Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis lacrosse team (3-3) will play its first home game in over a month on Sunday when it hosts Longwood (4-4) at 1 p.m. The Red Flash has played five straight road contests since opening its season at home on Feb. 16.
Scouting Longwood
Sunday will be a battle of teams with .500 records as Longwood comes in at 4-4. The Lancers had won four of five games before falling to UMBC on Wednesday, 17-5. Stephanie Roberts leads the team with 17 goals. Molly Barkman follows closely in points with 19 on 10 goals and nine assists. Despite its even record, the Lancers are being outscored by 3.0 goals per game and are minus in shots, ground balls, draw controls and turnovers.
Lawrence Leading the Conference
Senior
Holly Lawrence (Damascus, Md./Damascus), a two-time NEC Player of the Week this season, tallied her third three-goal game of the season at Duquesne on Thursday night. Through Friday, Lawrence leads the conference in goals per game at a clip of 3.33. Two more goals will mover her past Catherine Helming (2009-12) and into third place all-time in career goals.
In Good Graces
Senior
Grace Smith (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) has been a rock in the Saint Francis defense, providing leadership and athleticism to the unit. Smith's 11 ground balls are tied-for-second on the team with freshman
Peyton LeConte (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron). She also ranks third on the team with nine draw controls. Smith enjoyed her best game of the sason on Thursday with four ground balls, three draw controls and her first career assist.
McKee Tallies Season-High in Saves
Senior goalie
Heather McKee (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright Bel Air) made 11 saves in the loss at Duquesne, her highest total since making 12 at Robert Morris on Apr. 3, 2015. McKee's career-high in saves is 14, set on Mar. 27 of 2015.
Starting Slow
The Red Flash have scored the first goal in just one of six games this season. They fell in a 3-0 hole to Central Michigan on Feb. 16, a 1-0 hole to Radford on Feb. 19, a 2-0 hole to Gardner-Webb on Feb. 28, a 5-0 hole to Binghamton on Mar. 10 and a 6-0 hole to Duquesne on Thursday night. The only game in which Saint Francis was able to build an early lead was against Presbyterian on Feb. 26, when it scored the game's first two goals.
