April 10, 2013

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team (7-5, 1-2 A-10) will host a pair of Atlantic 10 conference games against La Salle (8-4, 0-3 A-10) and #13 Massachusetts (11-2, 3-0 A-10) this weekend.

La Salle: Live Stats | Massachusetts: Live Stats

Saint Joseph's will look for its second win in three years against La Salle as the Hawks stand 10-5 against the Explorers. Last season, the Hawks fell, 11-3, in the season finale on April 22 at La Salle's McCarthy Field.

After kicking off the season with eight wins out of nine games played, La Salle (8-4, 0-3 A-10) has dropped its most recent three games, all A-10 matchups. The Explorers fell to Massachusetts (20-11 final) and George Washington (12-3 final) before dropping a 19-13 matchup to Richmond on April 7. In that game, Kaitlin Brostrand and Katelyn Fay netted three goals apiece for La Salle while Maura Malone made seven saves in 59:43.

On the season, Brostrand (36g, 2a) and Lauren McDermott (22g, 7a) lead the Explorers in scoring. Katie Marasco (13gb, 10ct, 16dc) has been a strong defensive presence while Malone (8-4) has seen a majority of time in goal for La Salle with a .400 saves percentage and 10.56 goals-against average in 698:37.

Saint Joseph's vs. #13 Massachusetts - April 14
Atlantic 10: #5 vs. #1
Finnesey Field - Philadelphia, Pa. - Noon

* Note: The Saint Joseph's University Athletic Department will celebrate 20 years of lacrosse on April 14 by honoring the school's first women's varsity team. The members of the 1993 Hawk squad will be recognized at halftime of this game, in conjunction with Alumni and Family Day festivities. A reception for alumni and their families will follow the games at Landmark Americana Tap & Grill located on 54th Street. For more information, contact Becky Jurich at 610-660-3280 or email rjurich@sju.edu. To RSVP online, visit alumni.sju.edu/wlax.

Saint Joseph's will look for its third win in program history against Massachusetts as the Hawks stand 2-18 all-time against the Minutewomen. Last season, the Hawks fell against then-nationally ranked #10 UMass, 19-4, on April 6 at McGuirk Stadium. Then-senior Meghan McDevitt (2g, 1a) and then-sophomore Val Paolucci (1g, 1a) led the Hawks in scoring.

#13 Massachusetts (11-2, 3-0 A-10) is in the midst of an eight-game win streak, most recently coming off of a 10-9 home win over George Washington. In that game, Katie Ferris led the way with a three-goal, three-assist effort. Kelsey McGovern picked up three ground balls and recorded five draw controls while Rachel Vallarelli picked up the win in goal with one save in a full 60:00.

On the season, Ferris (37g, 19a), Sam Rush (38g, 4a), and Cori Murray (24g, 17) lead the Minutewomen in scoring while McGovern (35gb, 83dc, 26ct) has been a force defensively. Vallarelli (10-2) has seen most time between the pipes, posting a .385 saves percentage and 8.44 goals-against average in 647:14.

In A-10 action, #13 UMass has defeated La Salle (20-11 final), Richmond (12-11 2OT final), and George Washington (10-9 final). The Minutewomen will play A-10 opponent Temple this Friday, April 12 before taking on the Hawks this Sunday.

Last Time Out: Saint Joseph's fell to Duquesne, 16-1, last Friday but defeated St. Bonaventure, 13-7, this past Sunday to pick up its first conference win of the season. On the weekend, graduate student attack Meghan McDevitt led the Hawks with seven points (5g, 2a) while the junior/sophomore midfield duo of Val Paolucci and Julia Falcone combined for four goals, with Paolucci also dishing out an assist. Falcone led the Hawks with five ground balls and five caused turnovers while junior attack Abby Ananian, who ties for second in the A-10 with 3.08 draw controls per game, recorded five against St. Bonaventure. Freshman goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin went 1-1 on the weekend. Sophomore midfielder Hannah Hutchins and freshman attack Emily Bowers registered their first collegiate goals against St. Bonaventure. For complete recaps from last weekend's games, please click here: Duquesne / St. Bonaventure.

McDevitt's Moves: At the start of the season, Coach Roessler stated that she had great expectations of leadership from her star attack, graduate student Meghan McDevitt. Leading the team with 43 points off of team-leading 25 goals and 18 assists, McDevitt has lived up to those expectations. Over the first six games of the season, McDevitt led the squad with 2.83 goals per game to help the Hawks to their best start (5-1) in program history and currently ranks fourth in the A-10 with 1.50 assists per game and ranks seventh with 3.58 points per game. The standout attack has six hat-tricks on the season in addition, including three four-goal games.

