'Cats Return to Nutmeg State to Play CCSU (March 1) & Fairfield (March 3)

2019 UNH Women's Lacrosse
New Hampshire (2-1) at Central Connecticut State (1-2)
Friday, March 1 • Arute Field • New Britain, Conn. • 3 p.m.
Video • Live Stats

New Hampshire (2-1) at Fairfield (3-2)
Sunday, March 3 • Rafferty Stadium • Fairfield, Conn. • 1 p.m.
Video • Live Stats

The Matchup vs. Central Connecticut State

UNH and Central Connecticut State have met just once, and that was last year's 13-4 win against the Blue Devils in the season opener at Bremner Field. Recap • Box
In that game, UNH held CCSU scoreless the last 17:45 of the game to close on a 6-0 run that transformed a 7-4 lead into a 13-4 victory.
UNH recorded the edge in shots (29-10), ground balls (25-19) and draw controls (9-8).

The Matchup vs. Fairfield

UNH has a 5-6 lifetime record against Fairfield. The Stags have won three straight and six of the last seven matchups against the Wildcats.
Last year at Bremner Field, the score was tied 9-9 midway through the second half but Fairfield closed the game on a 6-0 run, including five goals in the last five minutes, to pull away for a 15-9 victory. • Recap • Box
Two years ago at Rafferty Stadium, Fairfield prevailed 10-5; the Stags built a 4-0 lead and took a 6-1 advantage into halftime. • Recap • Box
UNH's most recent win in the series was March 6, 2015 (9-7).
These programs have met annually since 2010. They also played in '04 and '05.

Torres Tabbed America East Rookie of the Week

Freshman goalkeeper Issy Torres was honored as America East Rookie of the Week on Monday.
Torres stopped 17 of 33 shots on goal in two road games last week to record two wins, an 8.87 GAA and .515 save percentage.
She also corralled three ground balls in both games against Sacred Heart University and UConn.
Torres made 13 saves, including one with 66 seconds remaining, to backbone UNH to a 13-12 victory at UConn that marked the Wildcats' first win vs. the Huskies since 2014. She recorded six first-half saves to help New Hampshire build a 10-5 halftime lead.
Torres stopped 4 of 8 shots on goal at Sacred Heart to earn her first collegiate win. She exited the game with New Hampshire holding a 12-4 lead at 11:49 of the second half.

The State of New Hampshire

UNH, led by seventh-year head coach Sarah Albrecht, enters the weekend with a 2-1 overall record that includes 2-0 on the road.
The Wildcats were also in the Nutmeg State last weekend and returned home to the Granite State with a 16-5 win against Sacred Heart and 13-12 victory vs. UConn.
UNH is averaging 11.67 goals per game on a .427 shooting percentage; opponents are at 10.33 gpg with a .352 shooting percentage.
Eight Wildcats have started all three games.
Three 'Cats have scored a goal all three games; they are Mickenzie Larivee, Devan Miller and Catherine Sexton.
New Hampshire's 26-player roster is comprised of three grad students, four seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and 10 freshmen.
Senior defender Elise Chandler is the lone captain of the 2019 squad.

Strong Second-Half Surge at Sacred Heart

New Hampshire outscored the Pioneers 12-2 in the second half to record a 16-5 win last Friday.
Rylee Leonard gave the Wildcats momentum into halftime on a goal with eight seconds on the clock that gave the 'Cats a 4-3 lead. She finished the game with three goals and four points, both of which are career highs.
Mickenzie Larivee scored five goals, all in the second half.
Michele Smith recorded career highs in both assists (three) and points (four); she has five points (3g, 2a) in three games.
Abby Cranney recorded her first career point with a free-position goal.
Lily Powell also tallied her first collegiate point on a goal.

Impressive First Half Builds Foundation for Win at UConn

UNH built a 10-4 first-half lead and held on for a 13-12 victory at UConn last Sunday.
Catherine Sexton recorded all five points (3g, 2a) in the first half.
Rylee Leonard tallied all four points (1g, 3a) in the first half. The three assists and four points matched her career highs.
Lily Powell had her first multiple-point game with two goals; she has scored three goals on four shots this season.

Immediate Impact

Senior attacker Mickenzie Larivee, a transfer from Boston University, has made an immediate impact on the 'Cat attack.
Larivee is the team leader in goals (nine) and points (10). She ranks second in shots (17).
Larivee scored three goals in her UNH debut vs. Harvard on Feb. 16. She reached the career 100-point milestone with the last of those three tallies.
Larivee fueled UNH's second-half surge at Sacred Heart with five goals.

Back With a Vengeance

Both senior Devan Miller and junior Rylee Leonard were sidelined by injury in 2018 and both have been point producers this season.
Miller is tied for second on the team in goals (six), assists (three) and points (nine). She has scored a goal and recorded three points every game.
Miller has a team-high 18 shots.
Leonard established a career-high four points last Friday and matched that total two days later. She scored a career-high three goals at Sacred Heart and followed that with a personal best of three assists at UConn.

Senior Scoring

Senior attacker Catherine Sexton is tied for second on the team in goals (six), assists (three) and points (nine).
Sexton has scored her six goals on eight shots for a team-high .750 shooting percentage.

