Women's Lacrosse | April 17, 2015

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle lacrosse squad returns home for the first time since March 29 and will play three of the next four games in the friendly confines of McCarthy Stadium. The Explorers host league newcomer Davidson on Friday at 7 p.m. and league-leading Massachusetts on Sunday at 11 a.m. Friday night's contest is part of the Spring Sport T-Shirt Series.

La Salle Explorers (6-6, 2-2 Atlantic 10) vs. Davidson Wildcats (4-8, 1-3 Atlantic 10)
Friday, April 17 | 7:00 PM

La Salle Explorers (6-6, 2-2 Atlantic 10) vs. Massachusetts Minutewomen (12-1, 4-0 Atlantic 10)
Sunday, April 19 | 11:00 AM

Last Time vs. Wildcats
The Explorers are facing the Wildcats for just the second time in program history and first time as a conference foe. The two teams faced off as nonconference opponents down in Davidson, N.C., in 2011. The Explorers topped the 'Cats 14-12 in overtime behind eight Melanie Sarcinello goals. Current assistant coach Nora McGurkin was on that squad and scored a goal in the win.

Last Time vs. Minutewomen
The Explorers became just the second team to reach the 10-goal mark against then-No. 11 UMass in a 19-10 setback. The only other two squads to reach the 10-goal mark last season were then-No. 7 Northwestern along with then-No. 12 Loyola (Md.) in the NCAA Tournament. Katelyn Fay drained four goals in last year's contest; Toni Massetti scored three and Caitlyn Brostrand added two. Graduated player Sam Rush led all players with six goals.

Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers went 1-2 on their three-game road trip spanning April 3 - April 12. They defeated St. Bonaventure 20-7, and hit setbacks at George mason (12-9) and Duquesne (10-8). Brostrand has kicked it up a notch in the last few games, draining a team-high 11 goals along with two assists for a team-high 13 points in the last three games. Fay also drained nine goals to take over the team lead in goals scored this season.

Allee Ilgenfritz continues to lead the team in points with 35 on 27 goals and a team-high-tying eight assists. Fay and Brostrand are tied with 32 points each. Fay has drained a team-high 28 goals along with four assists, and Brostrand is up to 24 goals and a team-high-tying eight assists. Five other Explorers have recorded at least 10 points this season and a total of 19 Explorers have at least a point this season.

Kerry Newby is leading all players with 13 caused turnovers; the junior is also third on the team with 12 draw controls. Erin McCabe leads all players with 24 draw controls to go along with 12 ground balls. McCabe is also dangerous offensively, with eight goals and four assists for 12 points. Keeper Gabby Antonelli leads all players with 27 ground ball pickups, and Brostrand leads the field players with 20.

Antonelli is recording a .477 save percentage between the pipes, with ranks 16th nationally and second in the Atlantic 10. Her 9.54 goals against average is third in the A-10.

Scouting the Wildcats
Davidson split a pair of games last weekend and is out to a 1-3 record in league play. The Wildcats earned their first-ever Atlantic 10 win last Friday with a 9-7 victory over George Mason. They fell on Sunday to UMass, 19-4.

The Wildcats have a very balanced attack, with six players ranging between 26 and 16 points. Emily Rademacher leads the squad with 26 points on 19 goals and seven assists. Annie Brockett is up to 21 points on 18 goals and three assists, and Emily Cooke is tied with 21 points on five goals and a team-high 16 assists. Lucy Sexton leads all players with 20 goals. Two more - Emma Sissman (14g, 4a, 18p) and Nicole Pettiglio (15g, 1a, 16p) - are in double-digit points.

Defensively, Holly Thomas leads the team with 18 caused turnovers; she is second with 24 ground balls and had added 17 draw controls. Sissman leads all players with 39 draw controls.

Katy Boyle has played all but about 16 minutes in goal this season. She is sporting a .445 save percentage and 10.31 goals against average.

Scouting the Minutewomen
UMass enters the weekend receiving votes in the latest IWLCA rankings, with the only loss of the season at the hands of then-No. 20 Albany. The Minutewomen have won five straight and have not given up more than eight goals to any opponent this season. They last defeated Davidson 19-4. UMass will play at Saint Joseph's on Friday night before coming over to 20th and Olney on Sunday morning.

A major part of the team's success is goalkeeper Rachel Vallarelli, who leads the nation in both save percentage and goals against average. She has stopped 57 percent of shot attempts against her this season, and team's have averaged just 4.60 goals against her through 13 games.

The Minutewomen have had to readjust following the graduation of all five of their Atlantic 10 First Team players last season and six of their seven total All-Conference players, including three-time Player of the Year Katie Ferris. Ferris and Sam Rush combined for 111 goals last season.

Despite the heavy graduation losses, the Minutewomen still feature a dangerous attack, though it is more balanced this season. They have outscored opponents 157-64 and A-10 opponents 64-21. Hannah Murphy has stepped up with a team-high 37 points on a team-high 32 goals along with five assists. Erika Eipp is up to 35 points on 23 goals and a team-best 12 assists, and Katie Ott rounds out the top three with 25 points on 19 goals and six assists. A pair of players - Holly Turner (13g, 7a) and Amy Tiernan (12g, 8a) - are up to 20 points. Four more have at least 10 points and total of 20 Minutewomen have recorded at least a point this season.

Defender Kate Farnham leads the team with 29 caused turnovers, and Murphy leads the squad with 63 draw controls.

Next Up
The Explorers head across town next Friday (4/24) for a 4 p.m. contest at Saint Joseph's, before wrapping up their home schedule with the annual Senior Day game against Richmond on Sunday (4/26) at 11 a.m.