Friday, September 20 | at Queens of Charlotte | Charlotte, N.C. | Bassant Field | 4:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS 
Sunday, September 22 | at Davidson | Davidson, N.C. | Carol Grotnes Belk Turf Field | 12:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
 
OPENING STICK VS QUEENS OF CHARLOTTE
Friday's game between Saint Francis and Queens of Charlotte marks the second meeting in a series that began last season in Loretto. The Red Flash lead the series 1-0 after defeating Queens 6-0 in the 2023 season opener.

THE WORD ON QUEENS OF CHARLOTTE
Queens comes into the match 0-6 after falling 4-0 at Towson on Sunday. Kennedy Bratton leads the team with two goals for four points, while Jarmilla Richter has also hit the cage this season. Madison Destefano has 60 saves, a 0.659 save percent, and a 5.17 goals against average in 2024.

THE LAST TIME WE MET QUEENS OF CHARLOTTE
Consu de Castro posted two goals in her collegiate debut in a 6-0 win against Queens of Charlotte on August 25, 2023. Julia Breneman, Marie Sattler, and Eva Valentini each had a goal and an assist, while Dolores Zavaleta rattled the cage. Amber Bryan and Mia DiGenova made a save each in the game, while Grace Meinke turned away 12 shots for Queens.

OPENING STICK VS DAVIDSON
Sunday's match between Saint Francis and Davidson marks the 11 meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2001 season. The Wildcats lead the series 6-4, but the Red Flash has won the last three in the matchup, including a 3-2 double-overtime win in 2019 in Loretto.

THE WORD ON DAVIDSON
Davidson, who hosts No. 10 Saint Joseph's on Friday, comes into the weekend 2-2 after falling 7-2 to Appalachian State on September 15. Sib Naaktgeboren leads the team with three goals and two assists for eight points. Macy Curtis is second on the squad with two tallies and three assists for seven points, while Celie Constantine is third with a goal and an assist for three points. Mary Kate Berg has nine saves, a 2.51 goals against average, and a .500 save percentage this season.

THE LAST TIME WE MET DAVIDSON
Sharon Kereke scored the decisive tally for Saint Francis at 62:38 to defeat Davidson 3-2 in double overtime to open up the Red Flash's final season in the Atlantic 10 on September 20, 2019. Taylor Nesmith tied the match off a Taylin Lehman helper at 53:49, and Kellie Drugotch rattled the back of the box off an Agustina Deharbe feeder in the second quarter. Valerie Hajek and Julia Smith posted the goals for Davidson. Claudia Marzec made eight saves for Saint Francis, and Sarah Zeszotarski made five stops for the Wildcats.

THE LAST TIME OUT
Saint Francis defeated Mercyhurst for the second time on the weekend, but this time, it counted toward NEC field hockey action after a 3-1 win in Erie on Sunday. T Ciaccia notched her second-weekend tally, while Madison Waldspurger and Emilee Myers also scored in the winning effort. After registering her first career goal on Friday, Cruz Cánepa notched her first career assist, and Dolores Zavaleta also dished out a helper on the day. The Red Flash won its NEC opener for the third straight year for the first time in program history

NEXT TIME OUT
After the two games in North Carolina, Saint Francis returns home to host Stonehill on September 27 for its NEC home opener.

THROUGH THREE WEEKENDS
Saint Francis is 4-2 after six games for the fourth time in program history, joining the 2017, 2018, and 2023. With a win on Friday at Queens, the Red Flash would be 5-2 for the first time in program history and be the third-best start in program history, with the 2014 (7-0) and 2016 (6-1) setting the standards. With a loss, the squad would be 4-3 for the sixth time in team history (2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2023) and still would be the third-best start. A sweep this weekend would mean the team would be 6-2 for the first time in program history, with the 2014 (8-0) and 2016 (7-1) squads ahead of this season's mark. A split this weekend and the team would be 5-3 for the third time (2012 and 2018), while two losses would put the team at 4-4 for the second straight season and the fourth time in team history (2013, 2015, 2023).

"OKAY, WE WON A GAME YESTERDAY. IF WE WIN TODAY, IT'S CALLED TWO IN A ROW. AND IF WE WIN TOMORROW, IT'S CALLED A WINNING STREAK."
Saint Francis comes into the weekend riding a three-game winning streak, which has become an annual occurrence. The Red Flash has posted a three-game winning streak every season it has played since 2012. Last year's team won three consecutive twice. With a win on Friday, the squad would have its sixth winning streak of four or more matches and the first since the Flash won four consecutive at the end of 2022. The 2014 also won four in a row to go along with a program record eight gamer. In addition, the 2012 and 2016 teams both won six consecutive. 
 
