PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse squad (4-4) is set to open Atlantic 10 action with a pair of games this weekend. The Hawks will kick off the conference slate at home against Davidson (2-5, 0-0 A-10) this Friday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field. The Hawks enter the game on their first two-game winning streak of the season, while Davidson has dropped four in a row and is winless in four opportunities on the road.

Saint Joseph's will then head to eight-time defending A-10 champion UMass (5-3, 0-0 A-10) for a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday afternoon at Garber Field in Amherst, Mass. Currently on a four-game winning streak, the Minutewomen will open A-10 play against VCU on Friday at 3:00 p.m. before facing the Hawks on Sunday afternoon.

Live streaming ($) of both games will be available via a subscription to the Atlantic 10 Digital Network. To sign up, please click here. Live stats will be provided for both games.

In returning the 2016 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in sophomore midfielder Rebecca Lane, two A-10 First Team picks in senior attacker Nora McCallion and senior midfielder Maggie Egan, and 99.4 percent of the offense from a Hawks squad that reached the A-10 semifinals last season, Saint Joseph's was predicted to finish third in the A-10 this spring, as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches and announced on February 3. Davidson was predicted to finish sixth, while UMass earned nine first-place votes to top the preseason poll. 

Averaging a league-best 12.88 goals per game, Saint Joseph's enters Friday's game with the offensive advantage. Lane and McCallion each average 3.75 points per game, while freshman attacker Hope Anhut's 2.88 goals per game ranks third in the A-10. SJU's offense will go up against a Davidson defensive unit that allows just over 11 goals per game, backstopped by netminder Rose Woolson, who ranks third in the league in both goals against average (11.38) and save percentage (46.8%).

Sunday's game will see the Hawks face a UMass team that currently ranks second nationally in free position percentage (58.6%). Saint Joseph's graduate student midfielder Mallory Grey, who ranks third in the conference in draw controls per game (4.50), will put that average up against UMass' Tewarraton Watch List selection Hannah Murphy's league-best 6.63 draw controls per outing. UMass goalkeeper Lauren Hiller ranks in the league's top three in all defensive categories.

SERIES HISTORY (DAVIDSON)
Friday's game will mark the sixth all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and Davidson. The Hawks own a 4-1 all-time series advantage and are 2-1 under the direction of third-year head coach Alex Kahoe. The Hawks defeated the Wildcats twice last spring, taking home a 10-8 road win to kick off a program-best six-game win streak during the regular-season and earning a 10-7 victory in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals. Rebecca Lane (7g) and Mallory Grey (5g) combined for 12 goals over the pair of wins.

All-Time Series:
2016 - W - 10-7 - Neutral (A-10 Semifinals in Richmond, Va.)
2016 - W - 10-8 - Away
2015 - L - 13-10 - Home      
1995 - W - 17-8 - Home
1994 - W - 16-6 - Away

SERIES HISTORY (UMASS)
Sunday's game will mark the 25th all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and Massachusetts. UMass owns a 23-2 all-time series advantage and has won the last 13 meetings. SJU faced UMass twice last year, and battled the 16th-ranked Minutewomen to a 13-8 loss in the Atlantic 10 Tournament seminfinals. The Hawks' last win against the Minutewomen came on April 10, 2005, by a final score of 10-7, on the road. SJU also won in 1996. Saint Joseph's and UMass have faced each other every year since 1994.

All-Time Series:
2016 - L - 15-5 - Home
2015 - L - 16-7 - Home         
2014 - L - 18-2 - Away
2013 - L - 14-7 - Home
2012 - L - 19-4 - Away
2011 - L - 14-8 - Home
2010 - L - 14-13 (2OT) - Away
2009 - L - 15-14 (2OT) - Neutral (Atlantic 10 Finals at Temple)
2009 - L - 10-8 - Home
2008 - L - 9-8 - Home
2007 - L - 9-5 - Away
2006 - L - 10-7 - Home
2005 - W - 10-7 - Away
2004 - L - 13-11 - Home
2003 - L - 8-6 (OT) - Away
2002 - L - 11-3 - Home
2001 - L - 14-8 - Home
2000 - L - 18-8 - Away
1999 - L - 14-9 - Home
1998 - L - 10-2 - Home
1997 - L - 11-6 - Away
1996 - W - 11-8 - Home
1995 - L - 19-6 - Away
1994 - L - 12-7 - Home

ABOUT THE HAWKS
The Hawks dropped four of their first six games of the season, with wins over American (15-7) and Cal (18-17) and losses to Temple (14-13), Villanova (11-10), San Diego State (13-12), and then-#19/16 Duke (16-10) before winning their most recent two contests, against Mount St. Mary's (12-11) and Wagner (13-8).

Senior attacker Nora McCallion (19g, 11a) and sophomore midfielder Rebecca Lane (16g, 14a) lead the Hawks with 30 points apiece while freshman attacker Hope Anhut has scored a team-best 23 goals.

Despite missing a pair of recent games, graduate student Mallory Grey still leads the squad with 27 draw controls, while junior defender Kristen Kelbon (13gb, 11ct), junior midfielder Dana Garbinski (15gb, 9ct), and sophomore midfielder Hayley Sabol (10gb, 10ct) have combined for 28% of SJU's ground balls and 40% of SJU's caused turnovers.

Senior Amelia Deibler (3-3) has seen the last 360:00 between the pipes and sports a 12.67 goals against average and .420 save percentage on 170 shots faced. In SJU's 13-8 win over Wagner last time out, Deibler recorded her second-highest saves total of the season (13) and her lowest goals allowed total (8), set a new season-high for ground balls (3), and caused her first career turnover.

SCOUTING DAVIDSON
The Wildcats (2-5, 0-0 A-10) won two of their first three to start the season, with a season-opening loss to Virginia Tech (13-7) followed by back-to-back wins over Siena (14-7) and William and Mary (10-9) before dropping four in a row to Jacksonville (15-9), Campbell (9-8), Winthrop (10-5), and Elon (15-7).

Annie Brockett leads the squad in points (25) and goals (20) while Kendall Thielemann owns a team-best nine helpers. Rose Woolson (2-5) sports an 11.38 goals against average and .475 save percentage in 390:00, all but 30:00 on the year, to go with a team-best 21 ground balls.

SCOUTING UMASS
The Minutewomen (5-3, 0-0 A-10) dropped three of their first four with losses to then-#17 Boston College (18-10), Jacksonville (14-13), and then-#5 Syracuse (17-8) and a win in their second game of the season vs. Colorado (11-7). Since then, UMass has won four in a row with victories over Connecticut (10-9 OT), New Hampshire (13-4), Harvard (16-9), and Marist (10-7).

Holly Turner (12g, 14a), Hannah Murphy (15g, 7a), and Hannah Burnett (18g, 2a) all own 20+ points, while Murphy, a 2017 Tewaaraton Watch List selection, has won 53 draw controls. Sarah Crowley (26gb, 21ct, 14dc) leads the defense while Lauren Hiller (5-3) sports a 10.95 goals against average and .473 save percentage in all 482:03.