PHILADELPHIA – The Hawks will take their program-best, five-game winning streak into the weekend as the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team (6-8, 5-1 A-10) battles a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference foes, beginning on the road at VCU (3-11, 1-5 A-10) this Friday, April 22. Opening draw at Cary Street Field in Richmond, Va. is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

The Hawks will then host George Mason (9-4, 4-2 A-10) this Sunday, April 24 in the regular-season home finale. Opening draw is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field. The Patriots will first face St. Bonaventure on Friday prior to taking on the Hawks.

Live streaming ($) of both games will be available via a subscription to the Atlantic 10 Digital Network, while live stats for Friday's game will be provided through VCUAthletics.com and for Sunday's game through SJUHawks.com.

The Hawks, currently second in the conference, were picked to finish eighth in the A-10 preseason poll. George Mason, currently tied for third, was picked to finish fourth while VCU, currently 10th, was picked to finish 10th. 

SENIOR DAY
Following Saint Joseph's game vs. George Mason, the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse program will honor seniors Bianca Angstadt, Courtney Emanuele, Genevieve Giblin, Mallory Grey, and Caroline Hagan and graduate student Ashley Alden in a Senior Day ceremony.

HIGH-FLYING HAWKS
Through 14 games, junior attacker Nora McCallion (team-best 35g, 9a) and junior midfielder Maggie Egan (17g, team-best 27a, team-best 38 draw controls) lead the squad with 44 points apiece while freshman midfielder Rebecca Lane (24g, 12a) owns 36 points through 10 appearances. In all, seven Hawks have scored 10+ goals for the Crimson and Gray. Saint Joseph's all-time leader in caused turnovers (77) and the current Atlantic 10 leader in caused turnovers per game (1.64), senior Caroline Hagan (27gb, team-best 23ct) leads a defensive unit of junior Megan Tracy (25gb) and sophomores Kate Payne and Catie Vivian while senior goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin (6-8, 5-1 A-10) owns an 11.32 GAA and .397 save percentage to go with a team-best 34 ground balls in 763:11, all but 78:00 on the season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. VCU
As the 2016 season marks the first women's lacrosse season in VCU's history, Friday's game will be the inaugural meeting between the Hawks and the Rams.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
In their first season in VCU history, the Rams are 3-11 overall and 1-5 in league play. The Rams opened the season with a 21-9 win over Gardner Webb before dropping three straight to UMBC (20-5), Liberty (19-9), and Winthrop (19-7). VCU then defeated Campbell (21-13) before dropping six straight to Detroit (12-10), Central Michigan (6-5), Old Dominion (19-2), Richmond (16-9), La Salle (7-5), and Duquesne (12-10). The Rams then beat St. Bonaventure (18-11) but have lost their most recent two contests to Davidson (19-9) and George Washington (20-12). Sky Hyatt (34g, 10a, 44dc) and Molly Barcikowski (2g, 21a) lead the tream in scoring while Ria Peralta (3-11, 1-5 A-10) sports a 14.93 GAA and .378 save percentage in 707:11.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGE MASON
Sunday's game will mark the 11th all-time meeting between the Hawks and the Patriots; George Mason leads, 8-2. The Patriots won, 14-12, on Sweeney Field last season while the Hawks won, 12-7, on the road in 2014. Prior to those two meetings, the teams hadn't met since 2009.

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
After starting the season 2-2 with wins over Lafayette (10-7) and Fresno State (12-5) and losses to Oregon (15-9) and Georgetown (15-12), the Patriots won five straight against Longwood (16-11), Liberty (17-7), Mount St. Mary's (15-4), George Washington (10-4), and Richmond (9-8). GMU then fell to UMass (13-9) before winning back-to-back games against Davidson (8-7) and La Salle (14-8) before most recently falling to Duquesne (9-8) last Sunday. Jacquelyn Spalding (27g, 10a), who ties for the league-best in free position goals per game (0.69), Chachi Kelehan (27g, 9a), and Alexa McGovern (27g, 3a) lead the Patriots in scoring while Elizabeth Benedetto (6-2, 4-2 A-10) sports a league-best 7.73 goals against average and .492 save percentage in 496:56. George Mason went 10-7 overall and 5-3 in league play to finish tied for third in the Atlantic 10 last season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hawks swept Atlantic 10 Conference action last weekend with a 9-8 overtime win over Duquesne and 20-9 win over St. Bonaventure. Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Rebecca Lane posted 11 points on four goals and seven assists, including the game-winner vs. Duquesne. The Hawks' 20 goals vs. the Bonnies were the most goals scored in a game since 2000. Junior midfielder Maggie Egan's second of four assists against St. Bonaventure brought her to 25 assists for a season to break SJU's single-season school record in the category.

HAWKS PICKED EIGHTH IN A-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team was picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic 10 this season, according to the conference's preseason poll. Under the direction of second-year head coach Alex Kahoe, Saint Joseph's returned 18 Hawks, including nine starters, and added eight newcomers to the field for the 2016 season.

RECORD WATCH
Saint Joseph's senior defender Caroline Hagan now owns SJU's all-time record for career caused turnovers with 77, with at least three regular-season games remaining. Senior goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin ranks sixth in career saves (311) and needs 39 for fifth. Junior midfielder Maggie Egan's second assist against St. Bonaventure was the 25th of the season, which broke SJU's single-season school record; she currently has 27. Egan's 35 career assists rank sixth all-time at SJU; she needs four to move into fourth. Junior attacker Nora McCallion's 27 career assists sit two shy of breaking into SJU's all-time top ten for career assists, while Giblin's 98 career ground balls are eight short of breaking into SJU's all-time top ten for career ground balls.

WINNING WAYS
After going 1-7 in non-conference action, the Hawks have turned things around in league play. Saint Joseph's is 5-1 in the A-10 and has won five straight, which marks to longest winning streak in program history; the previous streak was four games. Additionally, the Hawks have matched the program record for most A-10 wins in a season with five, matching the 2009 team that went on to play for the A-10 title.

ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Massachusetts (6-0) – Up next: Richmond (April 22)
2. Saint Joseph's (5-1) – Up next: VCU (April 22)
3. George Mason (4-2) – Up next: St. Bonaventure (April 22)
    Davidson (4-2) – Up next: Duquesne (April 22)
    Duquesne (4-2) – Up next: Davidson (April 22)
6. La Salle (2-4) – Up next: George Washington (April 22)
    George Washington (2-4) – Up next: La Salle (April 22)
8. Richmond (1-5) – Up next: Massachusetts (April 22)
9. St. Bonaventure (1-5) – Up next: George Mason (April 22)
10. VCU (1-5) – Up next: Saint Joseph's (April 22)