ASU Clashes with Dartmouth in Houston Friday

(Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Following four straight wins, Arizona State Lacrosse (7-2), will head to Houston the first of two neutral site games with a Friday morning clash with Ivy League opposition, the Dartmouth Green (4-3).

The aforementioned four-game winning streak transpired came during a homestand for the Sun Devils, meaning Friday’s clash will provide a new challenge for ASU. Both of the teams prior losses came away from Tempe against Denver and USC on a road trip back in February.

Last time out, the Sun Devils cruised to victory over Furman finishing in a 18-11 win. ASU jumped out to a quick start and found the back of the net an astonishing eight times in the first quarter and never looked back. Junior attacker Lydia Oldknow continued to dominate for the Sun Devils, scoring a season-high six goals, accounting for a third of her team’s total. A big game from her against Dartmouth would be key for the Sun Devils to grab yet another impressive win.

Dartmouth began its season on a tear, recording a quartet of wins over east coast competition. It then hit a speed bump as its competition ramped up, a stretch of games that saw it face off with three consecutive ranked opponents. A thumping at the hands at the hands of No. 1 Boston College 16-3, gave Dartmouth its first loss of the season. Two more losses against No. 20 Penn and No. 22 Harvard brought Dartmouth to its current 4-3 record.

Senior attacker Katina Christensen leads the way for Dartmouth with 13 goals and 5 assists. The Houston native will return home in the clash with the Sun Devils and is coming off a hattrick in the prior mentioned game with Harvard. Keeping her in check will be of the utmost importance for a Sun Devil defense which has been shaky at times this season. Freshman attacker Charlotte Meyers is Dartmouth’s best distributor and has recorded double-digit assists on the year including a three-assist game earlier in the year vs. Siena.

This is the first time the two schools have met in the history of each program. ASU will head to Milwaukee for a clash with Marquette following its game with Dartmouth, providing a nice opportunity for ASU to prove it can win games on the road against fellow major conference sides. However, it is imperative ASU does not overlook Dartmouth as the Greens have proved it can beat teams if they let them hang around and fail to put them away.

The Sun Devils will need to lean heavily on its explosive offense which has not been held to a single-digit goal tally once this season. The Sun Devils will travel as far as their offense can take them and in Friday’s game, it has the chance to leave Houston with a victory.