PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse squad (10-6, 6-2 A-10) will host George Washington (3-12, 2-6 A-10) in the 2017 regular-season home finale this Saturday, April 29. Opening draw is set for 1:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field. The Hawks are coming off of an explosive 22-14 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday and have won five of their last six while the Colonials snapped a six-game losing streak with a 9-7 home win over Duquesne on Sunday.
Former players, parents and their families are welcome for Alumni and Family Day. Lunch to be provided. RSVP online at alumni.sju.edu/wlax.
Live streaming ($) of Saturday's game will be available via a subscription to the Atlantic 10 Digital Network. To sign up, please click here. Live stats will also be provided at SJUHawks.com.
Following the conclusion of the game, the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse program will honor seniors Taylor Dachowski, Becky Daub, Amelia Deibler, Maggie Egan, Mallory Grey,Nora McCallion, Maura Monti, and Sarah Smith in a Senior Day ceremony.
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. George Washington was tabbed eighth.
With six wins, Saint Joseph's currently ties for second with Richmond and George Mason in the league standings, behind UMass (8-0). George Washington sits eighth. The top six teams make the A-10 postseason, to be hosted on Hawk Hill from May 4-7.
Lane leads the Atlantic 10 in points per game, averaging 4.20 an outing, and McCallion ranks fifth in the A-10 in goals per game (2.69) to spark an SJU offense that ranks second in the league in scoring offense at 14.50 goals per game.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will mark the 16th all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and George Washington. The Colonials own an 11-4 all-time series edge, but SJU snapped a six-game series losing streak with a 14-12 road win last year, backed by Rebecca Lane's nine points (5g, 4a) and another five scores from Nora McCallion.
All-Time Series Results:
2016 - W - 14-12 - Away
2015 - L - 13-9 - Away
2014 - L - 14-10 - Away
2013 - L - 12-8 - Home
2012 - L - 10-9 (OT) - Away
2011 - L - 9-3 - Home
2010 - L - 11-9 - Away
2009 - W - 11-8 - Home
2008 - L - 9-7 - Home
2007 - L - 9-1 - Away
2006 - L - 10-9 (OT) - Home
2005 - L - 17-5 - Away
2004 - W - 14-13 - Home
2003 - L - 7-6 - Away
2002 - W - 15-14 - 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 three in a row against Mount St. Mary's (12-11), Wagner (13-8), and Davidson (10-4). The Hawks suffered a 24-14 setback at UMass but went on to put up a season-high 19 scores in a 19-7 win over Duquesne. SJU then won a trio of games, including two in three days against VCU (18-17) and La Salle (15-6) before knocking off conference power George Mason, 20-10, last Friday. After a 12-11 heartbreaker at Richmond, the Hawks bounced back with 22 goals in Wednesday's win over St. Bonaventure, paced by sophomore midfielder Rebecca Lane's eight-point effort (4g, 4a) and freshman midfielder Julia Pash's team-high six goals.
Lane owns 34 goals and a team-best 29 assists for a team-best 63 points while Nora McCallion leads the squad in goals (43) and owns 17 helpers for 60 points. Freshman attacker Hope Anhut has put away 30 scores for the Crimson and Gray.
Graduate student midfielder Mallory Grey continues to be a force on both ends of the field, leading the team in draw controls (50) and ranking in SJU's top five in ground balls (24), caused turnovers (16), goals (20), assists (12), and points (32). Junior defender Kristen Kelbon leads the squad in both ground balls (33) and caused turnovers (20) while sophomore midfielder Hayley Sabol (25gb, 19ct) and junior midfielder Dana Garbinski (30gb, 14ct) have added to SJU's defensive efforts.
Senior Amelia Deibler (9-5, 6-2 A-10) sports a 12.18 goals against average and .405 save percentage on 398 shots faced in 823:18.
SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON
The Colonials (3-12, 2-6 A-10) went 1-6 in non-conference action with five straight season-opening losses to Monmouth (16-15), Georgetown (16-5), Longwood (11-9), UMBC (17-8), and Navy (16-5) before picking up their first win of the season over Robert Morris (10-9) and capping the non-league slate with a loss to Delaware (13-2). George Washington opened Atlantic 10 action with a 10-9 win over St. Bonaventure before dropping six in a row to Davidson (14-10), Richmond (17-6), La Salle (13-11), George Mason (11-9), and UMass (19-9). GW enters Saturday's game coming off of a 9-7 win over Duquesne this past Sunday; Michaela Lynch went for three goals and two assists while Adele Wise made 12 saves in the full 60:00.
Jocelyn Donohue (36g, 5a) and Lynch (23g, 18a) lead the squad with 41 points apiece while Cassidy Shollenberger has added 25 scores. Wise (3-11) sports a 14.85 goals against average and .406 save percentage in 755:43, all but 84:12 on the year.
