Women's Lacrosse | April 11, 2019

PHILADELPHIA – Women's lacrosse is in the stretch run now, with only three regular season games remaining. Heading into the final home game of 2019, La Salle sits fifth in conference standings with a 3-3 record. The top six teams make it into the A10 Championships. This weekend will be key to those aspirations; the Explorers host Massachusetts on Friday with first draw at 2, then they hop over to Saint Joseph's for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
 
ABOUT THE EXPLORERS

•  Staying positive: over the last three games, the Explorers have gone 2-1 with a +11 scoring margin. They're averaging 13 goals a game to their opponent's 9.3.
• Last time out: in a close 14-13 loss to Richmond, La Salle was bolstered by the scoring form of sophomores Bridget Ruskey and Allison Hunter, as both netted four times. Hunter added two assists, while her classmate dished out one. Not to be outshone, sophomore Molly Loughlin was a strong presence in net with 16 saves.
• Ruskey now tops the team scoring charts this season with 29 goals and nine assists. Her 38 points are four ahead of classmate Maddie Dachowski on 34 (28 goals, six assists).
• La Salle's number 27 also paces the team in draw controls by some margin with 43, 18 more than Hunter who sits in second.
• Loughlin is undoubtedly having a career-year in the cage. She has 134 saves and a 49.8% save percentage, the latter mark good for second best in the conference.
• In the caused turnover department, La Salle has shared the disruptive duties with four Explorers in double digits. Senior Courtney Shoults and sophomore Priya Kavuru have 17 each, while Ruskey and fellow sophomore Emily Johnston have 12.

 SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS

• The Minutewomen have been stellar thus far in conference play, standing atop the A10 with a 6-0 record. Overall, they're 11-3 on the year with two of those losses coming on the road.
• UMass has four players at or above 50 points this season. The team is led by junior Kaitlyn Cerasi on 59 points (30 goals, 29 assists), followed by sophomore Haley Connaughton with 55 points (26 goals, 29 assists). The team's leading goalscorer, redshirt senior Kiley Anderson, is third on points with 53 (46 goals, seven assists) and junior Stephanie Croke rounds out the quarter with an even 50 points (30 goals, 20 assists).
• In net, the time is split between freshman Gina Carroll, 6-3 on the season, and junior Lauren Hiller who is 5-0. Hiller is expected to get the start and sports a 9.67 goals against average in 2019.

 SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S

• The Hawks are perched fourth in the conference with a 5-1 mark. Overall, the Philadelphia rivals are 9-5 in 2019.
• Saint Joe's has two offensive standouts of note this season with most of the load on that end of the field being carried by senior Francesca Donato and sophomore Stephanie Kelly. Donato leads the team by some distance with 71 points (35 goals, 36 assists), with Kelly behind her on 55 points (27 goals, 28 assists).
• The Hawks also have two goalkeepers splitting time this campaign with sophomore Corinne Buttner on 450 minutes and freshman Amber Weedon at 344 minutes. Buttner has the high in saves with 73 and the most wins with five.