OPENING DRAW
Colgate closes its 2010 home schedule Saturday evening as it hosts Lehigh, at Tyler’s Field. The Raiders enter the contest riding a three-game win streak and have been victorious in five of their last six games. Prior to the opening draw, two seniors – Meghan Lawler and Alex Kuntz will be honored.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The Raiders will likely be paired with either Navy or Lehigh in the two versus three semifinal of the 2010 Patriot League Tournament. However, all three league games this weekend will have an impact on the seeds. Should Lehigh defeat Colgate, the Mountain Hawks will serve as the host for this year’s event and the Raiders would be the third seed. Should Colgate defeat Lehigh, Navy needs to beat Bucknell to gain the top seed. The Raiders still have faint hopes of hosting for the second consecutive season. For this to happen, they must beat Lehigh and hope Bucknell upsets Navy. The final game between American and Holy Cross will determine who gets the last spot in the tournament.
THE PROGRAM
Colgate started its women’s lacrosse program in 1974. Since its inception, it has posted a 323-220-4 overall record; won four Patriot League titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times as well. The Raiders posted their 300th victory in the program’s history with a 19-18 victory over Marist in a 2008 NCAA Tournament Play-in Game. Colgate notched a 17-4 record in the 1979 season, which stands as the most wins in a single season. The 2009 squad finished with a 14-5 overall mark, which set a school record for wins in a single season during the Division I era.
THE HEAD COACH
Heather Young, the 2009 Patriot League Coach of the Year, enters her fourth year at the helm of the Colgate program. Since being named the head coach prior to the 2007 season, she has piloted the program to a 40-34 record; back-to-back Patriot League titles and NCAA Tournament berths. In 2009, her squad defeated Navy 17-4 in the Patriot League title game and eventually finished 14-5 overall. The Raiders ranked among the nation’s top 10 as a defensive unit as well as boasting a top 15 scoring offense. In her three-years in Hamilton, Colgate has had 16 all-league selections – nine first team and seven second team mentions; two second team all-region honorees, as well as the 2009 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year – Maddie Kearns. Young has a career record of 55-65, which includes a three-year stint at Davidson.
LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Meghan Lawler posted a career high eight points on three goals and five assists, while Kate Bergstrom tied a career high with four goals as Colgate downed Bucknell for the eighth consecutive time with an 18-12 victory, last Saturday. The Raiders used a five-goal spurt in the opening half and ran into intermission with a 9-6 advantage. Holding a 13-10 lead, Colgate put the game away with three goals in a 2:51 stretch. Katie Sullivan scored three times in the victory, while Colleen Bubnack added two goals and three helpers.
QUICK HITTERS
After being held pointless versus Lafayette, junior Kate Bergstrom has seven goals in her last two outings. She tied a career-high with four goals in the victory at Bucknell. In her last six games, Colleen Bubnack (15-9-24) has three three-point and three five-point outings. With 26:30 remaining in the victory at Bucknell, Alex Kuntz posted her first collegiate assist. She assisted on Katie Sullivan’s second goal of the game. In her last three games, Courtney Miller has won 15 draw controls. Meghan Lawler is averaging six points per game in her last six games (15-21-36), including a career-high eight points at Bucknell. Quincey Spagnoletti has a six-game scoring streak on the line against Lehigh. The freshman has tallied eight goals in this recent stretch.
DOUBLE HONORS – CHAPTER II
For the second time this season, Courtney Miller and Christina Roa each garnered the Patriot League Offensive and Goalie of the Week honors in the same week. Miller’s nine goals, including the game winner versus Florida and Roa’s 29 saves versus Lafayette and the Gators gave them the nod. The last time this duo accomplished this feat together was on March 29 after their respective performances versus UAlbany and Marist. Colleen Bubnack (March 22) and most recently Meghan Lawler (April 19) are the only other Raider to receive a weekly award from the league office this season.
COLGATE AT A GLIMPSE
Colgate’s offensive attack focuses on three – Meghan Lawler (31-40-71), Colleen Bubnack (33-17-50) and Courtney Miller (32-10-42). Kate Bergstrom (21-5-26) joined the collection of players who have posted 20 or more goals on the year with a four-goal performance at Bucknell. Katie Sullivan (14-5-19) and Quincey Spagnoletti (14-3-17) round out the goal scorers with 10 or more on the year. Christina Roa (9-6, 165 saves) has played every minute in net, absent three. Five of the Raiders’ eight wins thus far have been close shaves – Stony Brook (10-9), American (11-9), George Mason (9-7), Holy Cross (14-13) and Florida (12-11). Six of their 15 games have been determined by two goals or less.
LEHIGH IN BRIEF
The Mountain Hawks come into their regular-season finale sporting a three-game win streak and a 12-3 overall mark. As a team, Lehigh ranks among the top 20 in three categories – 10th in scoring margin (+5.07), 10th in scoring defense (8.67) and is tied for 16th in scoring offense (13.73). Offensively, the Mountain Hawks possess a very balanced scoring attack with five different scorers posting 20 or more goals with the trio of Lauren Dykstra (45-7-52), Kelly Draper (33-15-48) and Allison Thomas (32-14-46) leading the charge. Two goalies have seen time in net. Mary Leah DiNisco (8-3, 79 saves) has seen the majority of action, however senior Kelsy Ferris (4-0, 45 saves) played well in Lehigh’s 15-7 victory over Navy last weekend with nine saves.
