PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle lacrosse team looks to continue its march toward an Atlantic 10 Championship berth with a league contest against city rival Saint Joseph's in the squad's home finale for this season on Friday morning at 10 a.m. The program's seniors will be honored on Friday in the annual Senior Day ceremony, slated to begin at approximately 9:45 a.m. The game will also be streamed live on GoExplorers.tv.

Saint Joseph's Hawks (4-9, 1-3 Atlantic 10) at La Salle Explorers (8-5, 2-2 Atlantic 10)
Friday, April 18 | 10 a.m.
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Scouting the Explorers
La Salle is coming off of a weekend sweep of Duquesne and St. Bonaventure to even its record in Atlantic 10 play at 2-2. With the sweep and just three games to go, the Explorers sit in fourth place in the Atlantic 10 standings as they look to snag their first Atlantic 10 Championship berth since 2010. The top four teams will move on to the tournament in Richmond during the first weekend in May.

The Explorers posted a come-from-behind 10-9 victory over a Dukes squad that came into the weekend with an 11-1 overall record and unblemished A-10 record. The squad played shorthanded with a two-woman-down disadvantage late in the game, but the defense was spectacular in not allowing the Dukes to capitalize. Rookie keeper Gabby Antonelli made 17 saves including four late stops on free position attempts, and made a point-blank save just before the horn to prevent a game-tying goal. Rookie Toni Massetti drained the game-winning goal with 1:22 remaining, which was while the Explorers were playing two-down. Both picked up weekly honors, with Massetti earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week and Antonelli earning A-10 Defender of the Week, WomensLax.com National Rookie of the Week and Corvias ECAC Division I South Defender of the Week.

Katelyn Fay leads the squad in scoring through 13 games, recording 31 points on 26 goals and five assists. Caitlyn Brostrand is second with 24 goals and five assists for 29 points on the season. The duo is tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10 with 2.00 goals per game overall.

Massetti has been the offensive story as of late, leading the Explorers in scoring in Atlantic 10 play with 10 goals and one assist against league foes. She ranks tied for seventh in the league stats with her 2.50 goals per game in A-10 play. She is up to 23 goals and four assists for 27 points on the season to rank third overall on the squad. Erin McCabe rounds out the 20+ point scorers with 17 goals and four assists for 21 points.

The La Salle defense has been terrific, anchored by rookie keeper Antonelli. The squad ranks first in the Atlantic 10 in team save percentage overall on the season, and second in A-10 play. The Explorers also pick up 15.50 ground balls per game against league foes to rank third.

Kelly Furman leads the squad with 24 ground balls, and Massetti and Brostrand have scooped up 18 and 16, respectively. Brostrand also leads the team with 18 draw controls. Katie Marasco has been a strong addition to the defensive midfield after moving up to that position this month. She has a well-rounded stat line with a team-leading 12 caused turnovers along with 11 draw controls and 10 ground balls.

Antonelli has played 720 of a possible 780 minutes in goal this season, amassing 104 saves en route to a .488 save percentage overall. That percentage ranks first among the Atlantic 10's starting goalies and ranks her 12th nationally. She is recording a .495 save percentage against Atlantic 10 opponents, ranking her second in the league.

Scouting the Hawks
Saint Joseph's split a pair of games last weekend, defeating St. Bonaventure 11-7 on Friday before falling 10-8 to Duquesne. The Hawks' win over the Bonnies was their first A-10 win of the season as they fell to Richmond and Massachusetts in the conference's opening weekend.

The Hawks have struggled at times this season with four scattered wins in a 4-9 record. They defeated LIU Brooklyn, Delaware State and Stetson in nonconference play before their first A-10 win last weekend over the Bonnies for their fourth win of the season. The squad ranks last in goals per game in Atlantic 10 play, averaging just 6.25 against league opponents; however, the Hawk defense boasts five of the Atlantic 10's top six on the caused turnovers list. Brittany Hanrahan leads the defensive effort with 1.64 caused turnovers per game to rank second in the league and first on the squad against A-10 foes.

Emily Bowers is the leading point-getter, with 31 points on 11 goals and 20 assists. Kelly Phelan is second on the points list with 27 points on 22 goals and five assists, while Julia Falcone is the top scorer with 24 goals. Nora McCallion is tied with Falcone with 24 points, thanks to 14 goals and 10 assists.

Allison Heath leads the team with 27 draw controls and Phelan is second with 24. Kaitlyn McSwiggan leads all players overall on the season with 22 caused turnovers, followed by Allison Heath with 21 and Hanrahan with 20.

Genevieve Giblin has handled all but 24 minutes of goalkeeping duties. She sports a 10.48 goals against average and .439 save percentage.