No. 13 Orange Hosts No. 3 Dartmouth Today
2/27/2006 9:38:58 AM | Women's Lacrosse
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The 13th-ranked Orange, a 15-9 winner against Harvard on Saturday, plays host to No. 3 Dartmouth today, Feb. 27, at the Carrier Dome. Dartmouth knocked SU out of the NCAA Tournament last year by winning 9-8 in the first round. The game begins at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by Time Warner Sports 26. Chris Watson and Kathy Taylor will be on the call.
Syracuse Hosts Dartmouth In NCAA Rematch
Syracuse welcomes the Dartmouth Big Green to the Salt City on Feb. 27 in a game televised by Time Warner Sports. Chris Watson of News10Now will provide the play-by-play, while Fayetteville-Manlius High School coach Kathy Taylor will be the color analyst. The game is the only one that will be televised for the Orange this season.
Last season, Dartmouth eliminated SU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Hanover, N.H. by edging the Orange, 9-8. SU led 7-4 at halftime, but the Big Green scored five unanswered goals to begin the second en route to its victory. With the loss, the Orange dropped to 0-5 in the NCAA Tournament. Caitlyn Dragon scored a goal and assisted on two others in the loss. Meghan O’Connell and Jill DePetris both scored a pair of goals for the Orange.
Orange Slated To Play 11 Games In The Loud House
The 2005 schedule features 11 home games, which is the most since SU played 11 at home in 2001. The Orange went 10-5 that season. SU also hosts seven-consecutive home games in the month of March, which will be the longest home stand in the program’s nine-year history. The schedule consists of six teams that competed in last year’s Women’s Lacrosse Championship, including defending national champion Northwestern and national runner-up Virginia.
Freshmen Propel Orange Past Harvard
Freshmen Kathryn Rowan and Megan Mosenson combined for seven goals in their first collegiate game as the No. 13 Orange defeated Harvard, 15-9, in its season opener on Feb. 25 at the Carrier Dome. Rowan netted four goals while Mosenson had three and assisted on another.
Junior Gaddy Fortune contributed three goals in the win. Senior Caitlyn Dragon and junior Jill DePetris both had a pair of tallies. Sophomore Kristin Brady picked up a career-high 10 ground balls in the game.
SU dominated the first half of play as it outshot the Crimson 23-3 and jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the break. Mosenson got in on the action immediately as she helped Dragon score the first goal of the game 10 minutes in. Kaitlin Martin made the most of a free position shot to notch the game, 1-1, at the 18:24 mark. The freshmen classmates led the Orange charge after the Harvard tally as they combined for SU’s next three goals. Rowan had two of them. After Natalie Curtis cut the run short and pulled Harvard within two, 4-2, the Orange closed out the half by scoring four unanswered goals. Fortune sparked the run with a pair of shots that got past the Harvard keeper.
In the second half, SU secured the win by scoring five of the first seven goals to take a 13-4 lead with 15:25 remaining. Mosenson had two of the goals during that stretch. The Crimson made a late run by scoring five of the next seven goals from the 13:29 marker on. Liz Gamble provided Harvard with three of those goals.
The Syracuse-Dartmouth Series
Dartmouth took both of the games last year between these two teams. In their regular season matchup on April 12 in Darmouth, the Big Green won 14-8. Later in the season, Dartmouth ousted SU from the NCAA Tournament with a 9-8 win.
Syracuse vs. Dartmouth Series Information
All-Time Series Dartmouth leads, 5-2
First Meeting May 6, 2000 (Syracuse 18, Harvard 9)
Last Meeting April 12, 2005 (Dartmouth 9, Syracuse 8)
Current Streak: Dartmouth, 3
Scouting The Big Green
Dartmouth returns 18 student-athletes from the 2005 squad that advanced to the NCAA semifinals before bowing out to Northwestern. Despite losing its top scorer in Katieanne Christain, Dartmouth has six returners that scored at least 20 points last season. Whitney Douthett registered 31 goals and 31 assists in 2005. Kristen Barry notched 32 goals. Sarah Szefi, Annie Leibovitz, Jen Pittman, and Kristen Zimmer all recorded over 20 points for head coach Amy Patton. Patton is in her 14th season in Hanover and has accumulated a record of 149-58.
