April 3, 2013
PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team (6-4, 0-1 A-10) will look to bounce back from its 7-6 A-10 opening loss against Temple last Friday with a pair of conference road games at Duquesne (6-4, 1-0 A-10) and St. Bonaventure (5-4, 0-1 A-10) this weekend.
Duquesne: Live Stats Video | St. Bonaventure: Live Stats
Saint Joseph's at Duquesne - April 5
Rooney Field - Pittsburgh, Pa. - 4:00 p.m.
Saint Joseph's will look for its second win against Duquesne in program history as the Hawks stand 1-13 all-time against the Dukes. Meghan McDevitt became part of SJU history with a two-goal effort that helped to lead the Hawks to their only win over Duquesne, a 15-10 victory on April 5, 2009. On April 15 of last season, the Crimson and Gray fell, 13-10, in double overtime on Finnesey Field. Val Paolucci and Michele Granger combined for three goals while Abby Ananian picked up four ground balls and controlled four draws.
Duquesne (6-4, 1-0 A-10) is in the midst of a three-game winning streak after defeating Niagara (22-4), Bucknell (18-9) and St. Bonaventure (18-1) in games played since March 22. In A-10 action against the Bonnies, Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Haley Marafioti tallied six goals while Caitlin Prince (4g, 1a) and Amanda Kidder (3g) also attacked on the offensive end. Duquesne outshot St. Bonaventure 31-2 in the first half en route to a dominant 13-0 run.
On the season, Marafioti has a team-best 41 points (22g, 19a) while Kidder leads the team in goals (28), ground balls (23) and caused turnovers (20). Kristen Gregory (5-4) has made every start in goal for the Dukes to accumulate a .444 saves percentage and 9.57 goals-against average.
Saint Joseph's at St. Bonaventure - April 7
McGraw-Jennings Field - St. Bonaventure, N.Y. - Noon
Saint Joseph's will look to even its series record against St. Bonaventure at seven wins apiece as the Hawks stand 6-7 all-time against the Bonnies. On April 13 of last season, SJU won, 17-11, on Finnesey Field. Meghan McDevitt recorded five points on two goals and three assists while Val Paolucci added three goals for the Hawks. Abby Ananian was good for five ground balls and five draw controls in the win.
After winning its first four of five games of the season, St. Bonaventure (5-4, 0-1 A-10) is just 1-3 over the last four games. The Bonnies lost their A-10 opener to Duquesne, 18-1, last Friday. Lauren Michaels scored the Bonnies lone goal of the game.
On the season, Jenna Schlagenhauf leads the team with 34 points (25g, 9a) while Carrie Kubasta leads the team in ground balls (17) and caused turnovers (13). Karly Kocis (4-2) has seen a majority of time in goal for the Bonnies with a .463 saves percentage and 11.44 goals-against average.
St. Bonaventure will play fellow A-10 opponent Temple in Philadelphia on Friday at 3:00 before heading over to Finnesey for Sunday's matchup with the Hawks.
Atlantic 10 Opener: Sophomore midfielder Julia Falcone scored her team-leading 21st goal of the season to bring the women's lacrosse team to within one goal with 1:16 remaining in regulation, but Temple would win the final draw and maintain possession as time expired to hand the Hawks a 7-6 loss in the Atlantic 10 opener. Falcone led the Hawks in scoring with two goals and added a team-high two draw controls while McDevitt dished out two assists. Junior defender Brittany Hanrahan picked up three ground balls and caused a team-high three turnovers while freshman goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin (5-4) made a pair of saves in a full 60-minute effort. The Hawks and Owls were even in shots with 15 apiece while SJU held a 17-14 advantage in ground balls. Saint Joseph's was 2-of-3 in free position shots compared to Temple's 1-of-4 but only controlled four of 15 total draws and doubled the Owls' fouls - 38-19. For the complete recap, click here.
Falcone's Force: Falcone is having herself a standout sophomore campaign on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field. Starting all 10 games in the midfield, Falcone leads the team in goals (21) and has picked up a team-high 22 ground balls on the season. The sophomore stands as the only Hawk to have recorded at least one goal in every game this season - including seven multi-goal games, two in which she registered four goals apiece.
