ST. PAUL, Minn. - Fresh off their first-ever road trip, Concordia-St. Paul (4-3) lacrosse trades in the team bus for a set of plane tickets as the team heads to Florida for a four game spring break in the Sunshine State.
Concordia went 2-1 in a six state Upper Midwest bus tour, defeating Rockhurst 16-12 in the program's first-ever road win, comeback win (trailed 12-9) and win against a Division II program. From there, the team went to the St. Louis area across the border into Illinois for a 19-2 loss at McKendree before heading due north for a 14-8 win at Northern Michigan.
In the Rockhurst win, freshman
Kailey Heinl scored the game tying and game winning goals as part of a four goal effort. She was matched by sophomore
Sheala Osborne with four goals.
In the loss at McKendree, it was Heinl and freshman
Alina Boyce scoring the team's two goals before Heinl and Osborne had three goals apiece in the win at Northern Michigan.
Heinl leads the team with 18 goals, followed closely by Boyce with 17 as the duo each have 20 points. Freshman
Maddie Hentges is third on the team with 11 points and tied for the team lead with five assists while Osborne is fourth on the team with nine goals with seven coming in the last three games.
Heinl and Boyce have each scored at least a goal in every game while Hentges has at least a point in each contest.
Heinl's 18 goals rank 25th nationally while Boyce ranks 30th.
Joining Hentges with five assists are junior
Kallie LaValle who is fourth on the team with 12 points (7g, 5a) and freshman
Kaci Reid (3g, 5a).
Defensively, freshmen
Brooke Genzler and
Cassidy Leininger along with LaValle have 15 ground balls each, while LaValle leads the team with 19 draw controls followed by Heinl with 18 and Genzler with 15. Genzler also leads the team with 17 caused turnovers with Osborne coming in with 16.
In the cage, freshman
Katie Lottsfeldt has started every game and factored into the goalie decision in each, playing all but 20 minutes on the season. She holds a 12.5 goals against average and a .458 save percentage.
Her 70 total saves rank fourth in the nation while her 10.0 saves per game average is 13th among 107 qualified goalies for national statistics. She also ranks 33rd in save percentage and 38th with a team-high 3.9 ground balls per game.
As a team, Concordia ranks 12th among 100 programs with 13.4 caused turnovers per game, 19th with 22.7 ground balls per game.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: AVE MARIA
The Gyrenes are currently 3-1 on the season and will host Lawrence Tech (Mich.) on Friday before bringing in Concordia on Sunday.
The third year NAIA program went 3-10 in its inaugural year in 2015 including a 2-6 conference finish before going 5-8 last year with a 2-2 league record. Year two featured a 4-3 record at its home Gyrene Field after going 0-3 there in year one. This year, the team is off to a 1-0 start in conference play and are winners of its last two games entering the weekend.
They opened the year ranked eighth in the NAIA Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll which ranks the top-10 NAIA programs. Ave Maria finished 2016 ranked ninth in the final top-10 poll, returning a pair of NAIA All-America Second Team performers in sophomores Mackenzie Tourville and Richelle Harris.
Tourville is second on the team in scoring with 14 points including a team-high seven assists while Harris has four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Katelyn Sherman leads the team with 16 goals and 17 points.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: KEISER
The Seahawks are off to an 0-5 start to their inaugural NAIA campaign, falling 11-8 to Concordia's Sunday opponent Ave Maria in their inaugural campaign at home in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 18.
Prior to hosting Concordia in West Palm Beach next Tuesday, the Seahawks will host Lourdes University on Friday afternoon, seeking their first victory as a program.
Jordan Sullivan is the leading scorer with nine goals and 10 points while Frankie Parshall has matched Sullivan's 10 points, scoring six goals with four assists. Parshall also leads the team with 17 draw controls and 12 caused turnovers and is second with 16 ground balls.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: #17 FLORIDA TECH
In the most recent IWLCA Division II Top-20 Coaches Poll, Florida Tech is ranked 17th in the country following a 5-1 start to the season. Prior to hosting Concordia next Thursday, Florida Tech will entertain Tusculum College and Indiana University of Pennsylvania this Thursday and Saturday at Panther Stadium in Melbourne, Florida.
The Panthers' lone loss of the year came to #5 Lindenwood, a narrow 15-12 loss at home.
Florida Tech is in its third season, opening with a 7-9 record in 2015 including a 1-3 mark in the Sunshine State Conference and a 4-6 home record before improving to 10-7 last season with a 2-2 conference record and 8-4 record at home.
Through six games, Caroline Dunleavy is the leading scorer with 23 points on 18 goals while Allie Modica has 21 points and a team-high eight assists with Sara Grenier adding 20 points on 17 goals.
Stephanie Stuart is the standout in the net with a stout 6.9 goals against average and a .525 save percentage.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: TAMPA
After dropping their first two games of 2017 by large margins, 24-6 to #6 Rollins and 19-7 to #13 Limestone, the Spartans have bounced back with four straight wins. Prior to hosting Concordia next Saturday (3/18), Tampa will also host Saint Anselm and Slippery Rock.
The Spartans are in their fourth year offering women's lacrosse, starting with a 7-10 record in 2014 as an independent with a 6-6 record at home. In year two, the Spartans dropped to 5-11 while going 0-4 in their first year in the Sunshine State Conference while playing to a 4-6 home record. Last year, Tampa went 5-10 overall with a 1-3 SSC record and a 4-6 home record for the second straight year.
Tampa is led by Amanda Rom's 20 points with a team-high 13 assists while Natalie Carraway has 11 assists and 19 points. Amanda Voges leads the team with 18 goals and tied with Carraway for second with 19 points and Maggie Gladden rounds out the team leaders with 17 points on 12 goals.
