Saturday, March 23 | at Wagner  | Staten Island, N.Y. | Hameline Field | 12 p.m.| LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

OPENING DRAW 
Saturday's match between Saint Francis and Wagner marks the 22nd meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2002 season. The Seahawks and Sacred Heart are the teams that played the most against the Red Flash after meeting both teams 22 times after Saturday's battle in Staten Island. Saint Francis is looking to improve to 2-1 for the third time in team history, joining the 2010 and 2021 teams. The squad hopes that history does not repeat itself. After starting 1-1 in league play in 2022 going into the meeting at Wagner, Saint Francis lost to the Seahawks in that match to fall to 1-2 in the circuit. Last season, Saint Francis started the season 0-2 but then ripped off five straight wins in league play.

THE WORD ON WAGNER
The Seahawks come into the contest 2-4 overall and 2-0 in NEC play after defeating CCSU 19-11 on Saturday. Tied for the team lead with 13 points are Kendra Hall (eight goals, five assists) and Ella Marino (seven markers, six assists), while Kelsey Scheidel is third on the squad with nine goals and two assists for 11 points. Ryan Murphy leads the defense with nine caused turnovers and 23 draw controls, while Scheidel has a team-best 12 ground balls. Bryn Bockstie has 38 saves, a 16.91 goals-against average, and a .365 save percentage. 

LAST TIME WE MET 
Wagner defeated Saint Francis 17-9 in the regular season finale on April 29, 2023. Lizzie Fisher paced the Red Flash with three goals and three assists, while Autumn McHenry added a hat trick in her final home game in a Red Flash uniform. Sophia Colver had four goals, and Nia Scott and Ella Marino each posted three tallies and an assist for the Seahawks. Elyssa Enrique had 18 saves for Saint Francis, and Lauren DiStefano turned away 19 shots for Wagner.

LAST TIME OUT
Lizzie Fisher posted four goals in the first half and finished the match with a career-high six goals and one assist for seven points to power Saint Francis past Merrimack 17-7 on Saturday. Lizzie Fisher's six-goal performance tied for the 10th most in a single game in Red Flash history. Bella Fisher added four tallies, seven draw controls, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers, while Julia Givens added three markers and an assist, three ground balls, three caused turnovers, and a draw control. Taylor Coughlin made seven saves, while along with Givens' performance, Bella Burke tallied three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and three draw controls.

NEXT TIME OUT 
Saint Francis returns to the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area at FDU on March 30 before returning home for a two-game homestand against Le Moyne (April 3) and CCSU (April 6).

IN THE NEC
Sophomore Bella Fisher ranks second in the Northeast Conference in shots per game (7.86), fourth goals per game (2.71), fourth points per game (3.86), fifth in assists per game (1.14), and sixth in draw controls per game (4.14). Graduate student Lizzie Fisher sits third in goals per game (2.86) and fifth in points per game (3.29), while senior  Danielle Hernandez is third in assists per game (1.29) and 10th in points per game (2.43). Sophomore Taylor Coughlin ranks fourth in save percentage (.418), fifth in goals against average (13.14), fifth in saves per game (9.43), and seventh in ground balls per game (2.29). Sophomores Bella Burke (fifth, 1.43) and Julia Givens (sixth, 1.29) sit in the Top-10 in caused turnovers. As a team, Saint Francis ranks second in goals per game (11.29), assists per game (5.43), and points per game (16.71).

NEC HONORS
Sophomore Bella Fisher was named the NEC Co-Player of the Week, fellow sophomore Bella Burke earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week, and freshman Jacks Lesmeister nabbed her first NEC Rookie of the Week selection for the week of February 26-March 3. Burke, Bella Fisher, and graduate student Lizzie Fisher were Prime Performers. Bella Fisher registered five goals, one assist, seven draw controls, two ground balls, and a caused turnover in a 15-9 win against Robert Morris on February 28. Burke anchored the defense in the win against Robert Morris by helping to keep the Colonials under 10 goals in the game and adding four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Lesmeister posted four caused turnovers and two ground balls against the Colonials. 

