March 9, 2010
GameTracker | Navy All-Access | Updated 2010 Statistics
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 7-0 Navy women's lacrosse team will face its stiffest test of the young season when the Mids welcome nationally-ranked William & Mary (2-2) to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Wednesday afternoon for a 4:00 pm contest.
The game will be streamed online via Navy All-Access with live stats also available at NavySports.com(.) In addition, fans will also be able to receive game updates via the official Navy Athletics Twitter page.
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Quick-Sticks
*Wednesday's contest will mark Navy's first against a ranked opponent. The Tribe are currently ranked No. 18 in this week's IWLCA Top-20 and are 19th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll.
*The Navy women are off to their best start in three years of varsity competition with a program-best seven-straight wins to open the 2010 campaign. The Mids enter the week as one of 16 remaining unbeaten teams in the country; they are also the first team to seven wins (North Carolina, Denver and Drexel each have six apiece).
*For the first time in program history, Navy is receiving votes in a national poll. The Mids garnered five votes in this week's Inside Lacrosse media poll, which ranks them fifth among the team's outside the top-20 and at No. 25 overall.
*Navy will carry an eight-game home winning streak (which dates back to last season) into Wednesday's much-anticipated tilt with the Tribe. The Mids are 6-0 at home this season (outscoring their foes by a 107-33 margin in those contests) and own an all-time mark of 24-3 (.888) in Annapolis.
*The NCAA released its second edition of weekly statistics on Tuesday and the Mids continue to be well represented among the national leaders. As a team, the Mids own the second-highest scoring margin, winning by an average of 11.43 goals per contest, and rank third in both scoring offense (17.29 goals/gm) and scoring defense (5.86 ga/gm).
Senior Erin Rawlick and sophomore Danielle Vivonetto continue to rank 1-2 nationally in goals scored, with 34 and 26, respectively. Rawlick also currently stands second in points per game (7.43), third in goals per game (4.86), fifth in draw controls per game (4.86) and 11th in assists per game (2.57). Sophomore goalie Elaina Ponchione also ranks sixth among the nation's best in goals-against average (6.49).
*Wednesday's game will feature a pair of players on the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List in Erin Rawlick and William & Mary junior midfielder Grace Golden.
Scouting William & Mary
*William & Mary is a program with a long and rich lacrosse history. The Tribe have fielded a varsity program since 1970. William & Mary has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, with its most recent trip coming in the 2001 season.
*The Tribe come into the week with a 2-2 mark, boasting wins over then-No. 16 Ohio State (15-14 on Feb. 14) and Oregon (15-13 on Feb. 28). Each of William & Mary's two setbacks have come against ranked programs in then-No. 5 Duke (16-9 on Feb. 21) and then-No. 12 Boston University (15-10 this past Sunday).
In their setback to the Blue Devils, an opponent Navy will see on March 21 in Durham, the Tribe held a 6-4 lead at halftime before Duke seized control of the contest with a dominant final 30 minutes.
*William & Mary, who was picked to finish second in the CAA preseason poll behind Towson, returns nine starters from last year's 10-7 squad that won its second-straight CAA regular-season title and finished the year ranked 20th nationally in the final regular-season IWLCA poll.
*The Tribe are led by preseason All-CAA selections Ashley Holofcener, Grace Golden and Sarah Jonson. All three standouts were all-region selections a year ago, while Jonson also garnered Third-Team All-America kudos from WomensLacrosse.com. In 2009, Holofcener led the team with 64 points on 34 goals and 30 assists, while Golden produced a team-leading 44 goals.
*Thus far this season, the Tribe have exhibited a well-balanced offense with four double-figure point-scorers, led by senior Mary Zulty's 11 goals and 16 points. Sara Jonson, meanwhile, ranks second nationally in both caused turnovers (3.25/gm) and ground balls (5.25/gm).
The Rawlick File
In her senior season, Navy's team captain Erin Rawlick has continued to raise the bar for the upstart Midshipmen women's lacrosse program.
Consider that..
...she has registered a nation-leading 34 goals and 52 points in seven games. Her 7.43 points per game are second only to Siena's Caitlin Mikel, who has 25 points in her first three contests (8.33/gm).
...she has scored 17 goals in the last three games and had at least five goals in five of seven games this season and at least eight points four times.
...she has scored at least three goals in every game this season and has 32 hat tricks in 42 career games.
...she is one of 52 players nati onally recognized among those vying for the top award in collegiate lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Trophy. Click here to read more.
...she has earned Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors in three-straight weeks to open the 2010 campaign. Rawlick is one of just two players to accomplish that feat and the first since Lafayette's Shari Krasnoo earned the nod four-straight times in 1991. Click here to read more.