FIRST WIN AS A HEAD COACH
Head coach Mackenzie Allessie won her first game in her collegiate head coaching debut in a 3-2 double-overtime win against Ball State on August 30, her first game in Loretto with a 1-0 win against Georgetown on September 8 and her NEC opener 3-1 against Mercyhurst on September 15. Allessie's predecessor, Maria Bettiana Ceretta, is the only head coach in program history to turn that trick, or even win her first game as a head coach, home game or conference game. Ceretta knocked out her first collegiate win and win at home with a 4-0 decision against Central Michigan on August 25, 2017. She won her first Atlantic-10 game with a 1-0 win against UMass at home on September 22, 2017. Allessie can become the first head coach in program history to win her NEC debut and also the first coach to win her first conference game on the road in her first attempt at a conference game and the second to win her first conference road game after Stacy Bean won her first conference road game she coached in against Siena on October 12, 2008 (Bean lost 1-0 to Lock Haven two days prior at home in her first NEC coached game). 

SCORING LEADERS
Senior Dolores Zavaleta leads the team with eight goals and 14 assists for 30 points in her career. Junior Madison Waldspurger is second on the team with eight tallies and 10 assists for 26 points in her career. Sophomore Consu de Castro (seven goals, two assist, 16 points), junior Chloe Butz (two tallies, five assists, nine points), graduate student Riley Kromer (two goals, four points), and sophomore Grace Reed (one goal, two points) are the only players on the road that have rattled the cage in their career. De Castro (four goals, one assist, nine points), Zavaleta (two goals, one assist, five points), Waldspurger (one goal, three assists, five points) lead the team in scoring this season.

NEC HONORS
Freshman Cruz Canepa, sophomore Consu de Castro and junior Madison Waldspurger were named NEC Prime Performers on September 16. Canepa and de Castro each had a goal and an assist, while Waldspurger added a goal. 

Senior Dolores avaleta was named an NEC Prime Performer for the second straight week after scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win against Georgetown on September 8. It was the third time in her career that she has registered a game-winner against the Hoyas.

Sophomore Mia DiGenova was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week for the first weekend of the season. The sophomore had 19 saves in a 3-2 double-overtime win against Ball State on August 30, which were the fourth most in single-game program history. She added eight stops against Miami (Ohio) two days later. It is the second time in her career that she has been selected as NEC Defensive Player of the Week after taking home that honor and NEC Rookie of the Week honors on September 9, 2023. DiGenova is one of six players in program history with at least three major weekly awards. DiGenova, de Castro (two goals against Ball State) and Zavelta (game-winner against Ball State) were also named NEC Prime Performers for the week. 

COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
Junior Emilee Myers notched her first collegiate assist on the game-winning goal against Ball State on August 30 and had her first career tally against Mercyhurst on September 15. Freshmen Cruz Canepa and Josefina Sayal Aguirre notched and sophomore T Ciaccia norched their first career goal against Mercyhurst on September 13 and Canepa followed that up with her first career assist against the Lakers two days later. Sophomore Grace Reed and freshman Anna Commero also recorded their first career helper in the first match against Mercyhurst.

RETURNING ALL-NEC
Saint Francis returns 2023 All-NEC second-team performers Amber Bryan and Madison Waldspurger, while senior Dolores Zavaleta returns for her final year after earning second-team honors in 2021. 

STICKING AROUND FOR ANOTHER YEAR
Seniors Amber Bryan and Riley Kromer have come back for their sixth season.

NEW TO THE 'LO
Along with head coach Mackenzie Allessie and assistant coach Alexa Rastigue, junior Emilee Myers, sophomore Brooklyn Widdess and freshmen Cruz Cánepa, Hannah Capo, Anna Commero, Madilyn Donmoyer, Kylee Hager, Josie Ickes, Sofia Marciano, Gates McAllister and Josefina Sayal Aguirre have joined the team in 2024. Myers played at La Salle for two seasons, while Widdess comes to Loretto have one season at Coverse College.
 
TOO MANY ANTHEMS TO PLAY
Along with 17 players from the United States, head coach Mackenzie Allessie has four players from Argentina (Consu de Castro, Sofia Marciano, Josefina Sayal Aguirre, Dolores Zavaleta), two players from Canada (Gates McAllister, Brooklyn Widdess), and one from Spain (Cruz Cánepa) for the 2024 season.
 
ABOUT THE COACH
Head coach Mackenzie Allessie enters her first season as head coach after a successful five-year collegiate career at Ohio State and Penn State. She tallied 61 goals and 45 assists for 167 points in two seasons at Ohio State and three seasons at Penn State. A five-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American and five-time NFHCA All-Region first-team selection, she helped the Nittany Lions to the NCAA national semifinals for the first time since 2007 and a share of the Big Ten Championship in 2022. Allessie, named to the All-Big Ten first team in all five seasons, was named the Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year during the 2021 spring season after posting 15 goals and five assists in 16 games for Ohio State. Allessie helped the United States to the bronze medal in the Pan American games in 2019 in Chile after becoming the youngest player named to the United States National Team in 2018. She registered the most goals scored by a member of Team USA during those 2019 games. She was also named to the United States National Team in 2022.