PHILADELPHIA – Coming off of a 5-3 non-conference season, the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team will open Atlantic 10 Conference action this Friday, March 27 when the Hawks host the George Mason Patriots (5-3) at 7:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field.
Live streaming ($) of all four remaining regular-season home games will be available via a subscription to the Atlantic 10 Digital Network. To sign up, please click here. Live stats will be provided free of charge at SJUHawks.com.
Nationally, the Hawks rank 22nd in draw controls per game, which leads the Atlantic 10 at 13.13 per game, led by junior midfielder Kelly Phelan's conference-leading 4.33 per outing. The Hawks also rank 16th nationally in caused turnovers per game (9.75). Saint Joseph's senior goalkeeper Nora McGeever ranks 12th in saves per game (9.50) and 20th in total saves (76), which ranks her second in the A-10 for both categories.
George Mason's Jacquelyn Spalding leads the A-10 in points and points per game (39/4.88) and assists and assists per game (11/2.25) entering Friday's conference opener. The Patriots share the A-10 lead in total points with La Salle, putting forth 121 points on 86 goals and 35 assists.
LEADING HAWKS
Heading into Friday's game, sophomore midfielder Sarah Smith's 24 points (18G, 6A) lead the Hawks while junior midfielder Kelly Phelan (15G, 7A) has added 22 points; Phelan also leads the squad in draw controls (26) while Smith has scooped up nine ground balls and matches a team-high 10 turnovers. Sophomore attack Nora McCallion (11G, 7A) and sophomore defender Maggie Egan (8G, 3A) have added 10+ point efforts. Additionally, Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Aly Gormley has been phenomenal out of the midfield and posted a five-point effort (3G, 2A) to go with four caused turnovers and three ground balls last week.
On the defensive end of the field, juniors Courtney Emanuele (12GB, 10CT), Mallory Grey (11GB, 10CT), and Caroline Hagan (11GB, 7CT) have combined for 34 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers while senior goalkeeper Nora McGeever (5-3) owns a 10.11 goals against average and .475 save percentage in 498:27 to go with a team-best 19 ground balls.
SCOUTING GEORGE MASON
The Patriots started the season 4-2 with wins at Campbell (9-5), Mt. St. Mary's (10-5), Furman (18-8), and Wagner (11-10) and losses at Winthrop (17-6) and Georgetown (11-9). In its last two outings, George Mason fell at Liberty (11-7) but most recently downed Longwood, 16-13, in overtime; Jacquelyn Spalding scored give goals and Melissa Lobaccaro scored the game-winner on a FPS. The Patriots have played seven of their eight non-conference games on the road, as their contest against Liberty marked their only game played in Fairfax, Va.
For the season, Spalding (21G, 18A) leads the Patriots with 39 points while Alexa McGovern (16G, 2A), Melissa Lobaccaro (16G, 1A), and Caitlin McGinn (11G, 6A) have added 15+ point efforts. McGovern (27) and Gina Purdue (24) have combined for 51 draw controls while goalkeeper Taylor Carpentier (5-3) has played every minute in net, sporting a 9.88 goals against average and .456 save percentage in 486:00.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE PATRIOTS
George Mason owns a 7-2 all-time series advantage, as Friday's contest will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the two squads. On April 25 of last season, Saint Joseph's earned the 12-7 win in Fairfax. Returning scorers from that game include Bonnie McShane (4), Julia Falcone (2), Courtney Emanuele (1), Sarah Smith (1), and Kelly Phelan (1).
COMMON OPPONENTS
Both squads' non-conference schedules included Wagner and Longwood, and both squads posted 2-0 records against those opponents. SJU battled Wagner to a double-overtime 13-12 win while George Mason also won by one goal, 11-10. The Patriots battled Longwood to a 16-13 overtime victory while the Hawks put up a season-high 15 goals in a 15-7 win.
ATLANTIC 10 ACTION
The Hawks will now embark on an eight-game conference schedule, beginning with George Mason this Friday. Saint Joseph's will then hit the road to face Richmond (3/29), George Washington (4/3), Duquesne (4/10), and St. Bonaventure (4/12) before coming home to host UMass (4/17), Davidson (4/19), and La Salle (4/24). The Hawks went 2-5 in the A-10 in 2014.
FIVE WINS . . . AND COUNTING
The Hawks posted a 5-3 non-conference record to own five victories heading into their Atlantic 10 slate, which already matches SJU's total amount of wins from the 2014 season. SJU's program record for wins in a season is 10, set in 2009.
LAST TIME OUT
Recap | Box Score | Video: Postgame Interviews | Photo Gallery
Ten different Hawks registered goals as the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team concluded its non-conference schedule with a 13-5 win over Stetson this past Saturday afternoon. Junior attack Bonnie McShane posted a game-high three points (1G, 2A) while sophomore midfielder Sarah Smith, freshman defender Aly Gormley, and freshman attack Rena Carabases added two goals apiece.
COACH'S CORNER
"Nora McGeever and our defense really stepped up today and set the tone starting off the beginning of the game,” said head coach Alex Kahoe following SJU's 13-5 win over Stetson this past Saturday. “In the second half, our team came together and stepped up more so offensively. We had a full, team effort, which will set the tone as we head into A-10s.”
STARTING EIGHT
Saint Joseph's saw eight Hawks start all eight non-conference games. The sophomore trio of attack Nora McCallion and midfielders Katelyn Ambrose and Sarah Smith have sparked offensive unit while SJU's junior trio of Courtney Emanuele, Mallory Grey, and Caroline Hagan alongside sophomore Maggie Egan have anchored the back line. Senior goalkeeper Nora McGeever has made all eight starts in net and has seen all but 8:38 between the pipes this season.
SOARING WITH SMITH
Sophomore midfielder Sarah Smith factored into 50% of SJU's goals in the Hawks' 14-11 win over Monmouth on March 14. Smith registered a career-high seven points on a career-high five goals and career-high two assists to lead Saint Joseph's to its first road win of the season and fourth overall victory.
NO FAILIN' WITH PHELAN
In both of SJU's two overtime victories, junior midfielder Kelly Phelan converted on the game-winning goal. Phelan scored an unassisted goal in the third overtime against American on February 18 and then went on to score the double-overtime GWG on a FPS against Wagner on March 2.
MCGEEVER IN THE NEWS
Senior goalkeeper Nora McGeever was recently featured in The Times Herald, courtesy of Tom Layberger. To read the piece, click here!
