March 31, 2011

PHILADELPHIA - The women’s lacrosse team will begin its Atlantic 10 slate this weekend with a game at Saint Joseph’s Finnesey Field on Friday at 4:00 p.m.  The Explorers will then welcome three-time defending A-10 champion No. 13 UMass to McCarthy Stadium for an 11:00 a.m. contest on Sunday morning.

La Salle will be looking to get back on track after three tough losses, including a 10-9 defeat its last time out against Cal.

Sophomore Melanie Sarcinello has led the attack for the Explorers this season with 25 goals and most recently notched four against the Bears.

In goal for La Salle, junior Megan Corliss posts a 10.46 goals against average, good for fourth in the A-10.

The Explorers’ first opponent of the weekend, the Hawks, are coming off an 8-7 victory over Saint Mary’s last Saturday and sit at 4-5 on the season.  The contest will be Saint Joseph’s first A-10 game this season as well.

Fans can follow the action live on GameTracker.

The Explorers will be anxious to get at UMass, which leads the league in goals per game with 14.11.

Last season La Salle defeated the Minutewomen in the final seconds of its last regular season game to earn the No. 2 seed in the 2010 A-10 Tournament.  In the first round, it was UMass who defeated the Explorers, 9-7, to end their season.

The Minutewomen, under first-year head coach Angela McMahon, have been ranked in the InsideLacrosse.com/deBeer Media Poll for a school-record five consecutive weeks.  The team will host Temple on Thursday before traveling to Philadelphia.

There will be a live stream of the game available by subscription, as well as free-of-charge GameTracker coverage.