Dartmouth Returns Home for Ivy League Opener vs. Harvard Saturday
By: Justin Lafleur
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GAME 7
Dartmouth (5-1, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. Harvard (3-3, 1-0 Ivy League)
Dates: Saturday, March 25, 2023 – 4 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Scully-Fahey Field
All-Time Series: Harvard leads, 50-38-1
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Today’s Game
The Dartmouth men’s lacrosse team is ready for its Ivy League opener on Saturday as the Big Green host Harvard. Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN+ and NESN+. Saturday will be Youth Day as fans will receive a Dartmouth rally towel and the opportunity for postgame autographs with Big Green players. Dartmouth enters with a 5-1 record following an 18-9 win at Hampton on Tuesday. The Big Green own their best mark after six games since 2004, while their four road wins are already their most in a season since 2003.
Dartmouth is coming off a 1-1 spring break road trip, falling at No. 13 North Carolina on Sunday (25-7) before bouncing back with a convincing 18-9 win at Hampton on Tuesday. In that game, the Big Green opened a 12-1 third-quarter lead. Offensively, sophomores Quinn Moore and Brandon Ventarola led the way with five points apiece (each tallying four goals and an assist). The four goals and five points marked career highs for Ventarola while the five points tied a career high for Moore. Senior Andrew Johnston helped lead the defense, recording a career-high four caused turnovers. Sophomore Griffin O’Neil’s three caused turnovers were also a career high. The Big Green caused 18 of Hampton’s 28 turnovers on the afternoon.
The Big Green faceoff game continued to impress on the trip, as senior Mitchell Myers won 24-of-34 with 11 groundballs at North Carolina. It marked his third straight game of setting a career high in faceoff wins (following 19 vs. Siena then 21 at Hobart). Against the Pirates on Tuesday, Myers won 3-of-8, while sophomore Vincent Gandolfo and senior TJ Bryan had career games, winning 7-of-10 and 6-of-10, respectively. The faceoff win totals were career highs for both the sophomore and senior. Bryan also scored his first-career goal in the third quarter.
The rest of the Ivy League began league play last weekend, with Dartmouth’s opener set for Saturday. The Crimson enter 1-0, picking up a 16-15 win at Brown. Harvard features a high-scoring offense as it stands 10th nationally in scoring offense (14.33), but 65th in scoring defense (14.50). The Big Green are 16th in scoring offense (14.00) and 41st in scoring defense (12.33). Offensively, Dartmouth has reached double-figure goals in all but one game, exceeding 17 goals three times (scoring 17 at Holy Cross, 20 at Hobart and 18 at Hampton). It marks the first time 17 goals have been reached three times in a season since 1996. That year, the Big Green actually reached 20 on three occasions. Facing off, Harvard stands 56th as a team (45.1 percent) compared to Dartmouth standing second (66.1 percent).
With a Win…
– Dartmouth would improve to 6-1 for the first time since the 2003 season.
– The Big Green would win their first Ivy League game since Mar. 21, 2015, a 12-11 double overtime home win over Harvard.
– Dartmouth would win its league opener for the first time since that 2015 victory.
– The Big Green would snap a five-game losing streak against Harvard and pull within 50-39-1 in the all-time series.
Scouting Harvard
Coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last season, Harvard stands 3-3 so far in 2023, including 1-0 in Ivy League play. The Crimson began the season with a high-scoring 25-21 defeat at No. 1 Virginia and own wins against Bucknell (13-8), Vermont (12-5) and at Brown (16-15). Last time out, Harvard dropped a 15-11 final at No. 18 Boston University.
Sam King stands second in the Ivy League and ninth nationally in points per game at 5.0 with 30 through six games. King is one of six Crimson with double-figure points, as Owen Gaffney has 18 (11 goals, seven assists) and he is followed by three others with 13 apiece — Hayden Cheek (12 goals, one assist), Teddy Malone (10 goals, three assists) and Miles Botkiss (seven goals, six assists). Faceoff specialist Andrew DeGennaro leads Harvard with 24 groundballs, while winning 66-of-147 faceoffs (44.9 percent). Chase Yager’s eight caused turnovers lead the way. In goal, Christian Barnard has started every game, recording a 14.32 goals against average and 44.2 save percentage.
