week.Â
IVY LEAGUE WOMEN'S LACROSSE PRESEASON POLL
- 1. Penn | 128 Points
- 2. Princeton | 102 PointsÂ
- 3. Yale | 96 PointsÂ
- 4. HARVARD | 95 PointsÂ
- 5. Cornell | 55 PointsÂ
- 6. Dartmouth | 48 PointsÂ
- 7. Brown | 45 PointsÂ
- 8. Columbia | 17 PointsÂ
APPROACHING MILESTONESÂ
- Senior Riley Campbell is currently sitting at 76 career points as she looks to become the second player on the roster with 100 career points.Â
- Not far behind is junior Caroline Mullahy, who will also look to break the 100-point mark this season as she is only 28 points away. Â
ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST ON THE DRAWÂ
- Shattering her career best of 16 in 2022, Maddie Barkate recorded 102 draw controls last season which was good for 13th in the nation.Â
- One of only two athletes in the top 15 nationally with under 15 games played, Barkate averaged 6.80 draw controls per game.Â
CAMPBELL AND KOFMAN ELECTED CAPTAINS
- Last fall, Devon Wills, The Carole Kleinfelder Head Coach for Harvard Women's Lacrosse, announced that seniors Riley Campbell and Ilana Kofman will serve as captains for the 2024 season.
- Campbell, an attack from Madison, N.J., earned All-Ivy League Second-Team honors her first full season on the team, after her first campaign was cut short due to injury. Starting in 14Â of 15 games, Campbell was essential to the lineup, scoring the second most goals on the team.
- Kofman, a midfielder from Longmeadow, Mass., became a regular contributor in 2023, recording 12 goals in 15 games played. Kofman is also a leader in controlling ground balls, being credited with 21.Â
UP NEXT
Harvard will head to Washington D.C., to play against Georgetown next Friday (Feb. 23) at 4:00 p.m.
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