GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: May 3, 2021 LOCATION: Ted Grant Field Syracuse N.Y. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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THE LEAD
The No. 20 New Haven women's lacrosse team will head to Syracuse, N.Y. for the second time this season, as they take on Le Moyne College in the Southwest Division Semifinals of the 2021 Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Opening draw from Ted Grant Field is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. with live coverage of the action streamed via the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW and live stats available at NewHavenChargers.com.

SERIES HISTORY VS LE MOYNE
New Haven and Le Moyne will meet for the third time this season, with the Dolphins both of two meetings during the regular season. The 'Fins took down the Chargers in the first game, winning 13-6 in West Haven on Mar 20. In the second meeting in Syracuse, the Blue and Gold fell 14-4. Overall, in the all-time series that dates back to 2011, the Dolphins hold a 12-1 edge against New Haven with the Chargers only win coming during the 2014 campaign with an upset of the then ranked No. 4 Dolphins 11-10 in Syracuse.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
New Haven comes into Friday after taking down Southern Connecticut 14-6 in the first round of the conference championships.  Junior Marina Skelly (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) scored six goals in that game, bringing her to 35 goals and 42 overall points this season to lead the team in both categories. Sophomore Annie Acquavita (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) scored a three goals in the win over the Owls, bringing her season total 28 goals, second best on the team. Senior Emily Holland (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) and freshman Cypress Levitt (Calais, Vt./Montpelier) stand just outside that group with 27 and 19 goals respectively as the teams core four on offense. Levitt also leads the defense in the draw control department, corralling a team-high 69, just ahead of the program record holder, graduate Raven Linton (Lawrenceville, N.J./Notre Dame) who currently stands at 49 this season and 314 for her career.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Le Moyne did not play in the opening round of the tournament, receiving a bye to the semifinals as the top seed in the seven-team Southwest Division. The Dolphins enter the postseason with an unblemished 12-0 record on the year, ranked third nationally in both the IWLCA and USA Lacrosse Polls. The 'Fins attack is led by Erin McMullen who has scored 37 goals on the year, while also dishing out 10 assists. Six players on the Le Moyne squad have racked up double digit assist totals this season, with Sidney Hall leading that category with 18. On defense, McMullen has also led for her side coralling 79 draw controls, ahead of Olivia McEntee who is second on the team with 44.

LEVITT TABBED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Helping her team to a 1-1 week, freshman Cypress Levitt (Calais, Vt./Montpelier) racked up seven points on six goals and an assist earning her first Northeast-10 weekly accolade when she was tabbed Rookie of the Week on Monday, April 19. Five of her six goals came during the course of play, while one came on came from a free-position attempt. Her six goals tied her for the team lead that week, including four goals, all in succession, against Pace on Saturday night. She tallied two in a win at Saint Rose earlier in the week. In addition to her seven points, she added a team-high 10 draw controls, forced two turnovers and gathered one ground ball.

ACQUAVITA ADDS TO THE TROPHY CASE
The sophomore attacks haul of six goals and two assists in the home win over Saint Rose, with the addition of a goal in the upset of Adelphi, helped Annie Acquavita (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) pick up the first weekly accolade of the season for New Haven as she was tabbed the NE10 Rookie of the Week as announced by the league. Her six goals against the Golden Knights set a career-high while she jumped into third on the team in goals and a tie for second overall in points.

SKELLY KEEPS STREAK ALIVE
Dating back to April 27, 2019, junior midfielder Marina Skelly (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) scored at least one goal in 16 straight games for the Blue and Gold, with that streak coming to an end in the home loss against Pace. Overall in her career, she has scored at least one goal in all but six of her 33 games played, entering Friday with 61 career goals, passing the mid-century mark in the second game against Saint Rose this season with four goals. In the game prior against Le Moyne, Skelly reached 50 points in her career with a goal in the second half.

POST SEASON PLANS
The 2021 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament will begin Friday with seeds 2-7 competing in the Southwest Division, and seed 3-6 competing that day in the Northeast Division. The Divisional semifinals will take place on Monday, May 3, with the winners going on to play Thursday May 4 for a spot in the title game. The 2021 Women's Lacrosse Championship will be played Sunday, May 9 with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. All games in the tournament will be played at the site of the higher seed.

Playoff Dates
Friday, April 30 - Southwest Division First Round
Monday, May 3 - Southwest Division Semifinal
Thursday, May 6 - Southwest Division Final
Sunday, May 9 - Northeast-10 Championship Game

CHARGERS FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
In a poll of the conference's 14 head coaches, the UNH women's lacrosse team was selected to finish fourth, among the seven teams, in the Southwest Division. Adelphi received 86 points and eight of the 14 possible first place votes to take the top spot in the division. Just two points behind them was Le Moyne who scored the remaining six first place tallies. Rounding out the top three was Pace with 61 points, followed closely by the Chargers with 58 points. Southern Connecticut (38 points), American International (32) and Saint Rose (26) rounded out the division. In the Northeast Division, Bentley and Assumption finished just one point apart for first place, with the Falcons earning 79 points and five first place votes, while Assumption came in with 78 points and seven first place votes.

LINTON NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
In its annual release of preseason All-Americans in early January, US Lacrosse Magazine included graduate defender Raven Linton (Lawrenceville, N.J./Notre Dame) among its 13-member team. Linton was one of four players in the Northeast-10 to earn the distinction. In the shortened season in 2020, Linton finished with 18 draw controls, splitting them evenly against Holy Family and New York Tech, also scoring once against each. The defender has been a force on the draw since arriving at New Haven, amassing 265 total heading into the season opener against American International. Her 293 draw controls puts her as the program's all-time leader, as Linton notched seven controls in the season opener this season, passing Kathryn Campbell (2012-15) who finished with 274. In addition, Linton has scored nine goals, racked up 115 ground balls and caused 102 turnovers.

CHARGERS NATIONALLY RANKED IN COACHES POLL
Following last weekend's loss to Pace, the Chargers remain among the top teams in the country, earning a spot in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll. In the Coaches Poll, conducted by the IWLCA, New Haven enters the week 20th among the top-25 teams in the nation.

THE RACE TO 200
With its six wins so far this season, the Blue and Gold are in the midst of a race that sees them just two victories away from reaching 200 wins in program history. With lacrosse dating back to the 2001 season, the Chargers entered 2021 needing eight wins to hit the program milestone. Of those 199 wins to date, 171 have come under the leadership of 15th year head coach Jen Fallon. 

UP NEXT
The winner of this game will go on to the divisional championship Thursday, facing the winner of No. 2 Pace and No. 3 Adelphi to compete for a spot in the NE10 Championship game. Opening draw is yet to be determined. Stay tuned to NewHavenChargers.com for the latest updates.