Women's Lacrosse | May 3, 2017

PHILADELPHIA- The La Salle lacrosse team is prepared to head to the Atlantic 10 Championship, where they will face Richmond on Thursday, May 4. The sixth seeded Explorers are slated to play the third-seeded Spiders at 3:30 at host Saint Joseph's Sweeney Field.

"Our goal as a team is always to make the A-10 Championships, that's what you are focused on from day one of the season," said head coach Candace Taglianetti Bossell. "We've been trying really hard to just be in the journey and be in the moment and just focus on the process."

The Explorers will make the team's first appearance in postseason play since 2014, where they advanced to the semifinals before falling to Richmond in an 8-4 matchup.

"With some of the adversity we've had [this season], we feel lucky to be here, but also that we deserve it," said Taglianetti Bossell. "We believe we can play with the teams this weekend, we've shown that we can play with them for a half, so we just have to put that together for 60 minutes. To have the opportunity for play for a conference championship, that's something every athlete looks forward to."

The Explorers faced Richmond earlier this season, with the Spider walking away with the victory at McCarthy Stadium. La Salle will look to several key strategies to order to advance to the next round of play.

"Richmond is a really good team, they wouldn't be in the A-10 championship if they weren't. They have a really balanced attack, probably one of the most balanced attacks in the conference, so we really have to eliminate some of their top goal scorers but also play really good team defense," said Taglianetti Bossell. "That's our goal, to put together sixty minutes, limit some of their uncontested offensive opportunities and limit some of the transition goals and really look to put together a complete performance."
 
La Salle Explorers vs. Richmond Spiders
Thursday, April 4 |3:30 PM | Sweeney Field
Live Stats | Video

Scouting the Explorers…

- Leading La Salle offensively is senior Allee Ilgenfritz, who sits at third in overall conference statistics with an average of 3.00 goals per game. The midfielder has netted 51 goals over 17 starts this season. She was named a First Team selection by the A-10 for her efforts this season. 
- All-Academic Team member Toni Massetti is fifth in conference statistics with 48 goals this season. The redshirt junior averages 2.82 goals per game.
- Isabel Caddick has picked up 38 ground balls and caused 19 turnovers to lead the Explorers in both categories.
- Anna Gordon has won 32 draws over the regular season to lead the Blue and Gold. She also has scooped up 32 ground balls and added 12 goals in her 17 starts. The defender was named a Second Team All-Conference selection. 

Scouting the Spiders…

- Richmond claimed the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season in an 18-8 contest. The Spiders are 12-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play.
- A-10 Rookie of teh Year Samantha Geirsbach leads the conference in goals per game, netting 55 this season to average 3.24 per contest.
- Caroline Queally has won 90 draws so far this season to rank second in the conference at 5.29 per game.
- Goalkeeper Megan Gianforte saved 149 shots this season over her 17 appearances in the net. She sits at sixth in the conference with an average of 8.76 saves per game.  
 
The winner of Thursday's matchup will advance to the semifinal round, where they will face Saint Joseph's on Friday at 3:30 PM.