Burke, Bella Fisher, and Lizzie Fisher were named NEC Prime Performers for March 11-17. Burke posted nine draw controls, five caused turnovers, and four ground balls in the week and helped to keep the No. 3 team in the NEC in goals and points coming into the game to just seven goals in a 17-7 win against Merrimack. Bella Fisher tallied six goals, one assist, seven points, three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and nine draw controls. Lizzie Fisher recorded eight goals and two assists for 10 points in the week, including a career-high six goals and one assist for seven points against Merrimack — the six goals rank as the 10th-most in single-game program history. Brooke Lacey was named an NEC Prime Performer for the week of March 4-10. Lacey registered four goals, two assists for six points, four ground balls, and three caused turnovers in the week. Bella Fisher and Julia Givens were named NEC Prime Performers for the week of February 19-25. Fisher registered three goals and a career-high three assists for six points, and Givens tallied two goals, three ground balls, and three caused turnovers against Rider on February 22. Danielle Hernandez and Givens were named NEC Prime Performers for the week of February 12-18. Hernandez had two goals and two assists, while Givens posted a hat trick against Oregon in the first-ever game against a Power 5 opponent on February 16.

A DAVID PUDDY HIGH-FIVE
Graduate student Lizzie Fisher, junior Nancy Alden, and sophomore Bella Fisher are the only players on the team to have a five-goal performance. Bella Fisher leads the team with five contests with at least five goals, including a pair of six-goal performances last season against CCSU on April 15, 2023, and against St. Bonaventure four days later. Lizzie Fisher joined the club with her five-goal performance against Robert Morris on February 28, and Alden stamped her membership with a career-high five goals against Kent State on March 13. Lizzie Fisher joined Bella Fisher in the six-goal club with her six tallies against Merrimack on March 16.

HATTIES 
Sophomore Bella Fisher leads the team with 10 hat tricks after registering three this season, including a five-goal performance against Robert Morris on February 28. Graduate student Lizzie Fisher has four hat tricks in 2024, with a career-high six tallies against Merrimack to notch 10 hat tricks in her career. Senior captain Danielle Hernandez is right behind the duo with seven three-goal performances. Sophomore Nancy Alden notched her first career hat trick against Rider and had a career-high five goals against Kent State on March 13. Fellow sophomore Julia Givens has two hat tricks this season and six career hatties. Sophomore Brooke Lacey notched her first three-goal performance of the season and second of her career against LIU on March 9.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
Sophomore Bella Burke leads the team with 14 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers and ranks third with 12 draw controls. The sophomore had a career-high six draw controls against Kent State on March 13. Last season, she registered 30 of her 40 ground balls, 22 of her 26 caused turnovers, and six of her seven draw controls in the final seven matches of her freshman year. In those seven games, the sophomore had at least three ground balls in all seven games and at least two caused turnovers in six of the seven games with a career-high six caused turnovers against Wagner on April 29, 2023. Burke has at least two ground balls in 16 of 22 games and two caused turnovers in 11 games in her career. 

MILESTONE ALERT 
Senior Danielle Hernandez has 108 career points and became the 12th player in team history to reach 100 points in her career and the fourth under head coach Tracy Coyne against St. Bonaventure on March 5. She moved into the top 10 for points with her four assists against Kent State on March 13 and can jump into ninth place with eight points. She also sits in sixth place for career assists with 44, needing nine more helpers to reach the Top-10 in that category. Hernandez, who dished out the fourth-most assists in a single game with five helpers against Stonehill on April 1, 2023, recorded four assists on Wednesday to sit in a 13-way tie for the 10th-most assists in a single game. The senior notched her second four-helper performance after having four dimes against Stetson on March 14, 2023. Hernandez becomes the fourth player in program history to have at least three matches with four assists in a game, joining former teammate Autumn McHenry, Sheri Fort, and Katie Schaaf. Fort and McHenry also had three games with that total, while Schaaf turned the trick seven times.

Sophomore Bella Fisher is the second fastest player to reach 75 points in program history, achieving the feat in 23 games after Kate Simmons, who scored 75 points in 22 matches.