SERIES VERSUS LEHIGH
Colgate and Lehigh have played 27 times against one another with the Raiders holding a 17-10 lead in the series that got its start back in 1981. Actually, the schools didn’t face each other on an annual basis until 1986. The first meeting was played on State College, Pa. as part of the AIAW Division II Championships with the at the time Engineers prevailing 6-5. Colgate has outscored the Mountain Hawks 325-256 in all games. The Raiders have won eight of the last 10 meetings. Lehigh’s last win in Hamilton came in 1996. Five of the prior meetings have been determined by two goals or less.
ALL-TIME SCORING VERSUS LEHIGH
Three Raiders have posted at least one career point versus Lehigh in their respective careers. Senior Meghan Lawler (11-5-16) has had the most success versus the Mountain Hawks. Colleen Bubnack (4-4-8) and Courtney Miller (1-0-1) are the other two to post at least a point.
LAST TIME VERSUS LEHIGH
Lehigh snapped Colgate’s five-game winning streak with a 15-11 victory in Bethlehem last season. The Mountain Hawks, who were fighting for a spot in the Patriot League Tournament, jumped on the Raiders in the opening half and took a 10-3 lead into intermission. Colgate trailed 11-3 before scoring three consecutive goals to pull within five. Colleen Bubnack and Brie Moran each posted four point afternoons on two goals and two assists, while Meghan Lawler and Lizzie Kusbit also scored twice. Lauren Dykstra led Lehigh with six goals. The Mountain Hawks outshot Colgate 40-23. Christina Roa saved a career-high 19 in the loss for Colgate.
REWRITING HISTORY
With 6:52 remaining in the opening half of Colgate’s 15-8 victory at Lafayette, Meghan Lawler entered the Raider single-season record books for women’s lacrosse. Her assist on Quincey Spagnoletti’s 10th goal of the year was her 30th of the season, which broke Beth Hallenbeck’s former mark of 29 set back in the 1982 campaign. At the time, it was the oldest standing mark in the women’s lacrosse record book at Colgate. She enters this afternoon’s contest leading the nation in total assists (40) and assists per game (2.67). The senior’s pursuit for another record came to an end last Saturday. Her assist on Katie Sullivan’s 12th goal of the year with 20:17 left in the opening half broke Shari Krasnoo’s former record of 79 set between 1988-91. Currently, Lawler has 82 career assists.
SURPASSING 200
Meghan Lawler became the sixth player in school history to surpass the 200 career-point mark with her eight-point effort at Bucknell. Her 204 points is tied with former standout Angela Chongis for fifth on the all-time list and is four points away from moving into fourth. With at least two games remaining in the season (being assured of one game at the Patriot League Tournament), there is a good chance Lawler can nudge her way into the top three all time. She needs nine more points to pass Kelly Winning.
QUICK DRAW
Courtney Miller erased the single-season draw control record at Colgate by winning six in the victory at Bucknell. The sophomore heads into Saturday’s game versus Lehigh with 51 on the season. The former mark was set back in 2008 by current sophomore Colleen Bubnack (50). Miller has 92 draw controls in her first two seasons, which ranks seventh on Colgate’s all-time list. She is four away from passing Kate Manzella for sixth and seven from moving by Anne Currier from fifth.
.IN THE CREASE
When Christina Roa saved a season-high 16 versus Florida in the 12-11 victory, it marked her eighth consecutive game with 10 or more saves this season. The streak ended the following game with a two-save effort at Bucknell. The sophomore, who has 165 saves on the year, has 11 double digit save performances this year alone. She is seven saves shy of moving into a tie for ninth on the single season save list at Colgate with Sue Bielamowicz (2005) and Winnie Chao (1987). Earlier in the year, Roa became the ninth goalie in the program’s history to surpass the 200 save milestone. Her 251 saves in her career is 113 away from moving into eighth all-time. She posted a career-high 19 at Lehigh last year.
IN THE RANKINGS
Meghan Lawler, Christina Roa, Courtney Miller, Colleen Bubnack and Alex Kuntz are all among the top 50 nationally in statistical categories in the most recent NCAA Rankings.
Lawler - tied for 1st in total assists (40) and assists per game (.267), tied for 4th in points (71) and is tied for 6th in points per game (4.73 ppg).
Roa – tied for fourth in saves (165), sixth in saves per game (10.3), 17th in save percentage (.490) and 44th in goals against average (11.37 gaa)
Miller – tied for 15th in draw controls per game (3.40) and tied for 23rd in ground balls per game (2.73)
Bubnack – 40th in caused turnovers per game (1.64) and 42nd in ground balls per game (2.50)
Kuntz – tied for 46th in ground balls per game (2.47).
BACK TO BACK
On eight separate occasions, a Colgate player has scored back to back goals in the course of a game and four of these have been in less than a minute. Courtney Miller was the first to accomplish this versus then sixth-ranked Syracuse when she accomplished the feat in 55 seconds. Three have come in the last two games. Greer Goebels scored 26 seconds apart in the second half as Colgate rallied for a victory over Marist. Meghan Lawler holds the record this season by posting two goals in 12 seconds, both from Colleen Bubnack in the first half of the victory at Binghamton. Also versus the Bearcats, Katie Sullivan scored consecutive goals 24 seconds apart.
RECORDS WERE MADE TO BE BROKEN
By controlling the opening draw control in the victory over Holy Cross, Colleen Bubnack broke the career draw control record at Colgate. Her win moved by current Colgate assistant coach Heidi Ross for the top spot in the program’s history. The former Raider standout posted 108 draw control wins from 2003 to 2006. Bubnack, who has 124 draw controls now, had the top two single-season bests in draw controls before Courtney Miller set the single season record last weekend at Bucknell