The women's lacrosse team will cap off its regular season this weekend as they take on the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins at Chase Field on Saturday.
The match is sure to be a battle between champions since the Terps clinched the ACC title on April 20 with a narrow 11-10 win over Virginia while the ninth-ranked Big Green earned a share of the Ivy League title with a 15-9 victory over Harvard three days later.
The Terrapins, who will be shooting for their third consecutive national title, will enter the match with a near-perfect 17-1 record for the season. Several weeks ago, Loyola, MD snapped Maryland's 50-game win streak with a 7-6 victory.
The bottom line is that while their lofty reputation is well deserved, the Terps are not invincible.
"Maryland's a very solid team," Dartmouth Head Coach Amy Patton said. "But right now, there's such parity between all the nation's top teams that anybody can upset any other team."
Coming off two huge victories, the Big Green are psyched and confident they can put up a fight in their regular season finale.
"Lately, we've been executing perfectly," Emily Fenwick '00 said. "So I think we're fully prepared for the Maryland game." Fenwick led the Big Green with five goals and one assist against Vermont on Wednesday.
Beating the Terrapins will be no easy task for the Big Green. Maryland's attack line is led by senior All-American Sarah Forbes, who currently has 50 goals and 33 assists on the season. She connects on about 50% of her shots on net.
Dartmouth's defense will also have to keep an eye on Maryland's Cathy Nelson and Sascha Newmarch. Newmarch is second in team scoring so far with 39 goals while Nelson has found the net 35 times this year in course of 18 games.
The Big Green offense is more evenly spread out as four different players have hit the 20-goal mark this season. Senior tri-captain Kim Mendelson and junior Julia Morrill top the Dartmouth scoring charts this season with 24 goals each.
According to the numbers, both teams have what it takes to find the net and light up the scoreboard.
"It'll definitely be an exciting game to watch," Patton said. "We'll be ready for them."
Saturday's match will also be critical in deciding Dartmouth's fate in the post-season.
"If we beat Maryland, we're in the NCAA Tournament," Patton said. "A loss would put us on the fringe, but I don't think it would put us out of the picture."
For Patton, Saturday's game will be a chance to take on her alma mater (she's a Maryland '88) and a chance to go head-to-head with her ex-high school coach, Cindy Timchal, who's now head coach of the Terps.
"Cindy coached me in high school and I have yet to beat her," Patton said. "So this weekend will be a great chance to change all that," she added with a smile.
The last time the Big Green knocked off a No. 1 team was in 1994 when they beat the then-top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers at home in Hanover. Saturday will be a chance to repeat that feat.
"We've got a great opportunity this weekend," tri-Captain Andrea Krumholz '97 said. "We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. There's no question we'll come out fired up and ready to win."
The opening draw is at noon on Saturday at Chase Field.
