Saturday, April 20 | at Stonehill | North Easton, Mass. | W.B. Mason Stadium | 12 p.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CAREER HIGHS/RECORDS

OPENING DRAW 
Saturday's game between Saint Francis and Stonehill marks the second meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2023 season. The two highest-powered offenses take to the field with what could be a home match in the Northeast Conference Tournament on the line. The winner of Saturday's contest will likely clinch a home game on April 28, while the loser will likely have to travel for the inaugural quarterfinal tilt. The Red Flash defeated Stonehill 19-18 in Loretto last season.

MAKING A MARK

Saint Francis has won six NEC games for the first time in team history and is looking to extend that number to seven on Saturday. The Red Flash are 6-2 on the year and had its best league mark last season at 5-3. 

Last week, Saint Francis' six-game winning streak was snapped. It was the second straight year the team had a six-game streak halted before reaching seven games. For the first time in team history, the team could win seven of eight matches.

Saint Francis is 7-6 on the year. The team has won at least seven games for the third time in program history. The 2018 team also won seven games and was victorious a program-record 10 times last season. In addition, with a win, the squad can guarantee its second non-losing season in program history after the 10-6 mark in 2023.

Saint Francis has held consecutive opponents under 10 goals 11 times in team history, but for the first time in team history, the squad has turned the trick in six consecutive games. The streak of six straight was snapped against Sacred Heart on April 13. The team held three straight opponents under 10 goals in 2013 for the previous streak.

THE WORD ON THE SKYHAWKS
Stonehill comes into the contest 6-8 overall and 5-3 in NEC play after falling to Harvard 13-3 on April 16. Molly Mae Hughes leads the team with 44 goals and 19 assists for 63 points. Grace Murphy is second on the Skyhawks with 38 goals and nine assists for 47 points, while Lily Leach is third with 36 tallies and six assists for 42 points. Leach also powers the team with 111 draw controls. Sofia D'Agostino paces the team in ground balls (36), and Karly King is the team leader in caused turnovers (18). Claire Smith has a 13.36 goals against average, a .453 save percentage, and 130 saves in 705:14 minutes this season.

LAST TIME WE MET 
Danielle Hernandez tallied four goals and five assists, and Julia Givens registered five markers and an assist to lead Saint Francis past Stonehill 19-18 on April 1, 2023. Autumn McHenry recorded four goals and two helpers, and Lizzie Fisher added a hat trick. The Red Flash held a 17-12 lead near the start of the fourth quarter before the Skyhawks registered six of the last eight goals to set the one-goal difference in the final score. Molly Mae Hughes fueled Stonehill with four goals and two assists for six points. Lydia Rudden posted a goal and four assists, while Lilly Leach, Kayla Conway, and Victoria Butler each tallied a hat trick. Elyssa Enrique had 12 saves for the Red Flash, and Claire Smith had six stops for Stonehill.

LAST TIME OUT
Sacred Heart defeated Saint Francis 14-5 on April 13 to snap the Red Flash's six-game winning streak. Bella Fisher and Lizzie Fisher each scored two goals for the Flash, and Danielle Hernandez added two assists. Taylor Coughlin made 14 saves.

NEXT TIME OUT 
Saint Francis wraps up the regular season at home against Howard on Wednesday. The team will play in the NEC Quarterfinals on Sunday, April 28.

NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT/CURRENT NEC TOURNAMENT LANDSCAPE

This season, the NEC has expanded to six teams in the postseason. The Top-2 seeds receive a bye. The third and fourth seeds will host a match on Sunday, April 28. The winners of those contests will meet the top two seeds at the home of the regular season champion for the traditional NEC Championships on May 2 and 4.

Sacred Heart and LIU are tied for first in the NEC standings, but if the NEC Tournament started today, Sacred Heart would be the top seed after defeating LIU earlier this year. Le Moyne (7-2), Saint Francis (6-2), and Stonehill (5-3) are fighting for a Top-4 seed and a chance to host, get a bye to the semifinals, or host a quarterfinal game. Wagner (4-4), Merrimack (3-5), Delaware State (2-6), and CCSU (2-6) are looking to reach the Top-6 to get an invitation to the tournament. 

IN THE NEC
Junior Taylor Coughlin leads the NEC in save percentage (.502) and ranks second in saves per game (10.69) and sixth in goals against average (10.63). Coughlin ranks sixth in NCAA Division I in saves percentage and seventh in saves per game. The junior also ranks 11th in saves (137). Sophomore Bella Fisher leads the league in shots per game (7.54) and ranks third in goals per game (2.69), third in points per game (3.69), and eighth in draw controls per game (3.62). Senior Danielle Hernandez is second in assists per game (1.46). Graduate student Lizzie Fisher is seventh in goals per game (2.08). Sophomore Bella Burke sits third in caused turnovers per game (1.69). Burke is 45th in the NCAA in caused turnovers. Saint Francis ranks second in goals per game (11.00), assists per game (5.31), and points per game (16.31). Stonehill leads each of those categories: goals per game (14.29), assists per game (6.00), and points per game (20.29).

