The winner will truly take all in this, the women lacrosse team's final match-up of the regular season. Tomorrow when Dartmouth hosts Maryland, the two teams will battle for the highly coveted number one ranking in the nation.
"I'm very excited," Dartmouth Coach Amy Patton said in anticipation of tomorrow's game. "Both teams should be coming into their peak. If both teams play up to their potential, it should be a very good game."
"All I want is for us to come out fired up and to have fun playing lacrosse," co-Captain Lauren Holleran '95 said. "I think we've been prepared extremely well for this game and if we come out ready to play there should be some great lacrosse out there from both teams."
As yet undefeated in its 14 games this season, number one ranked Maryland's most recent victim, number two Princeton, fell Tuesday in a 9-8 decision.
"Princeton played very tough and very scrappy," Patton said. "We need to do the same thing. I think, too, we need to go out from the very start. We can't have lapses. Maryland will take full advantage of that. Most importantly, we need to come out and play consistently for the full 60 minutes to win the game."
Dartmouth also comes into the game on a winning streak. The Big Green have lost none of their past seven games, and have only lost one game all season, to Penn State.
Dartmouth has proven its ability to come out of the locker room strong. The Big Green have outscored their opposition 92-35 in the first half this season.
Chase Fields will see some of the nation's most talented women's lacrosse players, coming from both Dartmouth and Maryland.
"As an athlete, that's what you thrive on, going against that strong team," Patton said.
Maryland's major weapon is center Kelly Amonte. Amonte, a junior, leads her team this season with 68 points, 44 goals and 24 assists. Her three-year career total of 198 points seats Amonte fourth on Maryland's all-time scoring list.
While Amonte may be a threat to Dartmouth's security, she will meet her match tomorrow. Amonte falls just behind Holleran in four categories of scoring: total points, points per game, goals scored and goals per game.Holleran boasts 5.4 points per game while Amonte tallies 4.8.
Dartmouth must also look to control Maryland's Karen MacCrate and lone senior Laura Harmon, who trail Amonte in scoring this season. MacCrate has notched 40 points, half goals and half assists, while Harmon has 37 points, including 30 goals.
Not to be overlooked is Maryland's Jamie Brodsky who will start between the posts. Brodsky, a junior, is among the nation's best, posting a .686 save percentage.
As for Dartmouth, Holleran leads the team in scoring with 49 goals. Holleran has been named the Ivy League's Offensive Player of the Week three times in seven weeks.
Dartmouth will also count on strong midfield transitions from co-Captain Mya Mangawang '95 and intense defense from Jenny Edwards '95, Lauren Demski '96 and Andrea Krumholz '97.
Starting goalie Kirsten Prettyman '95, before Tuesday's UNH game, posted a .590 save percentage. She was stellar against UNH, saving 18.
"We have to shut down their fast break. The key to us, I think, is going to be that we play as a team. Our team defense can't become focused on matching up. We can't get wrapped up on what Maryland's doing. We have to go out and play our game. That will be the difference between whether we win or lose," Patton said.
"This time last year Virginia came in and we sent them home unhappy. Princeton came in this year ranked number one and we sent them home unhappy. I'd like to send Maryland home unhappy, too," Patton said.
