PHILADELPHIA – The Hawks will look for their sixth consecutive win this weekend as the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse squad (10-6, 6-2 A-10) is set to close the regular season at La Salle (7-9, 3-5 A-10) this Saturday, April 28. Opening draw control for the Atlantic 10 match-up at McCarthy Stadium is set for 11:30 a.m. The Hawks are in the midst of a five-game winning streak while the Explorers just had a three-game winning streak snapped by Richmond on Sunday. 

The Hawks sit third in the Atlantic 10 standings and have already locked in that third seed for the postseason regardless of Saturday's outcome.

Sant Joseph's defensive unit continues to disrupt the opposing offense as the Hawks lead the Atlantic 10 in caused turnovers per game, with 12.25 forced turnovers per contest; senior defender Juliana Strazulo leads the squad with 28 forced turnovers for an average of 1.9 per game while senior defender Kristen Kelbon and junior midfielder Ally Beck average 1.3 to 1.4 per contest.

On the offensive end, the Hawks rank second in the league in points per game at a clip of 20.25 (13.44 goals/game and 6.81 assists/game), led by its trio of 30+ point scorers of junior midfielder Rebecca Lane (33g, 25a), junior attacker Francesca Donato (34g, 15a), and freshman attacker Stephanie Kelly (22g, 17a). 

La Salle's Bridget Ruskey leads the Atlantic 10 in free position percentage, scoring on 11 of her 18 attempts this season.

2018 ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2018 A-10 Championship will run from Thursday, May 3 through Sunday, May 6 at the University of Richmond's Robins Stadium in Richmond, Va. The league's top six teams will make the postseason field. Saint Joseph's was predicted to finish in a tie for third, with George Mason, in the league's preseason poll, voted on by the league's 10 head coaches and announced on February 1. La Salle was tabbed sixth and currently sits seventh in the league standings. 

Saint Joseph's reached the A-10 postseason in 2016 and 2017 and return 2017 A-10 First Team defender Kristen Kelbon, 2017 A-10 Second Team midfielder Rebecca Lane, and 2017 A-10 Rookie Team selection Julia Pash.

HAWK LEADERS
Through 16 games, junior midfielder Rebecca Lane (33g, team-high 25a), junior attacer Francesca Donato (team-high 34g, 15a), and freshman attacker Stephanie Kelly (22g, 17a) have combined for 41.4 % (89-of-215) of SJU's goals on the year while junior midfielders Sinead Brierley (21g, 6a) and Hayley Sabol (20g, 7a) round out SJU's top-five offensive factors. Sophomore midfielder Julia Pash has been strong on both ends of the field with a team-high 55 draw controls, 22 ground balls, and 16 caused turnovers to go with 13 points (9g, 4a).

After a pair of games in which she combined for 11 ground balls and four caused turnovers, senior defender Juliana Strazulo leads the squad in both categories (36gb, 28ct). Senior Kristen Kelbon (35gb, 22ct) has anchored the defensive line alongside senior Catie Vivian and junior Ally Beck while graduate student goalkeeper and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week Liz O'Sullivan (10-6, 6-2 A-10) sports a .476 save percentage and 12.24 goals against average with 147 saves vs. 168 goals allowed in 823:27 and all 16 starts. 

100 FOR LANE
Junior midfielder Rebecca Lane recorded a hat trick in SJU's 15-4 win over Duquesne last time out, which included her 100th career goal on her second score of the game at the 11:31 mark of the first half. Lane becomes the eighth Hawk in program history to reach 100 career goals and is the fourth-fastest to do so, reaching the milestone in 46 career games. She is also just the third Hawk to score 100 career goals before the start of her senior season.  

SCOUTING LA SALLE
La Salle began the season 4-4 with losses to Fresno State, 8-6, and Delaware, 16-13, wins over Central Michigan, 18-6, and Marist, 12-9, losses to then-RV Vanderbilt, 11-10 OT, and Temple, 8-4, and wins over Manhattan, 16-9, and LIU Brooklyn, 16-12. The Explorers then dropped four in a row to open league play to Davidson, 14-10, George Mason, 12-11, George Washington, 16-13, and UMass, 22-10, before winning three straight over Duquesne, 15-14 OT, St. Bonaventure, 14-2, and VCU, 13-12. La Salle is coming off of an 18-11 loss at Richmond this past Sunday.

For the season, Brittany Edwards (43g, team-high 11a) and Bridget Ruskey (team-high 45g, 8a) lead the Explorers with over 50 point apiece while Emily Johnston owns a team-high 68 draw controls. Abby Meehan leads the team in both ground balls (33) and caused turnovers (36) while Lynne Frankel (5-7) sports a .477 save percentage and 11.38 goals against average in 785:22.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the 21st all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and La Salle. The Hawks own a 13-7 all-time series advantage and are 2-1 under the direction of fourth-year head coach Alex Kahoe. Paced by current junior attacker Francesca Donato's six points (4g, 2a), the Hawks downed the Explorers, 15-6, at home last spring. The Hawks and Explorers have played each other every year since 1998.

All-time series results listed below:
2017 – W – 15-6 - Home
2016 - W - 11-5 - Away
2015 - L - 17-6 - Home
2014 - L - 9-4 - Away
2013 - W - 13-10 - Home
2012 - L - 11-3 - Away
2011 - W - 7-6 - Home
2010 - L - 9-8 (OT) - Away
2009 - W - 16-6 - Home
2008 - W - 11-9 - Home
2007 - W - 14-7 - Home
2006 - W - 13-10 - Home
2005 - L - 15-6 - Away
2004 - W - 11-10 - Home
2003 - L - 11-8 (OT) - Away
2002 - L - 12-7 - Home
2001 - W - 12-11 - Home
2000 - W - 16-12 - Away
1999 - W - 12-9 - Home
1998 - W - 9-7 - Home

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Also be sure to check out Sideline Photos, LLC's shots from games vs. CCSU, Navy, Villanova, and George Mason (plus Senior Day) at PhotoShelter.com.