PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team (2-3) returns home to host #19/16 Duke (4-3) this Thursday, March 16. Opening draw is set for 3:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field. Averaging 13.6 goals per game, the Hawks will go up against a Blue Devils squad that has dropped its last three games.
Note: Continue to visit SJUHawks.com for the most up-to-date status of this game, dependent on the current weather forecast.
Live streaming ($) of Thursday's game and all six 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 also be provided via SJUHawks.com.
Thursday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and Duke and the first on Sweeney Field. The last time the Hawks faced the Blue Devils on April 23, 2006, Duke was ranked first nationally and came away with a 24-2 victory in Durham, N.C.
The Hawks currently lead the country in free-position percentage, making 66.7 percent (10-of-15) of their shots from the eight-meter. Sophomore midfielder Hayley Sabol leads the way with a trio of FPG.
Duke sits 11th in free position percentage (52.2%) and 12th in draw controls per game (15.14), led by Olivia Jenner's 7.00 average per outing, which ranks fifth nationally.
After opening the season with a 15-7 win over American on February 18, SJU's last four games have been decided by a goal, including home losses to Temple, 14-13, and Villanova, 11-10, an 18-17 win at Cal, and, most recently, a 13-12 loss decided in the final 6:43 at San Diego State this past Friday.
With 13 goals and a team-high eight helpers apiece, senior attacker Nora McCallion and sophomore midfielder Rebecca Lane lead the squad in scoring with 21 points each. Freshman attacker Hope Anhut tallied nine goals in SJU's two games on the West Coast to launch herself to a team-best 17 scores on the year.
Graduate student Mallory Grey has dominated in draw controls (23), including a career-high nine vs. Villanova, while McCallion also leads the Hawks in ground balls (9). Junior midfielder Dana Garbinski (7gb, 6ct), junior defender Kristen Kelbon (6gb, 6ct), and Sabol (6gb, 6ct) have combined for nearly a quarter of the squad's total ground balls and 40 percent of the squad's total caused turnovers.
Graduate student goalkeeper Liz O'Sullivan (1-1) played the first 120:00 of the year, while senior Amelia Deibler (1-2) has seen all 180:00 of the last three outings.
11 Hawks have earned all five starts at this point in McCallion, Lane, Anhut, Grey, Garbinski, Kelbon, Sabol, senior midfielder Maggie Egan, freshman midfielder Julia Pash, sophomore midfielder Ally Beck, and junior defender Kate Payne.
Duke is 4-3 overall and 0-1 in true road games this season. The Blue Devils opened the season with four consecutive wins against Drexel, 9-7, Furman, 20-5, Navy, 20-12, and then-#12 Stanford, 12-8, before dropping their last three against then-#9 Notre Dame, 12-11, Virginia Tech, 11-6, and, most recently, Louisville, 11-8, on the road this past Saturday.
Maddie Crutchfield leads Duke with 15 goals while Kyra Harney (13g, 10a) and Jenner (13g, 5a) own 23 and 18 points, respectively. Jenner (49) and Maura Schwitter (21) have combined for 70 of the Blue Devils' 134 draw controls through seven games. Goalkeeper Jamie Lockwood (4-3) sports a 9.03 goals against average and .487 save percentage in 385:25.
