Dartmouth Heads to Philly to Face Penn Saturday

By: Justin Lafleur

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GAME 11
Dartmouth (6-4, 1-3 Ivy League) at Penn (5-5, 3-2 Ivy League)
Dates: Saturday, April 22, 2023 – 1 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Scully-Fahey Field
All-Time Series: Penn, 45-27
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Today’s Game
The Dartmouth men’s lacrosse team will look to get back on track when the Big Green travel to No. 15 Penn on Saturday for their final regular season road game. Opening faceoff in Philadelphia is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+. Following their Ivy League opening overtime win over Harvard, the Big Green have lost three straight, most recently falling to No. 20 Princeton, 17-7. At 1-3 in the league, the Big Green remain very much alive for an Ivy League Tournament berth. If they can beat Penn and Brown (next week), Dartmouth could finish in the top four at 3-3, depending on scenarios and tiebreakers.
 
Dartmouth scored first against the Tigers, but Princeton scored the next seven to take a 7-1 halftime lead. The Big Green scored twice in the first 1:21 of the third quarter, but three straight Tigers’ goals made the score 10-3 late in the third, proving too much of a hole to overcome. Offensively, sophomore Nate Davis scored three goals, all in the second half, for his third-career hat trick and second against Princeton. The other was at Hobart earlier this season. Sophomore Colin McGill scored two goals, good for the 50th and 51st of his career. Defensively, fifth year Peter Rizzotti had four groundballs and three caused turnovers to increase his season total to 17. He is currently second in the Ivy League and 20th nationally with 1.70 caused turnovers per game.
 
Anchoring the defense was freshman goaltender Sam Cooper, who made a career-high 20 saves. He stopped the first five shots sent his way and seven of his first eight, as the Big Green were leading or tied until late in the first quarter. Cooper has now made 35 saves over the last two weeks, the most for a Dartmouth goalie since Danny Hincks also had 35 in the first two games of last season (16 in an 8-6 loss vs. Merrimack then 19 in an 11-9 win over Bryant).
 
After Princeton won 4-of-5 first-quarter faceoffs, the Big Green responded to go 13-of-22 over the final three quarters. Senior Mitchell Myers finished 9-of-17 with three groundballs while sophomore Vincent Gandolfo was 5-of-10. Offensively, Dartmouth tied a season high with three man-up goals (previously accomplished at Cornell). The Big Green have now scored on the extra man in all 10 games this season, as they and Syracuse remain the only two teams in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse to have a man-up goal in every game. Dartmouth is also up to 123 goals this season, tied for last season’s total (in three fewer games), which is also the most in head coach Brendan Callahan’s tenure as head coach. With one more goal, the Big Green will have their most goals in a season since scoring 131 in 2011. With nine more, Dartmouth would have its most since scoring 150 in 2008.
 
With a Win…
– Dartmouth would win its seventh game of the season, marking its most wins in a season since 2008.
– The Big Green would clinch a winning regular season record for the first time since 2006 (when they were 8-7).
– Dartmouth’s 7-4 record would be its best mark after 11 games since 2005 (when the Big Green were also 7-4).
– The Big Green would win a second Ivy League game in a season for the first time since 2010 when they finished 2-4 with wins over No. 6 Cornell (8-6) and Penn (15-11).
– Dartmouth would snap an eight-game losing streak against Penn and beat the Quakers for the first time since Apr. 21, 2012, a 7-6 win at home.
– The Big Green would pull within 45-28 in the all-time series.
– Dartmouth would snap a seven-game losing streak at Penn and beat the Quakers for the first time since a 7-5 victory on Apr. 6, 2003.
– The Big Green would beat their first nationally-ranked opponent since a 12-11 double overtime win against No. 15/16 Harvard on Mar. 21, 2015.
– Dartmouth would pick up its first win over a nationally-ranked foe on the road since a 9-6 victory at Colgate on Feb. 25, 2012.
 
Scouting Penn
Penn stands 5-5 on the season and 3-2 in Ivy League play, heading into its final Ivy League regular season game against the Big Green. The Quakers have won two of their last three, winning at Harvard last week (15-9) and at No. 20 Yale two weeks prior (17-16). Penn also owns a 9-8 overtime win over No. 18 Princeton while its losses have come at No. 5 Cornell (18-12) and at Brown (12-11). The Quakers opened their season with a huge 9-7 win at No. 8 Georgetown.
 