Dragon Returns After Stellar 2005 Season
Caitlyn Dragon, currently enrolled in graduate school at Syracuse, returns for one more season in Orange after completing one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2005. The Jackson, N.J. product finished fifth on the all-time single-season ledger with 40 goals and 55 points. Her 15 assists ranks ninth all-time in a single season. Dragon missed the 2003 season and earned a medical redshirt for the time she missed.
Going into last year, Dragon had compiled just seven goals in her previous three years. She played in just 15 games from 2002-2004. Last season, she played in 16 of the Orange’s 17 games. For her efforts, she was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Dragon also earned IWLCA/US Lacrosse Division 1 North All-Region First Team honors and was named a third-team All-American. This season, she earned Preseason All-BIG EAST honors.
O’Connell Brings Back 32 Goals From A Year Ago
Senior Meghan O’Connell, a Preseason All-BIG EAST honoree, returns for her final year on The Hill. Her 32 goals last season was third behind Monica Joines’ 43 and Caitlyn Dragon’s 40. O’Connell also contributed two assists. Her goal output was better than her first two years combined, as she scored 19 in 2003 and 2004. She also only had one assist in her first two previous years. Against Colgate and Brown, the Camillus, N.Y. native scored a career-high four goals. In 2005, O’Connell was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection.
DePetris Rounds Out Preseason All-BIG EAST Class
Junior Jill DePetris was also named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. In 2005, she started all 17 games and recorded 18 goals and seven assists. She also led the team in ground balls with 36. Her 18 goals topped her 2004 total by one. In her two seasons in Orange, the Radnor, Pa. product has not missed a game, starting all 32 contests.
Queen Of The Kasel
Senior Jen Kasel has proven herself as one of the most dominant goalkeepers in SU history. Her 119 saves last season was the fifth-highest total in a single season. The previous year, she stopped 181 shots, just five behind the single-season leader, Clothilde Ewing. On the all-time ledger, the Mountain Lakes, N.J. native ranks second in saves with 300 in her career. The all-time leader in that category is Carla Gigon, who saved 475 shots in her illustrious career.
Kasel also made a mark in the single-game saves record books. On April 3 of 2003, she stopped 23 shots against Rutgers in a 15-5 victory. Ewing holds the record for saves in a game with 25. She achieved the feat on the same exact day in 1999.
Kasel has started every game in net the last two seasons for the Orange.
Singing A Melody
Senior Melody Agnew, a native of Winchester, Mass., couldn’t help but let her teammates score a year ago. She compiled 25 assists in 2005, the second-highest single-season total in school history. She also added 16 goals as she started all 17 games, which placed her third on the team in scoring. Kim Wayne is the only other student-athlete in Orange history who has amassed more assists in a season. She notched 25 helpers in 2003, and holds the record for assists in a season with 33 in 2002.
Before last season, Agnew had registered just four assists in her career and those all came in 2004. On the all-time career list, she ranks fourth with Kara Hanover who also totaled 29. Katrina Hable is next on the list with 56 dimes.
Brady Picking Up The Slack
Sophomore Kristin Brady snagged every loose ball she could against Harvard as she picked up a career-high 10 ground balls in the 15-9 triumph. In the 13 games she played in last season, she recorded just two ground balls.
Ain’t Nothin’ But A "D" Thing
Syracuse brings back every starter from last year’s defense that allowed a mere 8.76 goals per game, which ranked 18th in the nation. Junior Melissa Pearsall and sophomore Bridget Looney led the team in caused turnovers with 21. Pearsall started every game a year ago and and was third on the team with 30 ground balls. Looney participated in every game last season, starting 14. She was also second on the team in draw controls with 24 and picked up 22 ground balls.
The Orange also returns sophomore Stephanie Bissett, who played in 16 games in 2005 and started 14.
2005 Orange Among Nation’s Best
Syracuse ranked among the country’s elite in team stats in 2005. Here is a breakdown of the ledgers:
Scoring Offense: 12.06 (13th)
Scoring Defense: 8.76 (18th)
Scoring Margin: 3.29 (14th)
Win Percentage: .706 (13th)
