Curtis, Neyland Propel 'Cats Past Merrimack, 15-9

Tuesday, February 11

Durham, N.H.

2:30 PM

University of New Hampshire

1-0

Merrimack

0-2

Merrimack

New Hampshire

Photo by: Matthew Troisi

2/11/2020 9:18:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

By: UNH Wildcats

DURHAM, N.H. -- Emily Curtis (Walpole, Mass.) and Julia Neyland (Boxborough, Mass.) recorded five points apiece to propel the University of New Hampshire women's lacrosse team to Tuesday afternoon's 15-9 victory against Merrimack College at Tucker Field.

Curtis, who did not record a point last year as a freshman, scored five goals while Neyland tallied four goals and an assist to match her career high of five points.

Elizabeth Blanding (Pittsford, N.Y.; 2g, 1a) and Lily Powell (Marcellus, N.Y.; 2g) also tallied multiple points for the Wildcats.

Amanda Gottlieb (Canton, Conn.) entered the game at halftime and stopped 6 of 10 shots on goal to record her first career win.

MC was led offensively by Ally DaCosta's two goals and one assist. Tammy Nguyen was credited with seven saves.

UNH, which outscored the Warriors 10-4 in the second half, is 1-0 and Merrimack, in its first year at Division I, is now 0-2.

UP NEXT / NEXT HOME GAME

* New Hampshire returns to action Feb. 16 (12 p.m.) at Iona College. The Wildcats' next home game is Feb. 23 (1 p.m.) vs. UConn.

FIRST HALF

* The Warriors jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals 52 seconds apart by Olivia Colletti (at 27:10) and Natalie Callkins (26:18).

* Curtis rolled deep on the left wing and scored at the doorstep to lift the 'Cats within 2-1 at 17:35.

* DaCosta's goal at 13:27 reestablished a two-goal lead for the Warriors.

* UNH responded with a goal 57 seconds later, however, when Blanding drove down the middle of the fan.

* DaCosta struck again at 9:31 to give MC its third two-goal lead of the game, 4-2.

* The Wildcats scored three consecutive goals in 87 seconds to take a 5-4 lead. Neyland cut from the right side to the top of the fan to trim the deficit to one goal at 6:47, then Curtis potted her second goal of the game to level the score at 6:16. From the right wing, Neyland found Riley Burns (Fayetteville, N.Y.) in front and she deposited a behind-the-back shot into the net for UNH's first lead of the game, 5-4, at 5:25.

* Taylor Darrell struck at 2:45 to send the teams into halftime tied 5-5.

SECOND HALF

* Nelyand finished a feed from Katie Taranto (Brewster, N.Y.) to put the 'Cats back on top, 6-5, at 27:16 and Powell curled from behind the net around the left post to score from close range and extend the margin to two goals at 25:35.

* The Warriors called time out and Darrell converted a free position into a goal that lifted the visitors within 7-6 at 24:19.

* UNH was issued a yellow card on that play, but Neyland broke free down the middle of the field in transition and scored to give the 'Cats an 8-6 lead at 23:43.

* Curtis followed with her third goal of the game when she cut down the middle and deposited a shot inside the right post at 19:25.

* Blanding struck again at 16;37 on another drive down the middle to extend the advantage to 10-6.

* MC scored on back-to-back goals by Colletti and Calkins to pull within 10-8 at 12:40.

* Delaney Pratt (Lafayette, Colo.) scored near side on a free position from the left wing at 11:47, and Powell also converted a free position from the left side into a goal at 10:28 to push the margin back to four goals, 12-8.

* Megan Dzialo scored 30 seconds later, but Gottlieb held MC scoreless the final 9:58.

* Neyland netted her fourth goal of the game when she ripped a shot from the middle of the fan into the upper-right corner at 8:38 to give momentum back to the Wildcats.

* Curtis capped the scoring with tallies at 4:56 and 2:43.

UNH NOTEBOOK

* This was the first game ever played at Tucker Field, the new facility for women's lax and both soccer teams.

* It was the first goal and point as a Wildcat for Burns, a sophomore who transferred from Virginia Tech.

* Taranto tallied a point in her collegiate debut with an assist.

* Five 'Cats recorded three ground balls. They were Blanding, Powell, Meghan Doyle (Pittsford, N.Y.), Taylor Dudek (Amherst, N.H.) and Michele Smith (Wantagh, N.Y).

* Caroline Hernon (Hampton, N.H.) finished with three caused turnovers, two draw controls and one ground ball.

* Ava Schroeder (Niskayuna, N.Y.) had a team-high four draw controls in her first game as a Wildcat.

* Jessie Hounchell (Manchester, N.H.) started in her UNH debut.

* Issy Torres (Elmhurst, Ill.) made her 18th consecutive start in goal. She made three saves and allowed five goals in the first half.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

* New Hampshire recorded the edge in shots (29-26), ground balls (21-17) and turnovers (19-22).

* Merrimack recorded a 14-12 advantage in draw controls that included 10-5 in the second half.

* UNH scored on 2 of 6 free-position shots. The Warriors were 4-for-6.

* The Wildcats were a perfect 9-for-9 on second-half clear attempts and 15-18 overall; MC was 11-20.

* Neither team scored a player-up goal but both teams netted a player-down goal. The Warriors had five player-up opportunities in comparison to UNH's two.

SERIES HISTORY

* This was the first ever meeting between the New Hampshire and Merrimack women's lacrosse programs.