PHILADELPHIA – The Hawks will close the regular-season on the road this weekend as the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team (7-9, 6-2 A-10) heads to George Washington (4-12, 2-6 A-10) for Atlantic 10 Conference action this Saturday, April 30. Opening draw is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the GW Lacrosse Field in Washington, D.C. The Hawks have won six of their last seven, while the Colonials have dropped back-to-back games.
Live streaming ($) of Saturday's game will be available via a subscription to the Atlantic 10 Digital Network, while live stats will be provided through GWSports.com.
For the first time since 2009 and for just the third time in program history, the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse program will return to the Atlantic 10 postseason. A win on Saturday would unofficially seed the Hawks third entering next weekend's championship, slated for May 5-8 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Hawks, currently tied for second in the conference, were picked to finish eighth in the A-10 preseason poll. George Washington, picked to finish fifth, is currently tied for seventh.
HIGH-FLYING HAWKS
Through 16 games, junior attacker Nora McCallion (team-best 42g, 13a) and junior midfielder Maggie Egan (19g, team-best 28a, team-best 41 draw controls) lead the squad with 45+ points apiece while freshman midfielder Rebecca Lane (26g, 15a) owns 41 points through 12 appearances. In all, seven Hawks have scored 10+ goals for the Crimson and Gray. Saint Joseph's all-time leader in caused turnovers (80) and the current Atlantic 10 leader in caused turnovers per game (1.63), senior Caroline Hagan (28gb, team-best 26ct) leads a defensive unit of junior Megan Tracy (26gb) and sophomores Kate Payne and Catie Vivian while senior goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin (7-9, 6-2 A-10) owns an 11.12 GAA and .395 save percentage to go with a team-best 38 ground balls in 857:53.
SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGE WASHINGTON
Saturday's game will mark the 15th all-time meeting between the Hawks and Colonials; GW owns an 11-3 series advantage and has won the last six meetings since 2010. SJU's last win (11-8) came on April 17, 2009.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
After going 2-10 to start the season, George Washington won back-to-back games over Richmond (11-10) and VCU (20-12) before dropping its most recent pair of contests to La Salle (13-11) and, most recently, Duquesne (18-11) on April 24. The Colonials are 0-6 at home.
LAST TIME OUT
The Patriots scored the first 10 goals of the game and never trailed as the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team had its six-game winning streak snapped, 16-7, by George Mason in Atlantic 10 Conference action last Sunday afternoon on Sweeney Field. Junior attacker Nora McCallion factored into five of SJU's seven scoring plays with a team-best three goals and team-best two assists on the day.
WINNING WAYS
After going 1-7 in non-conference action, the Hawks have turned things around in league play. Saint Joseph's is 6-2 in the A-10 and won six straight games from April 3 through April 22, which marks the longest win streak in program history. Additionally, the six wins broke the record for single-season league wins, previously set at five by the 2009 squad. The program record for most wins in a season is 10.
RECORD WATCH
Saint Joseph's senior defender Caroline Hagan now owns SJU's all-time record for career caused turnovers with 80, with at least two games remaining in her career. Senior goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin ranks sixth in career saves (311). 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 28. Egan's 36 career assists rank sixth all-time at SJU. Junior attacker Nora McCallion's 31 career assists tie for eighth, while Giblin's 102 career ground balls are four short of breaking into SJU's all-time top ten for career ground balls. In single-season records, Hagan ties for eighth in caused turnovers (26) while McCallion ties for eighth in goals (42).
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.