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 in assists (16) and tying for second in goals (20), McDevitt has lived up to those expectations as she has compiled 36 points just over halfway through the season. 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 third in the A-10 with 1.60 assists per game and ranks seventh with 3.60 points per game.
"Attack"ing The Record Books: In Saint Joseph's 8-6 win over Manhattan on March 9, McDevitt netted her third of four goals at the 2:02 mark of the first half. With that goal, McDevitt took sole possession of 10th place on SJU's all-time career goals list with 80. Standing at 84 career goals, the attack is just four goals shy of tying Jen Peters (2009-12) and Jessica Huffman (1993-95) for ninth all-time. McDevitt also ranks in career assists, points, and shots and with her second assist of the game in Saint Joseph's 7-6 most recent loss to Temple, McDevitt ties for ninth in the all-time single-season record book for assists (16).
Career Goals: Career Assists:
8. [Jen] Peters (2009-12)............88 2. [Lindsey-Kate] McCool (2005-08)..65
[Jessica] Huffman (1993-95).......88 3. [Shannon] Hungate (2000-03)......57
10. Meghan McDevitt (2009-present)...84 4. Meghan McDevitt (2009-present)...51
Career Points: Career Shots:
6. [Grace] Dinn (2009-12)...........141 7. [Brett] Dymarczyk (2000-03)......258
7. [Lindsey-Kate] McCool (2005-08)..140 8. [Jen] Peters (2009-12)...........218
8. Meghan McDevitt (2009-present)...135 9. Meghan McDevitt (2009-present)...186
Single-Season Assists:
8. [Meghan] McDevitt (2011)..........17
9. Meghan McDevitt (2013)............16
[Alana] Glanell (2010)............16
[Jessica] Huffman (1995)..........16
[Shannon] Feite (1994)............16
Turning of the Tides: Jumping out to a 6-3 record at the conclusion of the non-conference portion of the regular season, Saint Joseph's made its best start in its 20-year program history. The Hawks won their first two games of the season for the first time since 2001 and, with their 16-13 win over Saint Mary's on March 22, collected their sixth win of the season to surpass their combined amount of wins from 2012. Offensively, the numbers have not significantly changed from last season to this season; the 2013 Hawks have scored 101 goals in comparison to 103 goals through 10 games in 2012. From a numbers standpoint, the success seems to be driving from a much-improved defensive effort. Last season, the Hawks were 4-6 after allowing 95 goals through 10 games. This season, the Hawks are 6-4 after allowing just 68 goals through 10 games. Saint Joseph's went from allowing 9.5 goals per game to 6.8 goals per game - in just one season.
Defensive Dominance: For games played through March 31, the Saint Joseph's defense comprised of senior Alexa Matthews and juniors Brittany Hanrahan, Allison Heath, and Kaitlyn McSwiggan ranks fourth in the nation in scoring defense, behind just Stony Brook, Florida, and Rutgers, allowing just 6.8 goals per game. The veteran quartet of defenders has combined for 36 percent (65-of-179) of SJU's ground balls and 46 percent (37-of-80) of its caused turnovers. Junior captain Hanrahan ties for third in the conference with 2.4 ground balls per game.
Rookies Respond: The freshman on the squad have taken advantage of their opportunities on the field this season. Attack Bianca Angstadt has seen seven starts in nine games, having only sat the Saint Mary's game due to injury. In those nine games, Angstadt scored eight 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, 11ct) has gotten the starting nod in three of the past four games while goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin has earned the starting spot between the pipes for the Hawks, holding a 5-4 record and 6.74 goals against average, which ranks her fourth 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.) - Giblin, freshman defender Mary Margaret Tonner
Hillsborough (Hillsborough, N.J.) - Sophomore attack Gianna Minutillo, freshman midfielder Courtney Emanuele
Manheim Township (Lancaster, Pa.) - McDevitt, sophomore defender Molly Curcio