...she has rapidly risen up the Patriot League's career scoring charts, after two 90-plus point seasons (92 in 2009, 91 in 2008) and her red-hot start to 2010.
...although she has played the fewest games among the top-10 players on the NCAA's active career scoring list, Rawlick currently ranks second with 235 career points, fourth with 156 goals and sixth with 79 assists. Only Syracuse's Christina Dove, a returning All-American, has produced more points with 250 (in 62 games) over a terrific three-plus season span for the Orange.
...she scored a goal in all 42 games of Navy's Division I tenure - currently tied for the fourth-longest scoring streak nationally.
Last Time Out
Nine different players finished with multiple points (four with hat tricks) and the Navy defense held Fresno State (0-4) without a goal for nearly the first 40 minutes in a 23-2 rout of the visiting Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon. Rawlick led all players with five goals, eight points and six draw controls.
Click here for full stats & complete recap
On Friday against Monmouth, Rawlick and Vivonetto combined for 12 goals to lead Navy to a 17-5 victory.
Click here for full stats & complete recap
Noteworthy
*The 23 goals against Fresno State were the third-most in school history, behind the 24 Navy put up in the team's season opener against Howard (Feb. 5) and in a 2008 win over St. Francis (Pa.).
*Navy produced 19 assists in Sunday's victory, tying the NCAA record for most assists in a game. UMBC previously notched 19 assists in a win over St. Francis (Pa.) on April 10, 2002. Together with their 23 goals, the Mids accumulated a total of 43 points, which is a program-best mark and matches the third-highest total in NCAA history.
*Navy has now held five of its seven opponents this season to seven or fewer goals.
*The Mids have outscored the opposition by a 122-41 margin over their first seven games.
*The Navy offense has been finding the back of the cage at a terrific clip, with a team shooting percentage of .538 (121 goals on 225 shots). Three of the Mids' top four scorers are converting at a better than 60 percent clip, led by freshman Kathy Young, who has 14 goals on just 22 shots this season (.636). Danielle Vivonetto has 26 goals on her 41 shots (.634) and Erin Rawlick has scored 34 times on 55 attempts (.618).
*A year after scoring a Navy-freshman best 31 goals, Long Island native Danielle Vivonetto is showing signs that another big year is on the horizon in 2010. Vivonetto, who already has 26 goals and 29 points through seven games, has teamed up with Erin Rawlick to give Navy a bonafide 1-2 scoring punch.
2010 Navy Women's Lacrosse Honor Roll
Erin Rawlick
*Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week (2/23, 3/2, 3/8)
Kierstin King
*Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week (2/23)
Elaina Ponchione
*Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week (2/23)
Kathy Young
*Patriot League Rookie of the Week (2/23)
*WomensLacrosse.com National Honor Roll (2/24)
Timchal Atop All-Time Wins List
Navy's Cindy Timchal currently sits atop the NCAA's all-time wins list with 369 career wins; the most by any NCAA lacrosse coach, men's or women's, spanning all three divisions. She has coached Navy to 33 wins in the program's first 42 contests and owns an all-time record of 369-95 (.795).
NCAA Women's Lacrosse All-Time Win Leaders (All Divisions)
Rk. Coach (Current School) Year Wins
1. Cindy Timchal (Navy) 28th 369
2. Pat Genovese (William Smith) 37th 362
3. Sharon Pfluger (TCNJ) 24th 351
4. Missy Foote (Middlebury) 28th 342
5. Chris Sailer (Princeton) 23rd 297
Mids Tabbed Second in Preseason Poll
Navy has been picked to finish in a second-place tie in the Patriot League in a vote by the conference's coaches and sports information directors. The Mids finished in that exact position a year ago and advanced to the conference championship game.
1. Colgate - 66 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Lehigh - 59 points (4)
Navy - 59 points (3)
4. Bucknell - 40 points
5. Holy Cross - 30 points
6. American - 28 points
7. Lafayette - 12 points
What's NextThis weekend, Navy will open its 2010 Patriot League schedule when it visits Lafayette on Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 pm contest. The Mids opened last year's conference slate with a 19-4 win over the Leopards on March 7 in Annapolis.
Follow Navy Women's Lax OnlineWednesday's contest is the first of four Navy women's lacrosse home games that will be streamed live online (with audio & video). All three of the Mids' home league contests against Holy Cross (March 27), American (April 7) and Bucknell (April 24) will also be available through Navy All-Access. A subscription to Navy All-Access costs $6.95 for one month and $49.95 for one year.
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