April 4, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt Commodores are looking to rebound from last weekend’s loss to No. 3 Florida as BIG EAST play continues this week. The Dores are back home and set to face UConn tomorrow afternoon at 1 pm CT at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.
Going into Wednesday’s matchup, the Commodores continue to rank second nationally in fewest turnovers per game at 13.11 per game. The Huskies come in ranked second in the country in caused turnovers with 12.90 per game so that will be a big battle to play out tomorrow afternoon. The Dores will look to take advantage of their success on the draw as they average 3.5 more draw control wins than the Huskies.
The Dores have five players this season that have scored in double-digits. Junior Kayla Peterson leads the team in goals with 26, followed by Julie Blaze (21), Jill Doherty (17), Emily Mathewson (15) and Melanie Becker (11). Doherty leads the team in draw controls (48), assists (18) and ground balls (18). She ranks third in the conference in draw controls per game (5.33) and fifth in assists per game (2.00).
Defender Margaret Fee leads the Commodores back-line with 11 caused turnovers and is second on the team in ground balls with 17. In the cage, all three Commodore goalies have seen time this season. Callahan Kent has amassed a 4-3 record with 40 saves and 8.35 goals against average. Lily Argyle has a 1-1 record with 21 saves on the year.
UConn enters the game with a 3-7 overall record and 0-3 in BIG EAST play. They are coming off a 16-11 defeat on the road against No. 14 this past Sunday. The Dores hold a 3-2 advantage all-time against the Huskies. Last season, UConn defeated the Commodores 13-10 up in Storrs, Conn. on April 16.
The Huskies have four players that have scored in double-figures with junior Grace Nolan leading the way with 24 goals. Jacqueline Jordan is second on the team with 21 goals while Maggie Tripodi and Kelsey Catalano both have 16 apiece. Nolan also leads the team in assists with 17 and is second on the team in caused turnovers with 15.
Sophomore Brooke Jensen is the team leader in draw controls with 30 and ground balls with 20. In the cage, Grace Beshlian has started and played in all 10 games for the Huskies. She has made 111 saves in over 600 minutes of game action and has allowed 13.24 goals per game.
Fans are encouraged to come out early on Wednesday, as the first 300 will receive a free Vanderbilt tank top. Gates will open at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Facility at 12 pm CT. For fans that will not be able to make the game, it will be broadcast on Facebook Live via the Vanderbilt Athletics Facebook page. You can also keep up with the game via Game Tracker . For all things lacrosse, follow @VanderbiltLax on Twitter and Vanderbilt Women’s Lacrosse on Facebook.