Junior Chyler Espino, who became the fifth different player in program history with 10 draw controls in a game against St. Bonaventure last season, is 10th for career draw controls with 79 draws. She can move into eighth place with four draws (83) and seventh place with nine draws (88). Espino can also crack the top 10 in ground balls and caused turnovers this season. Currently sitting at 35 caused turnovers, she can move into 10th place with 10 caused miscues (45), while her 69 ground balls are 15 ground balls (84) from No. 10 on the career list for that category.

INSIDE LACROSSE FEATURE 
Graduate student Erika Ellison was featured in an article for Inside Lacrosse chronicling her time as a student-athlete and a ROTC member. Click HERE to read the story.

AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN 
Graduate student Lizzie Fisher, senior Danielle Hernandez, and junior Chyler Espino have been named captains for the 2024 campaign. The trio, junior Collen Roche and sophomore Bella Fisher, will serve as Women's Lacrosse Leadership Council members.

RETURNING ALL-NEC PERFORMERS 
Sophomore Bella Fisher was named the 2023 NEC Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Red Flash player to earn the recognition. She also earned All-NEC second-team recognition. Junior Chyler Espino was named to the All-NEC first team while selected to the second team senior Danielle Hernandez. Fisher and sophomore Bella Burke earned NEC All-Rookie team distinction. 

WELCOME TO THE LO' 
Saint Francis women's lacrosse head coach Tracy Coyne has added four freshmen and one junior to the 2024 roster. Junior Victoria DiRenno comes to Loretto after playing two seasons at Niagara. Freshmen Kylie Fischer, Jacks Lesmeister, Elizabeth Mahmud, and Molly Riva joined the squad this season. Mahmud recorded her first career goal against Kent State on March 13, and her first career assist against Merrimack on March 16.

FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH 
Saint Francis has three players who hail from Canada: Juniors Olivia Baldini (Hamilton, Ontario) and Taylor Coughlin (Hespeler, Ontario) and sophomore Mak Patten (Welland, Ontario). Head coach Tracy Coyne also served as the Canadian National Team head coach from 1999-2005 and earned fourth-place standings in the 2001 and 2005 World Cups. 

CHYLER'S WORLD TOUR 
Since the 2023 season ended with Team Philippines, junior Chyler Espino has played in two international tournaments. The junior played in the World Lacrosse Festival over the summer in California and then in the Super Sixes Tournament in December in Hong Kong. Espino was joined in the Super Sixes Tournament by former teammate Elyssa Enrique. Espino is currently out with an injury.

PLAYER TO WATCH 
Sophomore Bella Fisher was named a Second Year Player to Watch by US Lacrosse Magazine. She had a Red Flash freshman record for goals (42) and points (48). The 42 goals were the ninth most by any class in single-season program history. Fisher scored six goals twice last season (CCSU on April 15, 2023, and St. Bonaventure), which ranks 10th on the single-game chart in program history. The sophomore, who received the NEC Rookie of the Week honor four times to become just the fourth player in NEC history to turn that trick, scored at least six goals in a game six times in her freshman campaign. 

ABOUT THE COACH 
Head coach Tracy Coyne enters her fifth season at Saint Francis and her 35th campaign in her legendary career. She holds a 316-226 career record. She currently ranks seventh in wins by active Division I head coaches. At the same time, she is 11th in NCAA Division I history in wins, 13th at any level for active head coaches, and 19th overall for any level. Coyne became the program's winningest head coach in program history in a 17-11 win against St. Bonaventure on April 19. In 2023, under her tutelage, the Red Flash set a program record for overall wins (10), conference wins (5), and longest winning streak (6) and clinched the program's first-ever NEC Tournament appearance. She became one of 20 coaches to reach 300 wins with the 10-6 win at Akron on February 27, 2022. She has led 12 teams to the NCAA Tournament between the NCAA DI and DIII levels, with six conference championships and several NCAA Final Four appearances. Coyne joined the Roanoke College Hall of Fame in 2023.