Friday, October 7 | at Wagner | Staten Island, N.Y. | Wagner Field Hockey Complex | 3 p.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO 
Sunday, October 9 | at LIU | Brookville, N.Y. | Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium | 12 p.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

OPENING STICK VS. WAGNER
Friday's match between Saint Francis and Wagner marks the second meeting in the all-time series dating back to last season. It will be the Red Flash's first trip to Staten Island. 
 
THE WORD ON WAGNER
The Seahawks come into the contest 5-5 overall and 1-0 in NEC play after falling 2-0 at Brown on Sunday. Julia Pastorino leads Wagner with seven goals and five assists for 19 points. Kira Mordvinov is second on the team with four goals and two assists for 10 points, while Kayla Krug and Laura van Hamburg each have two tallies and two helpers for six points. Daisy Ruhle has 58 saves, a 1.62 goals against average and a .773 save percentage.
 
LAST TIME WE MET WAGNER
Wagner defeated Saint Francis 8-1 on October 1, 2022. Julia Breneman scored off a Eugenia Kenny assist for the Red Flash. Julia Pastorino posted four goals and two assists and Liselotte Koop added two tallies and an assist in the win.

OPENING STICK VS. LIU
Sunday's match between Saint Francis and LIU marks the third meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2019 campaign. The Red Flash led the series 2-0, but both of those meetings took place in Loretto.

THE WORD ON LIU
LIU, who travels to Sacred Heart on Friday, comes into the weekend 4-7 overall and 1-0 in league play after falling 2-0 to Penn on Sunday. Jules Kuzmich leads the team with four goals for eight points. Felicia King and Meilin Liiotard are tied for second on the squad with two tallies and three assists for seven points. Maggie Streichert has 64 saves, a 2.25 goals against average and a .727 save percentage.

LAST TIME WE MET LIU
Maite Lopez-Rosendale scored off a Claudia Ortiz assist in the 27th minute to propel Saint Francis past LIU 1-0 on October 29. Chloe South made four saves for the Red Flash and Rachel Vellis turned away four shots for LIU.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Madison Waldspurger scored her first three collegiate tallies and Saint Francis scored six times in a game for the first time since 2018 to lift the Red Flash past Central Michigan on Sunday. Ella Maillie, Eva Valentini and Dolores Zavaleta each found the back of the cage on the afternoon. Amber Bryan made two saves in 15 minutes to earn her first career win, while Chloe South played the final 45 minutes, but did not have to face a shot on goal. The Red Flash notched its first winning streak this season after recording a three-game winning streak last year.

NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis hosts defending NEC champion Fairfield on October 14 and then heads to Ohio U two days later.

NEC START
Saint Francis is looking to improve to 2-0 in NEC play for the third time in program history, joining the 2007 and 2012 teams. The squad has only gone 3-0 one time in program history in 2012. With a loss, the Red Flash would be 1-1 for the second-straight season and the sixth time in team history as a member of the NEC (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2021).

WEEKLY LEAGUE HONORS
 Madison Waldspurger was named the Northeast Conference Co-Rookie of the Week for the week of September 26-October 3. In addition, Waldspurger, Eva Valentini and Dolores Zavaleta were named NEC Prime Performers. Waldspurger not only scored her first collegiate goals against Central Michigan, she registered the first Red Flash hat trick in a game for the first time since 2017 in a 6-2 win on Sunday. The freshman notched her first career goal for what would prove to be the eventual game-winner at 20:36 to give Saint Francis a 3-1 lead. Waldspurger also added goals at 44:11 and 51:28 to seal the squad's first winning streak of the season and most goals in a game since the 2018 campaign. Waldspurger was also instrumental in the defense that allowed 2.00 goals per game during the weekend that led to the win against Central Michigan and a 3-2 win against Rider on Friday to end a five-game losing streak against the Broncs and help Saint Francis open the league slate 1-0 for the fourth time in the 14-year history in the league. Valentini scored a pair of goals on the weekend to move into the program's Top-10 in points with 39 points. Valentini started her week by scoring the first goal of the game at the 19:37 mark and added a defensive save against Rider. Valentini then added the team's fourth goal against Central Michigan.  Zavaleta notched her first two collegiate goals on the weekend. The sophomore scored the decisive goal against Rider. After scoring the team's last goal against Rider, Zavaleta knocked in a rebound against Central Michigan for the Red Flash's first goal and to tie the game at 1 at 17:20. She now has two goals and four assists for eight points in her career and Saint Francis is 5-0 in games when she registers a goal or an assist in a match.

Eva Valentini was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the week of September 12-18. The defender posted two goals and an assist in the week for the Red Flash. The sophomore posted two goals against Drexel on Friday to tie the match both times within 90 seconds of the Dragons taking the lead. She then added an assist against Villanova on the squad's lone goal of the match.

Eva Valentini was named the Northeast Conference Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week for the week of August 29-September 5. It is the second time in her career she has earned the league's top weekly honor. Valentini and Francesca Primomo were also named Prime Performers for the Week. Valentini posted a goal and two assists for four points in the week and her points all came at the right time for the Red Flash. She registered a goal and an assist in the final 1:50 of regulation against Brown to help force overtime on Friday. She assisted Chloe Butz to start the run and cut the margin to 3-2 in the final two minutes and then tied the game with her second goal of the season with 22 seconds left in regulation. The 2021 All-NEC second-team performer then dished out an assist on the game-winner against Holy Cross on Sunday in overtime to Primomo. Valentini was then named a Prime Performer for the week of September 13-18 after registering two goals and one assist for five points.
 
AS VALENTINI GOES
Sophomore Eva Valentini has registered a point in 18 of the 31 games she has played in her career. The sophomore has posted a point in 18 of the 22 games the Red Flash has scored a goal in her career, while the team has been shutout eight times in her career. Valentini has 15 goals and nine assists for 39 points in her career to sit in ninth place in program history for points. She can move up a spot with one point and needs seven points to jump into seventh place with 46 career points.
  
RETURNING ALL-NEC PLAYERS
Saint Francis begins its second year back in the Northeast Conference and also returning are All-NEC second-team performers Claudia Ortiz and Eva Valentini. Valentini led the team with eight goals and six assists for 22 points while Ortiz ranked second with six tallies and four assists for 16 points.
 
NEW TO THE LO'
Freshmen Chloe Butz and Madison Waldspurger both joined the team for the 2022 season. Both players made their collegiate debuts in the starting lineup at Ball State on August 26. Butz had her first collegiate goal against Brown on September 2. Assistant coach Danielle Baumgardner also joined the staff and started in the spring of 2021.
 
ABOUT THE COACH
Head coach Maria Bettiana Cerretta begins her sixth season as the field hockey head coach at Saint Francis. Earlier this year, she became an American citizen.