Penn is led by midfielder Sam Handley, who was named one of 25 semifinalists for the Tewaaraton Award on Thursday after he was a finalist for the honor last season. Handley leads Penn in assists (19) and points (37). Ben Smith’s 19 goals lead the team, while his 23 points are tied for second; his 48.7 shot percentage leads the Ivy League and is good for seventh in the nation. Cam Rubin also owns 23 points behind 17 goals and six assists. Faceoff specialist Chris Arceri leads the team in groundballs (41) while winning 46.6 percent of his faceoffs (89-of-191). Peter Blake’s nine caused turnovers are tops on the team. Emmet Carroll has played every minute in goal, owning an 11.90 goals against average and 53.3 save percentage. Carroll stands second in the Ivy League and ninth nationally in save per game (13.70).
 
As a team, the Quakers stand ninth in fewest turnovers per game (14.60) and 16th in clearing percentage (89.4).
 
All-Time Against The Quakers
Penn leads the all-time series with Dartmouth, 45-27, which includes eight straight wins. The last Big Green victory came on Apr. 21, 2012 at Penn. There have been some close calls since, including a 10-9 double overtime loss in 2018 (in Hanover) and 16-12 defeat last season (also in Hanover). The closest recent game in Philadelphia was a 15-12 defeat on Apr. 18, 2015. The last time they played in Philadelphia, Penn was ranked No. 5 in the country and won, 22-6. Dartmouth’s last win at Penn came in its 2003 Ivy League Championship season; the Big Green won, 7-5, on Apr. 6. Dartmouth has lost seven straight at Penn since.
 
Drought Over
Dartmouth came back from a 9-5 fourth-quarter deficit vs. Harvard on Mar. 25 for its first Ivy League victory since 2015. The Big Green beat the Crimson, 10-9, behind a Colin McGill goal with 1:35 left in overtime. In regulation, the Big Green scored four goals in the span of 5:23 to force the extra session. Ironically, the 2015 win also came at home vs. Harvard, with that coming in double overtime. The Mar. 25 win marked Dartmouth’s first overtime win of any kind since that 2015 Harvard victory.
 
Surging Offense
Dartmouth’s offense has impressed this season, currently standing 33rd nationally in scoring offense (12.30) with 123 goals through 10 games. The Big Green already have exactly as many goals as they did all of last season. Here’s a rundown of Dartmouth’s goal totals since 2008 in full seasons (excluding 2020 and 2021) for comparison.
 
2023: 123 (10 games)
2022: 123 (13 games)
2019: 101 (13 games)
2018: 110 (13 games)
2017: 92 (13 games)
2016: 89 (14 games)
2015: 114 (13 games)
2014: 99 (12 games)
2013: 109 (14 games)
2012: 123 (14 games)
2011: 131 (13 games)
2010: 113 (13 games)
2009: 121 (15 games)
2008: 150 (14 games)
 
Other items of note:
– The Big Green reached double-figure goals in eight of the first nine games of the season, the first time that’s happened since 1995.
– 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.
– The Big Green have scored an extra man goal in each of their first 10 games of the season, the first time that’s happened under head coach Brendan Callahan. Dartmouth and Syracuse are the only remaining Division I men’s lacrosse teams to have scored a man-up goal in every game played this season. Dartmouth, Syracuse and Marquette are the only three to begin the season with 10 or more straight games with a man-up goal.
 
Myers Named Midseason All-American
Off to an impressive start to the season, senior faceoff specialist Mitchell Myers was named an honorable mention Midseason Media All-American on Friday, Mar. 31. After the Cornell game on Apr. 1, Myers stood among the nation’s best in faceoff percentage (61.8) and groundballs per game (7.88). Myers was 16th nationally in groundballs per contest, and 17th in faceoff percentage, which are also good for first and second in the Ivy League, respectively. Myers began the season by winning 17-of-26 at Merrimack before winning 17-of-21 at Holy Cross and 19-of-23 vs. Siena. He won 21-of-39 at Hobart with a career-high 13 groundballs, one of four times this season with double-figure groundballs. At Cornell, Myers bounced back from a tough start to win 14 of his final 24 faceoffs. Myers also won five of his last six faceoffs taken in a comeback, 10-9 overtime win over Harvard.
 
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.
 
Road Warriors
The Big Green are road warriors in 2023, with eight of its 12 games coming away from home. Five of Dartmouth’s six nonleague contests were on the road, with the exception of the home opener vs. Siena on Saturday, Mar. 4.
 
Follow Along
Saturday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
What’s Ahead
Following Saturday’s game, the Big Green return home for their regular season finale next Saturday, Apr. 29. Opening faceoff vs. Brown on Senior Day is set for 1 p.m.