ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s lacrosse team (7-3) begins is second season of play in the Colonial Athletic Association, hosting Delaware (8-4, 0-1) and No. 17 Towson (8-2, 1-0) at Rudd Field this weekend. The Phoenix takes on the Blue Hens on Friday, April 8, at 6 p.m. before closing out the weekend against the Tigers at noon on Sunday, April 10, for Kids Day.
Last Time Out
The Elon women’s lacrosse team tallied its second straight win with a 12-8 final at High Point in its last game on March 22 at Vert Stadium. The Phoenix never trailed in the game as Sloane Kessler led the team with six points after three goals and three assists and recorded four ground balls. The maroon and gold outshot the Panthers, 30-14, claimed a 24-11 advantage in ground balls and finished a perfect 13-for-13 in clear attempts. Shelby Scanlin also tallied three goals for the maroon and gold to go along with five draw controls and two ground balls. Stephanie Asher and Abby Godfrey each netted two scores, while Maeve Cowley and Nicole Sinacori added both tallied one on the night. Rachel Ramirez posted the win in goal, recording five saves off 13 shots on goal by the Panthers, matched her career high with six ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Scouting the Blue Hens
After starting the season 8-1, Delaware is looking to snap a three-game losing skid when it takes on the Phoenix. UD’s last win came on March 16 with a 10-4 win at Temple. The Blue Hens are currently 0-1 in conference play, falling to Towson, 7-6, in overtime before another 7-6 defeat against Princeton on Sunday. UD leads the league in caused turnovers per game (10.00) and shots per game (25.92) and is second in goals per game (11.00), assists per game (5.00) and points per game (16.00). Casey Lyons is the team leader in points (45) and assists (23) and is ninth nationally (first in the CAA) in assists per game with 2.3/game. The YEAR also has 22 goals this season and is the league-leader in points per game with 4.5. Jamie Schwartz has netted the most goals this year for the Blue Hens with 25, while defender Erin Wein is eighth in the NCAA in caused turnovers per game with 2.5/game and 30 on the season.
The Series
The only previous meeting between Delaware and Elon came in CAA play last season in Newark, Del., on April 5. The Blue Hens claimed a close 8-6 victory to take a 1-0 series advantage.
Scouting the Tigers
Towson is currently 8-2 on the season and ranked 17th nationally. The Tigers opened the CAA season on March 26 with a 7-6 overtime win against Delaware and claimed a 9-4 victory at No. 19 Johns Hopkins last weekend. Kaitlyn Montalbano leads the team with 26 points on the season with 17 goals and nine assists and has 11 ground balls, 16 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers. The Tigers have several talented newcomers this season that have won six of the eight CAA Rookie of the Week honors this year. Carly Tellekamp, who has earned the weekly rookie honor four times, has 19 goals and three assists, while Carly Sulmonte has seven goals. Rookie goalie Angie Benson has the fourth best goals-against average in the country (6.36) and the fourth-best save percentage in the league with a .463 mark.
The Series
The Tigers hold a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series after winning the only previous meeting last season in Towson, Md. TU won the game, 12-2, on April 3, 2015, in Elon’s first CAA game.
SAAC Food Drive
The Elon Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be hosting a food drive as part of the Colonial Athletic Association’s fourth-annual conference-wide Food Drive Challenge from Saturday, April 9 – Friday, April 15. SAAC members will be on hand at lacrosse’s home games on April 10 and April 15 to collect nonperishable food items and monetary donations. With the help of Elon’s Campus Kitchen, Elon’s SAAC will donate all food and monetary gifts collected to Allied Churches of Alamance County. Fans who bring food or monetary donations to the game on April 10, baseball will receive a raffle ticket for the chance to win a $25 gift card to Bojangles with the winner announced during the game. Additionally, those that donate will receive a Bojangles Mystery Gift Card, valued between $1-$100 (limited to a first come basis). Those with a Phoenix Card can also donate by allowing their card to be swiped for a monetary donation.
Kids Day
Sunday’s game against Towson is Kids Day for Elon women’s lacrosse. There will be inflatables during the game and a meet and greet with the team with the chance to get autographs aftewards. Bring your stick and play catch with the women’s lacrosse team on field after the game.
Conference Rankings
At this point in the season, the Phoenix ranks near the top of the Colonial Athletic Association in several statistical categories. The team is second in ground balls (16.40/game) and shots (24.90/game). Stephanie Asher and Sloane Kessler both rank sixth in the league with 23 goals each this year and is third in the CAA in scoring with 2.30 goals per game. Asher ranks first in shots per game with 7.0, while Rachel Ramirez is third in saves (58), first in ground balls (3.30/game) and third in caused turnovers (1.80/game).
Next Up
The Phoenix plays its final home game of the season next Friday, April 15, against visiting James Madison. The game will also mark Senior Night for the program’s two seniors – Megan Griffin and Kelli Stack. The opening draw is set for 7 p.m. at Rudd Field.