NEC HONORS
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Taylor Coughlin was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week for April 1-7. Coughlin becomes the second player to earn the award twice in one season and the fourth player to win twice in her career in program history. Coughlin registered 33 saves, a 5.50 goals against average, and a .750 save percentage to lead the Red Flash to two wins. Coughlin, sophomore Bella Burke, and senior Danielle Hernandez were named NEC Prime Performers. Burke posted seven caused turnovers, four ground balls, and two draw controls, while Hernandez posted five goals and five assists for 10 points.

Sophomore Brooke Lacey was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week for March 25-31. Lacey stuffed the stat sheet with three goals, one assist, a career-high four caused turnovers, four ground balls, and a draw control to help the Red Flash to a 13-8 win against FDU to start NEC play 3-1 for the first time in team history. Lacey and fellow sophomore Julia Givens were also named NEC Prime Performers. Like Lacey, Givens was on both ends of the field, producing four goals, one assist, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers in the win against the Knights. 

Sophomore Bella Fisher was named the NEC Player of the Week, Coughlin was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week, and freshman Elizabeth Mahmud was the NEC Rookie of the Week for March 18-24. Bella Fisher posted five goals, including a go-ahead goal, to help Saint Francis defeat Wagner for only the third time in program history with an 8-7 win. Coughlin allowed a career-low seven goals and had seven saves in the win against the Seahawks. Mahmud registered a career-high two goals and two draw controls, including the team's eighth goal and the ensuing draw control to help the Red Flash run out the clock. Bella Fisher and Coughlin were also named NEC Prime Performers.

Bella Fisher was named the NEC Co-Player of the Week, Burke earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week, and freshman Jacks Lesmeister captured her first NEC Rookie of the Week selection for 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. 

Bella Fisher was named NEC Prime Performer for April 8-14. She had six goals and an assist in the week, including four tallies and an assist in a win against Delaware State. 

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. 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. Bella Fisher and 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. 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.

Bella Fisher leads the team with five Prime Performers. Burke and Givens have three, and Coughlin, Lacey Hernandez, and graduate student Lizzie Fisher have two.

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 six 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. The sophomore has two five-goal performances this season against Robert Morris on February 28 and against Wagner on March 23. Lizzie Fisher joined the club with her five-goal performance against Robert Morris, 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 13 hat tricks after registering six this season, including a pair of five-goal performances. 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 nine three-goal performances. Sophomore Nancy Alden notched her first career hat trick against Rider, had a career-high five goals against Kent State on March 13, and has three hatties this season. Fellow sophomore Julia Givens has four hat tricks this season and eight career hatties. Sophomore Broke Lacey has two hat tricks this season and three in her career.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HER FRIENDS (METALLICA-JOE COCKER MASHUP)

Sophomore Bella Burke leads the team with 27 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers and ranks fourth with 16 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 18 of 26 games and two caused turnovers in 14 games in her career. In addition, she has recorded at least four caused turnovers in a game five times in her career, marks that all sit in the program's single-game Top-10 in program history, including a season-high five against Le Moyne on April 3.

Sophomore Julia Givens has 22 ground balls, and 13 caused turnovers, while fellow sophomore Brooke Lacey has 12 caused miscues. Lacey had four caused turnovers against FDU, the 17th time a Red Flash player has recorded four caused turnovers in a game and the eighth-most in program history. 

MILESTONE ALERT 

Senior Danielle Hernandez has 126 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 eighth place with five points. She also sits in fifth place for career assists with 54, needing six more helpers to move into third place. 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. Hernandez can join the Top-10 in draw controls with seven draw controls.

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. Bella Fisher is four points away from joining Hernandez in the 100-point club and becoming the 13th player in team history to reach the milestone. With five markers, she can join the program's Top 10 for goals; currently, two players have 82 markers to sit in the 10th spot. Fisher has 86 career draw controls to sit in eighth place in program history in the category, can move into seventh place with two draws, and becomes the seventh player in team history with 100 draw controls and 14 draws.

MAKING MOVES IN SINGLE-SEASON HISTORY

Sophomore Bella Burke has 22 caused turnovers to rank ninth on the program's single-season chart. Next on the list are 23 (sixth place), 25 (fourth place), and 26 (third place) caused turnovers. Burke had 26 caused miscues last season and is the third player in team history to have two spots on the single-season Top-10, joining Peyton LeConte (three) and Jessica Mazzur (two).

Sophomore Bella Fisher needs four points to join the Top 10 for single-season points and can crack the Top 10 and tie her freshman total in goals with seven markers. She would be the third player to register two Top-10 marks on the single-season chart, joining Danielle Conwell (two) and Emileigh Scott (two). She can also join the Top 10 for season draw controls with four draws.

Senior Danielle Hernandez has moved into the Top-9 in assists with 19 assists, one assist for eighth (20), two for sixth (21), and five for third (24). She became the third player to have two marks on the single-season list for assists, joining former teammate Autumn McHenry (two) and Danielle Conwell (two).

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. Lesmeister posted her first tally against CCSU on April 6 and Riva had her first career point at Delaware State on April 10.

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 321-227 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.