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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Princeton's 24th NCAA Appearance Begins with UMass
May 12, 2016 | Women's Lacrosse
| NCAA First Round: Princeton vs. UMass |
|
| Gametime | Friday, May 13 at 4 p.m. l Tickets & Spectator Info |
| Site | Schoellkopf Field/ Cornell University / Ithaca, N.Y. |
| Game Coverage | Ivy League Digital Network (free) l Live Stats |
| Twitter: @PUTigers_Live | |
| Series Info | First meeting |
| Records | Princeton (11-5); UMass (18-1) |
| Princeton | Roster l Schedule l Stats l @princetonwlax |
| UMass |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l @umasslacrosse l Preview |
PRINCETON, N.J. (5/4/16) - The Princeton women's lacrosse team makes its 24th NCAA appearance this weekend when it faces UMass for the first time in program history. The first round game will be on Friday, May 13 at 4 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field on the Cornell campus.
Parking notice: Tailgating will be allowed in the upper C lot only from 2:30-7 p.m., on a space available basis (no advance sales) - cost is $10. Spectator parking before 5 p.m., is available on an hourly basis in the Bartels Hall metered lot. Parking after 5 p.m., is open in the Hoy Parking Garage or in the Kite Hill lot, both adjacent to Schoellkopf Field.
EYE ON THE TIGERS
Princeton reaches its 24th NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid after winning its third Ivy League title in three years and 12th overall with a 6-1 mark. The Tigers are 11-5 overall and are ranked No. 16 in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 14 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll. Princeton is No. 8 in the NCAA RPI and No. 9 in the NCAA Toughest Schedule Report – the highest ranked Ivy League squad in both.
The Orange & Black average 10.06 goals per game and limit teams to 8.69. They dish out 22.7 shots per game, convert 43.7 percent of their eight-meter shots and clear at a rate of 89 percent.
The Ivy League Defender of the Year and Tewaaraton Top-25 nominee junior Ellie DeGarmo backstops the Tigers. She has the best save percentage in the country at 55 percent and sports an 8.73 goals against average. Right in front of her is veteran defense that has spent nearly three years together. One of those defenders, junior Madeline Rodriguez leads the team with 24 draw controls and 29 ground balls, while fellow defender captain Liz Bannantine has a team-best 20 caused turnovers. Both were named All-Ivy League, along with junior Amanda Leavell who adds 25 ground balls, 19 draws and 18 caused turnovers – not to mention nine points.
Offensively, the team is led by Tewaaraton Top-25 and unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection Olivia Hompe. Hompe has 45 goals and 11 assists for 56 points. Behind her is feeder sophomore Colby Chanenchuk. She has 21 assists and has scored six times for 27 points. Classmate Ellie McNulty adds 18 goals and six assists for 24 points, while senor Anya Gersoff is one point back with 23 on 17 goals and six assists. Sophomore Abby Finkelston and senior Stephanie Paloscio both add 20+ points apiece as well.
SCOUTING THE MINUTEWOMEN
UMass is 18-1 overall with its lone loss being a one-goal loss at No. 14 Boston College on March 2. The Minutewomen went undefeated in the Atlantic-10 at 9-0 to earned the league's auto bid to the NCAAs. UMass is ranked No. 17 in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 12 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll. The team's RPI is No. 19 while its schedule hasn't been judged as the strongest coming in at No. 81 on the NCAA Toughest Schedule report. UMass faced two ranked opponents this season, besides BC, the squad topped No. 20 UConn 15-6 on the road.
The Minutewomen average 14.63 goals per game and allow 6.32 goals per game. They rank third in both scoring offense and scoring defense in the nation. The average 30.6 shots per game, convert 48 percent of their free positions and clear at a clip of 90 percent. They also outdraw their opponents, an average of 5.7 more draw controls per game, cause 3.3 more turnovers, and earn 5.2 more ground balls per game than their opponents.
With 47 percent of their goals being assisted upon, UMass averages the second most points per game in the NCAA at 22.47. Leading that offense is Erika Eipp with 36 goals and 50 assists for 86 points. Holly Turner has 67 points on 32 goals and 35 assists. However neither has the most goals on the team. That honor belongs to Nicole Troost. Troost has scored 42 times and adds five assists. Eileen McDonald and Hannah Murphy chip in 44 points apiece and Callie Santos is one back with 42. Hannah Burnett has also reached 40 points as well. Murphy is responsible for a large majority of her team's draw controls, 138 of 267, that's more than 50 percent. Kate Farnham is the team leader in caused turnovers with 30 and ground balls with 40. Murphy has also won 40 ground balls. UMass utilizes a two-goalie system. They have started Sam Walters in all 19 games and have had her in for the entire first half, then replaced her every single game with Aileen Kelly to play the second half. Both have equally impressive numbers. Walters has a .475 save percentage and a 6.74 GAA, while Kelly has a .509 save percentage and a 5.89 GAA.