PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team (5-6, 0-3 A-10) will close out the road portion of the 2015 regular-season schedule with a pair of Atlantic 10 games in Pittsburgh, Pa. and St. Bonaventure, N.Y. this weekend.
Saint Joseph's will first face Duquesne (5-6, 1-1 A-10) this Friday, April 10. Start time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Rooney Field. Live streaming ($) will be available via a subscription to the Atlantic 10 Digital Network while live stats will be provided via GoDuquesne.com.
Saint Joseph's will then face St. Bonaventure (1-11, 0-3 A-10) this Sunday, April 12. Start time is scheduled for noon at the Marra Complex. Live streaming of the game will not be made available; however live stats will be provided via GoBonnies.sbu.edu. The Bonnies play La Salle this Friday before taking on the Hawks.
The Hawks lead the conference in draw controls per game (13.00), led by junior midfielder Kelly Phelan's 3.67 per outing, which ranks her third; Phelan also ranks in the A-10's top three in goals per game (2.56) and points per game (3.33).
Saint Joseph's will face a pair of goalkeepers that rank highly in the A-10 in Duquesne's Jenna Bishop, who ranks second in save percentage (.470), and St. Bonaventure's Morgan Conroy, who leads the conference and ranks second nationally in both total saves (133) and saves per game (12.09).
LEADING HAWKS
Heading into this weekend's pair of road games, junior midfielder Kelly Phelan (23G, 8A) and sophomore midfielder Sarah Smith (22G, 8A) account for 39 percent of SJU's goals (45-of-116) and 41 percent of SJU's assists (16-of-39). Phelan also leads the squad in draw controls (33) while Smith owns a team-best five FPG in a team-high 14 attempts. Sophomore attack Nora McCallion (14G, 7A) rounds out SJU's 20+ point members.
On the defensive end of the field, juniors Caroline Hagan (20GB, 16CT) and Courtney Emanuele (18GB, 11CT) have combined for 38 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers while classmate Mallory Grey has earned 24 draw controls in 11 appearances. Senior goalkeeper Nora McGeever (5-6, 0-3 A-10) owns a 10.97 goals against average and .429 save percentage in 678:27 to go with a team-best 26 ground balls.
SCOUTING...
...THE DUKES: Duquesne is 5-6 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic 10. The Dukes posted a 4-5 non-conference season with wins over Robert Morris, Saint Francis, Mount St. Mary's, and, most recently, Michigan on April 10 and losses to Penn State, Marquette, Louisville, Ohio State, and Canisius. Duquesne fell to UMass, 10-2, in the A-10 opener but came back to post a 19-11 win over St. Bonaventure. Kaelin Shaw (19G, 9A) leads five Dukes with 10+ goals while Jenna Bishop (4-6, 1-1 A-10) has made 10 of 11 starts in net to sport a 10.23 goals against average and .470 save percentage in 563:08.
...THE BONNIES: St. Bonaventure is 1-11 overall and 0-3 in the Atlantic 10. The Bonnies faced Michigan, Mount St. Mary's, Iona, Canisius, Siena, Niagara, St. Francis (Pa.), Robert Morris, and Binghamton is non-conference play, picking up their win against St. Francis (Pa.) on March 19. In A-10 action, SBU fell to Richmond (19-9), Duquesne (19-11), and UMass (18-8). Mikalya Place owns a team-best 37 points on 20 goals and 17 assists while six total Bonnies own 10+ goals. Morgan Conroy (1-11, 0-3 A-10) has seen all by 59:45 in net and owns a 15.90 GAA and .441 save percentage in 660:15.
SERIES HISTORY...
...AGAINST THE DUKES: Duquesne owns a 15-1 all-time series advantage over Saint Joseph's as Friday's game will mark the 17th meeting between the Dukes and Hawks. Last season, the Hawks fell, 10-8, at home on April 13; returning scorers from that game include Nora McCallion (3), Kelly Phelan (2), Julia Falcone (1), and Courtney Emanuele (1).
...AGAINST THE BONNIES: Saint Joseph's owns an 8-7 all-time series edge over St. Bonaventure as Sunday's game will mark the 16th meeting between the Hawks and Bonnies. Last season, the Hawks downed the Bonnies, 8-7, at home on April 11; returning scorers from that game include Julia Falcone (4), Kelly Phelan (3), Nora McCallion (2), Courtney Emanuele (1), and Emily Bowers (1).
LAST TIME OUT
Recap | Box Score
Despite a late run that saw the Hawks score three goals in the final 2:20 of regulation, the Hawks fell at George Washington in Atlantic 10 action by a final score of 13-9 at the GW Lacrosse Field on April 3. Junior midfielder Kelly Phelan scored three goals and dished out an assist to lead SJU in scoring.
ATLANTIC 10 ACTION
Saint Joseph's is 0-3 in the Atlantic 10 and will play its third of four consecutive road games at Duquesne this Friday. The Hawks will then close out their road slate at 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 had already matched SJU's total amount of wins from the 2014 season. The Hawks are currently 5-6 overall with five games remaining in the 2015 regular season; SJU's program record for wins in a season is 10, set in 2009.
STARTING SEVEN
Saint Joseph's has seen seven Hawks start all 11 games so far this season. 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 have anchored the back line. Senior goalkeeper Nora McGeever has made all 11 starts in net and has seen all but 8:38 between the pipes this season.
HAVOC WITH HAGAN
Junior defender Caroline Hagan has launched herself into SJU's all-time recordbook for career caused turnovers having posted 16 through 11 games this season and sparked by a career-high five-CT effort against George Mason on March 27. Hagan's 50 career caused turnovers ties her for eighth all-time on Hawk Hill.
SOARING WITH SMITH
Sophomore midfielder Sarah Smith 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 to start the season, 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!
