STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (20-0) will face #23 SUNY-Geneseo (14-3) in the first round of the 2022 NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Saint Joseph's earned an automatic qualifier through the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) after defeating Johnson & Wales University, 10-9, in the GNAC Championship at the SJC Athletics Complex last Saturday.
SUNY-Geneseo earned one of the NCAA's 13 'Pool C' – or at large – berths into this year's national tournament after falling at SUNY-Cortland in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship, 16-14, last Saturday.
COVERAGE:
FACTS & FIGURES:
Saint Joseph's:
- Saint Joseph's is one of just four NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse teams with an unblemished record (through 5/12)
- Out of 283 NCAA DIII teams, St. Joe's is ranked third in scoring defense (5.70), eighth in ground balls per game (29.25), average winning margin (11.50), and shots per game (36.90)
- The Monks have the second-longest active winning streak in NCAA DIII with 21-consecutive triumphs including last season; only Pomona-Pitzer (23) has a longer streak
SUNY-Geneseo:
- SUNY-Geneseo ranks ninth in the country in fewest turnovers per game (13.41), 15th in fewest fouls per game (3.06), and 27th in winning percentage (.824)
- In between a regular season loss to Cortland on April 2nd and the Championship setback last Saturday, the Knights rattled off nine-consecutive wins by a 180-61 composite score
- Geneseo held opponents to fewer than 10 goals in 10 different games and scored 20 or more markers four times this spring
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Saint Joseph's:
- Graduate student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) is enjoying the finest season ever recorded by an SJC women's lacrosse player; as of May 12th, the 2022 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year leads the entire NCAA – all three divisions – with 155 points and ranks fifth in DIII in assists (75) and points per game (7.75) and seventh in assists per contest (3.75)
- Sophomore Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) ranks 24th nationally in draw controls per game (7.05) and claimed GNAC Midfielder of the Year honors after tallying 40 goals, seven assists, 134 draw controls, 43 ground balls, and 14 caused turnovers in 19 games
- Sophomore Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) has scored 54 goals with 66 total points while second-year Cailyn Wesley (Peabody, Mass.) has tallied 49 points (38G, 11A) and sophomore Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) has produced 47 points (29G, 18A)
SUNY-Geneseo:
- Graduate attacker Hannah Marafioti (Fairport, N.Y.) was named as the SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 57 goals with 43 assists for 100 total points in 17 games this spring; she currently ranks sixth among all active NCAA DIII players in goals (207) and points (305)
- Freshman attack Madelynn Brown (Henrietta, N.Y.) earned SUNYAC Rookie of the Year accolades after netting 44 goals with 16 assists for a total of 60 points
- First-year Molly Brown (Cazenovia, N.Y.) added 32 goals and 26 assists for 58 total points and garnered Second Team All-SUNYAC honors for her efforts
KEEPER COMPARISON:
Saint Joseph's freshman Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.), who has started 16-consecutive games for the Monks, currently leads NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse in goals against average (5.46) and has posted a 49.7% save percentage after having made 71 saves while allowing 72 goals in 780 minutes in goal. An athletic netminder, Wright has also contributed 31 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers this spring.
Geneseo sophomore netminder Emily DeJohn (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) sports a 10.59 goals against average with a 37.8% save percentage after allowing 130 goals with 79 saves in 736 minutes in goal this season. She has also picked up 17 ground balls and five caused turnovers during her second collegiate campaign.
ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:
Saint Joseph's third-year Head Coach David Keenan is 30-3 (.909) overall and has guided the Monks to the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance in his first full season as the team's skipper.
MaryKate Edmunds is in her first year at the helm for the Knights after serving as the head coach at conference-rival SUNY-Fredonia for the previous three seasons.
THE LAST TIME WE MET:
Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between the Monks' and Knights' women's lacrosse programs.
COMMON FOES:
Geneseo and Saint Joseph's did not share a common opponent this spring.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
Saint Joseph's is making its second National Tournament appearance and first since 2015 when the Monks fell to Bridgewater State University, 16-9, in a first-round matchup at Bowdoin College.
SUNY-Geneseo will be making an NCAA Tournament for the third time with the Knights' previous two trips coming in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, Geneseo earned an at-large berth into the tourney and, as a pod host, edged Stevenson by a 5-4 matchup to advance to the round of 16, where the Knights fell to Franklin & Marshall, 9-8.
In their first national tournament appearance in 2013, the Knights suffered a 10-6 setback at the hands of Bowdoin College.