Getting Possession

Freshman defender Meghan Doyle leads the 'Cats in ground balls with nine.
Classmates Abby Cranney and Issy Torres, as well as senior captain Elise Chandler, are tied for second with six ground balls each.
Chandler has a team-leading six caused turnovers. Doyle has four, and Tatum Benesh three.
Sophomore Caroline Hernon has 10 draw controls, including six last Sunday at UConn. She had two DCs each of the first two games.
Freshman Delaney Pratt (eight) and Cranney (five) rank 2-3 in draws.

Defensive Spotlight

Elise Chandler has produced solid numbers early in the season. She recorded a personal-best three caused turnovers in the opener vs. Harvard and also had a career-high four ground balls Sunday at UConn.
Freshman Meghan Doyle has been consistent despite her youth. She recorded four GBs and one CTO in her collegiate debut vs. Harvard. Doyle followed that with three GBs and two CTOs at Sacred Hearth, then two GBs and a CTO at UConn.
Classmate Abby Cranney had a breakout weekend. She recorded three ground balls in both games. She also had four draw controls, one caused turnover and a goal at Sacred Heart.
Taylor Dudek, yet another freshman, came off the bench in the opener but started both games last weekend. She tallied two ground balls and a caused turnover at Sacred Heart, then one of each at UConn.

Last Line of Defense

Freshman goalie Issy Torres has started all three games and played 168:11 of a possible 180 minutes. She is 2-1 with a 10.70 GAA and .508 save percentage.
Torres made 14 saves in her collegiate debut vs. Harvard.

Free & Clear

New Hampshire has scored on 8 of 16 free-position shots; in comparison, the opponents are 9-for-24 (37.5%).
UNH has been highly effective on clear attempts at 88.1 percent (52 of 59), whereas opponents have struggled at 73.0 percent (46 of 63).

Wildcat Debuts

A total of 10 players (one senior, nine freshmen) made their Wildcat debuts in the season opener.
The first-time 'Cats in the starting lineup were Doyle, Larivee, Masseur, Torres, Abby Cranney and Delaney Pratt.
The other Wildcats who made their debuts were Emily Curtis, Taylor Dudek, Lily Powell and Adena Rothbard.

Made of Granite

There are five Granite State natives on New Hampshire's roster, and that includes three Wildcats from Amherst: freshmen Taylor Dudek and Abby Cranney, and senior Mickenzie Larivee.
Junior Caroline Hernon calls Hampton home.
Sophomore Gabby Masseur hails from Nashua.

At the Polls

UNH was selected fourth in the 2019 America East Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll with 32 points, just behind Binghamton University at 33.
Stony Brook received 49 points and all seven possible first-place votes; UAlbany tallied 41 points and the other first-place vote.
UNH was followed by UMBC (28 points), Vermont (20), UMass Lowell (14) and Hartford (7).

Scouting Central Connecticut State

CCSU (New Britain, Conn.) has a 1-2 overall record. Friday is the home opener.
The Blue Devils are coming off a 16-6 loss at Niagara University on Feb. 23.
They opened the season with a 20-3 loss at Holy Cross, then defeated Hartford, 11-8.
CCSU has scored 20 goals (6.67 gpg) and the opponents have scored 47 (14.67 gpg).
Opponents have a .407 shooting percentage against the Blue Devils, while CCSU has a .328 shooting percentage.
Senior midfielder Carson Adelberger leads the team in goals (six) with a .400 shooting percentage; she has a team-high 15 shots and is second in points (six).
Junior attacker Morgan Sinton leads the team in assists (four) and points (seven); she is second in shots (11) and third in goals (three).
Freshman midfielder Jessica Denike ranks second in goals (four).
Sophomore defender Olivia Prizzi has a team-high five caused turnovers and ranks second on the squad in ground balls (10).
Senior defender Jane Henry leads the team in draw controls (nine) and also has nine ground balls, which ranks third.
Senior goalkeeper Jackie Branthover has started all three games and played all 180 minuts. She has stopped 35 of 79 shots on goal for a 14.67 GAA and .443 save percentage. Branthover has a team-high 11 ground balls.

Scouting Fairfield

Fairfield University (Fairfield, Conn.) has a 3-2 overall record that includes 1-1 at home.
The Stags are coming off Wednesday's 16-5 loss at Boston University. BU led 8-4 at halftime and outscore the visitors 16-5 in the second half.
Fairfield opened the year with three consecutive wins vs. Holy Cross (13-9), UConn (13-7) and Columbia (14-12) before falling to Hofstra (20-11).
Brooke Gallagher is the leader in assists (eight) and points (15); her seven goals is tied for third.
Meaghan Graham, who also has seven goals, ranks second in both assists (seven) and points (14).
Taylor Mitchell and Jillian Winwood rank 1-2 atop the goals leaderboard with 13 and 12, respectively. Mitchell has 14 points, Winwood 13.
Caroline Magnan has a team-high 13 ground balls and is tied for the team lead in caused turnovers (12).
Maggie Reynolds also has 12 caused turnovers.
Erin Mammele is the leader in draw controls with 17.
Olivia Conquest has stopped 59 of 123 shots on goal in 300 minutes for a 12.80 GAA and .480 save percentage.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results