In Saint Joseph's 13-7 win over St. Bonaventure on April 7, McDevitt netted her fourth goal of the game at the 20:20 mark of the second half to put the Hawks up 11-5. With that goal, McDevitt took sole position of eighth place on SJU's all-time career goals list with 89. McDevitt also ranks in career assists (fourth, 53), points (sixth, 142), shots (ninth, 196), and games played (T-ninth, 63). With her second assist of the St. Bonaventure game, McDevitt took sole possession of eighth place in the all-time single-season record book for assists (18).

                    Career Goals:                             Career Assists:
                    6. [Kristin] Teklinsky (2001-04)...117    2. [Lindsey-Kate] McCool (2005-08)..65
                    7. [Margot] Grant (1994-97)........90     3. [Shannon] Hungate (2000-03)......57
                    8. Meghan McDevitt (2009-Present)..89     4. Meghan McDevitt (2009-present)...53
                    Career Points:                            Career Shots:
                    4. [Kristin] Teklinsky (2001-04)...147    7. [Brett] Dymarczyk (2000-03)......258
                    5. [Bernadette] Smith (1998-01)....144    8. [Jen] Peters (2009-12)...........218
                    6. Meghan McDevitt (2009-present)..142    9. Meghan McDevitt (2009-present)...196
                    Career Games Played:                      Single-Season Assists:
                    7. [Jen] Peters (2009-12)...........64    4. [Lindsey-Kate] McCool (2008).....21
                       [Jontell] Lyons (2006-2009)......64    5. [Lindsey-Kate] McCool (2006).....20
                    9. Meghan McDevitt (2009-Present)...63    6. [Jenna] Martino (2009)...........19
                       [Christina] Colangelo (2005-08)..63       [Shannon] Feite (1996)...........19
                       [Lindsey-Kate] McCool (2005-08)..63    8. Meghan McDevitt (2011)...........18

Falcone's Force: Sophomore midfielder Julia Falcone is having herself a standout sophomore campaign on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field. Starting all 12 games in the midfield, Falcone has shown her versatility as she ranks second on the team in goals and has picked up a team-high 27 ground balls and caused a team-high 15 turnovers on the season; the sophomore ranks fourth in the A-10 in ground balls per game (2.25) and ties for fifth in caused turnovers per game (1.25). Falcone has scored at least one goal in all but one game this season, including seven multi-goal games, two in which she registered four goals apiece. stands as the only Hawk to have recorded at least one goal in every game this season - including eight multi-goal games, two in which she registered four goals apiece.

Defensive Dominance: For games played through April 7, the Saint Joseph's defense comprised of senior Alexa Matthews and juniors Brittany Hanrahan, Allison Heath, and Kaitlyn McSwiggan ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.6 goals per game. The veteran quartet of defenders has combined for 35 percent (67-of-193) of SJU's ground balls and 44 percent (43-of-97) of its caused turnovers.

Rookies Respond: The freshmen on the squad have taken advantage of their opportunities on the field this season. Attack Bianca Angstadt has seen seven starts in 11 games, having only sat the Saint Mary's game due to injury. In those 11, Angstadt scored seven goals, which ranks her first of all freshmen and fifth on the team in scoring. The freshman has one assist to her name in addition to four ground balls and nine draw controls. Fellow rookie attack Bonnie McShane made her first start for the Hawks against Saint Mary's in place of the injured Angstadt en route to a two-goal, three-assist performance that earned her Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors (3/26). Defender Caroline Hagan (10gb, 12ct) has gotten the starting three times while goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin has earned the starting spot between the pipes for the Hawks, owning a 6-5 record and 7.64 goals-against average, which ranks her 11th in the nation.

Before They Were Hawks: Four SJU duos have come to Hawk Hill after having played together as teammates in high school.
Archbishop Carroll (Wayne, Pa.) - Senior attack Maggie Mauer, sophomore goalkeeper Nora McGeever
Georgetown Visitation Prep (Washington, D.C.) - Freshman goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin, freshman defender Mary Margaret Tonner
Hillsborough (Hillsborough, N.J.) - Sophomore attack Gianna Minutillo, freshman midfielder Courtney Emanuele
Manheim Township (Lancaster, Pa.) - Graduate student attack Meghan McDevitt, sophomore defender Molly Curcio