Bad memories linger around the heads of Dartmouth women's lacrosse players when they think of the Blue Devils.
Duke not only snapped then second-ranked Dartmouth's 10-game winning streak back on April 28 with a 11-8 heartbreaker, but also the loss was the beginning of the Big Green's three-game losing streak. Those losses forced the Dartmouth squad down to the ninth seed and now the Green have to play the first round of NCAA tournament in the Devils' land, Durham, N.C.
The ninth-ranked Big Green (11-4) will travel to Duke tomorrow for a 3 p.m. match up against the seventh-ranked Blue Devils at Koskinen Stadium. The winner of the game advances to Final Four and faces No. 2 Princeton on Sunday.
History
Dartmouth, the 2000 Ivy League Champion, is making its third straight trip to the tournament. In 1998, the No. 4 seed Big Green had a first-round bye and defeated Loyola 9-8 at home in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Virginia knocked off Dartmouth, 10-7.
Last year, the No. 10 seed Big Green overpowered the Loyola Greyhounds, 20-7, before Virginia beat the Big Green, 20-8.
Duke, on the other hand, is hosting its second consecutive NCAA Tournament match. Last year, the Devils edged James Madison 11-10 and advanced to its first ever Final Four. Virginia handed Duke a 9-8 decision in the semifinals round.
Dartmouth leads the head-to-head match up 3-2, but Duke has won the past two meetings.
Duke boasts a 5-2 home record this season, while the Big Green post an identical 5-2 away record.
The Blue Devils
The Blue Devils hold a 10-5 record this season, but they lost to North Carolina in the Atlantic Athletic Conference (ACC) semifinals, 7-6. Duke has outscored the opponents 189 to 119. Dartmouth has outscored the opponents 196-127.
Three All-ACC players lead the Blue Devils' lineup -- Tricia Martin (senior attacker), Kate Kaiser (sophomore midfielder) and Shannon Chaney (senior goalkeeper).
Kaiser leads the team in points (43) and goals (38). Last year, she was named ACC Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, Martin captured her third straight All-ACC award while putting 33 goals and 42 points in the net.
Junior Kate Soulier has tallied team-leading 19 assists, while recording 39 points. Sophomore Kelly Dirks added 36 points and freshman Lauren Gallagher has notched 31 points.
In the net, goalie Chaney posts a .526 save percentage and an 8.30 goals against average.
Head coach Kerstin Kimel earned ACC Coach of the Year honor, as she has recorded 44-37 mark in the past five years, including 32 victories in the past three years.
In other women's lacrosse action, the Ivy league's third place Cornell hosts Sacred Heart in the ECAC playoff match as the top seed on Saturday.