As a team, Harvard is 10th nationally in scoring offense (14.33), but 65th in scoring defense (14.50).
All-Time Against The Crimson
Harvard leads the all-time series against the Big Green, 50-38-1, which includes five consecutive victories. Dartmouth’s last Ivy League win came in 2015 and it came vs. Harvard on Mar. 21 via a 12-11 final in double overtime. It was also the Big Green’s last win against a nationally-ranked opponent as the Crimson were ranked 15th at the time. Dartmouth is 2-8 over its last 10 games against Harvard, also winning at home in 2011 behind a 9-8 final.
Surging Offense
Dartmouth’s offense has impressed this season, currently standing 16th nationally in scoring offense (14.0) with 84 goals through six games. Halfway through its schedule, the Big Green already have more than two thirds as many goals as they scored last season (123).
Other items of note:
– The Big Green have reached double-figure goals in all but one game this season.
– Dartmouth has scored 17 or more goals three times: at Holy Cross (17), at Hobart (20) and at Hampton (18). It’s the first time that has happened since 1996.
Paradine Named Rookie of the Week Again & Named to USILA Team of Week
One day after earning Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors, freshman Emmett Paradine was named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) National Team of the Week on Tuesday, Mar. 14. Paradine is one of 10 student-athletes nation-wide recognized. He follows senior Tommy Rogan as Big Green named to the team this season; Rogan received the honor following the season opener at Merrimack.The two honorees are tied with Cornell for the most in the Ivy League through four weeks this season. Brown, Penn and Yale have all had one honoree thus far.
The honor came after Paradine was named Dartmouth’s fourth straight Ivy League Rookie of the Week to begin the year (and Paradine’s second in a row). He finished the 20-16 win at Hobart on Mar. 7 with 10 points via seven goals and three assists. Paradine became the first freshman nationally to reach double figures in a game this season and the first Ivy League freshman to reach 10 points in a game since Jeff Teat of Cornell during the 2017 season. Paradine had a hand in half of Dartmouth’s 20 goals for the game, with all of his points proving important in a high-scoring affair. Following a goal and two assists in the first half, Paradine exploded for six goals and an assist in the second half. There was one stretch in which he scored four goals in the span of 9:32 bridging the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters, helping the Big Green turn a 9-9 tie into a 16-12 lead.
Paradine Becomes Dartmouth’s Third Straight Ivy Rookie of the Week
For the third time in as many weeks to begin the season, the Dartmouth men’s lacrosse team features the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. This time, it’s midfielder Emmett Paradine, who received the award on Monday, Mar. 6 following a four-goal, five-point effort in Saturday’s 11-8 win against Siena. Paradine follows Sam Cooper and Max LaTorre, who received the honor following the first two games of the season. Paradine’s points came at critical moments on Saturday, as the Big Green improved to 3-0 for just the second time since 2006.
Paradine had a hand in three straight fourth-quarter goals at a critical time. He scored his third goal of the game at 11:31 to give the Big Green an 8-7 lead. After Siena pulled even, Paradine assisted on Quinn Moore’s goal at the 6:10 mark (to make it 9-8) then scored his fourth, unassisted, at 5:26 to put Dartmouth ahead 10-8. Paradine also scored the first goal of the game, at 10:58 of the first, then gave the Big Green a 7-3 lead early in the third quarter.
Road Warriors
Dartmouth will be road warriors in 2023, with eight of its 12 games coming away from home. Five of the Big Green’s six nonleague contests will be on the road, with the exception of a Saturday, Mar. 4 matchup vs. Siena.
Follow Along
Saturday’s game can be seen on NESN+ and ESPN+ with Matt Corsetti on the call.
What’s Ahead
Following Saturday’s game, the Big Green hit the road for a matchup at No. 5 Cornell on Saturday, Apr. 1 at 12 p.m.
