Saturday, March 15 | at CCSU | New Britain, Conn. | Arute Field | 1 p.m. | LIVE STATS  | LIVE VIDEO
 
OPENING DRAW 
Saint Francis opens Northeast Conference play against CCSU on Saturday. It will be the 23rd meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2002 season. The Blue Devils lead the series 13-7, but the Red Flash has won the last six in the series.

THE WORD ON THE BLUE DEVILS
CCSU comes into the contest 0-5 after falling to Iona on Sunday. Katie Hurlbut leads the team with two goals and two assists for four points. Makayla Winegar has found the twine three times for three points and Bella Santos has two goals for two points. Ellie Gusitsch leads the defense with seven caused turnovers and six ground balls. Jaydn Jones has 56 saves.

LAST TIME WE MET
Danielle Hernandez made the most of her Senior Day by tying her career high with four goals and added three assists and continued to etch her name in the team's record book by becoming the sixth player in team history to dish out 50 assists in her career in a 16-5 win against Central Connecticut State on April 6, 2023. Lizzie Fisher (two goals), Tori Petrie (one goal), Erika Ellison (two ground balls), and Holly Jones (one ground ball, one caused turnover) also contributed to the Red Flash victory. Brooke Lacey collected two goals and two assists, while Nancy Alden added a marker and two assists in the winning effort.

LAST WEEKS ACTION
Saint Francis lost to Charlotte 19-12 on March 4 and then dropped a 10-6 decision at Kent State on Friday. Heather Delbone had four goals against Charlotte, while Elizabeth Mahmud and Julia Givens each had two goals and an assist. Brooke Lacey paced the Red Flash against Kent Dtate with two goals and an assist, and Mahmud added a tally and a helper.

NEXT TIME OUT 
Saint Francis begins a five-game homestand with Wagner being the first team to visit on March 22.

NEC WEEKLY HONORS 
Saint Francis swept the NEC weekly awards after posting its first-ever win against Duquesne on February 22. Junior Brooke Lacey was named the NEC Player of the Week, sophomore Elizabeth Garcia earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week, and freshman Samantha Hewitt took NEC Rookie of the Week honors for February 17-23. It is the third time the Red Flash has swept all three awards in the last three seasons. Lacey registered a career-high seven goals to power Saint Francis to a 17-11 win against the Dukes. Garcia registered four caused turnovers, five ground balls, and two draw controls against the Dukes. Two of her caused turnovers that led to Saint Francis's goals on the offensive end. Hewitt registered a career-high four goals and one assist to power Saint Francis to its first-ever win against the Dukes. Lacey, Garcia and senior Christina Roncarati were named NEC Prime Performers. Roncarati registered a career-high four goals and one assist against Duquesne.

Lacey became the 12th different player to earn NEC Player of the Week honors and marked the 21st time a Red Flash player has been named NEC Player of the Week. Lacey also becomes the second player in program history selected as both NEC Player and Defensive Player of the Week in her career. The junior was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week on March 31, 2024, joining Autumn McHenry as the only other player in program history to earn both distinctions. Garcia becomes the ninth player to earn the NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor and the 14th time a player has earned the honor. Hewitt is the 15th player in program history to earn top Rookie of the Week honors and for the 22nd time in program history. 

Lacey earned her third NEC Prime Performer, while Garcia and Roncarati each earned their first Prime Performer selection. Julia Givens and Mak Patten received Prime Performer status for February 10-16. Givens has six NEC Prime Performers in her career after earning the distinction twice as a freshman in 2023 and three times last season. Coughlin has a pair of selections, and Patten has one.

Heather Delbone was selected as the NEC Rookie of the Week for February 10-16. Delbone registered three goals and an assist in her first two collegiate games of her career. Givens and Patten were named NEC Prime Performers for the week. Givens tallied five goals, four caused turnovers, three draw controls, and a caused turnover in the opening week for the Red Flash. Patten, who came into the season with three goals and three assists, nearly surpassed the point total in her first two games of her junior season. The junior tallied a goal and five assists for the Red Flash in the two games in Ohio.

PRESEASON POLL
The Saint Francis women's lacrosse team has been tabbed to finish fifth, according to the Northeast Conference (NEC) preseason poll. LIU was selected as the unanimous preseason favorite, while Stonehill, Le Moyne, Wagner, Saint Francis, FDU, CCSU Delaware State, Mercyhurst, and Howard round out the 10-team poll. Mercyhurst is in its first year in the NEC.

A DAVID PUDDY HIGH-FIVE
Junior Brooke Lacey registered a career-high seven goals against Duquesne on February 22. Senior Nancy Alden is the only other player on the roster to have at least a five-goal game with her five-tally performance at Kent State on March 13, 2024.

HATTIES 
Junior Julia Givens leads the team with nine career hat tricks, including a four-goal performance against Youngstown State on February 16. Junior Brooke Lacey has four hat tricks in her career, while senior Nancy Alden and has three hat tricks in their career.Senior Christina Roncarati has two after recording a four-goal performance in her freshman and senior campaigns. Junior Victoria DiRenno and freshmen Heather Delbone and Samantha Hewitt have also registered at least three tallies in a game once in their career.

MILESTONE ALERT 
Senior Taylor Coughlin is seventh for career saves with 239 to become the seventh player in team history to reach 200 stops. She can move into sixth place with 24 stops. Coming into the season, Coughlin is the program's all-time leader in goals against average (11.90).
 
Senior Chyler Espino moved back into the Top-10 in career draw controls with 95 draws. Currently in eighth place, Espino can jump into seventh place with 11 draw controls and will be the eighth player to reach 100 draws with five more. The senior also is just outside the Top-10 for career caused turnovers (38) and ground balls (81). The senior three ground balls and eight caused turnovers to join the Top-10 in each category. The senior had 10 draw controls against FDU on April 19, 2023 for the sixth-most in a single game in team history and the 13th time in program history it occurred.

COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
Freshman Heather Delbone notched the first goal of the season against Akron on February 11 for her first collegiate goal. Fellow freshman Samantha Hewitt notched her first collegiate score against Youngstown State on February 16. Junior Mak Patten assisted with both tallies. Delbone, Hewitt, Bella Teche, and Lily Robertson saw their first collegiate action as a member of the starting lineup, while Lani Filoon came off the bench for her first collegiate action against Akron.

AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN 
Seniors Taylor Coughlin and Chyler Espino, and junior Brooke Lacey have been elected team captains for the 2025 season. Senior Victoria DiRenno, junior Julia Givens and Elizabeth Mahmud have been named to the Leadership Council.

RETURNING ALL-NEC PERFORMERS 
Senior Chyler Espino returns in 2025 for her senior season after being injured in the first game of the 2024 season at Oregon. Espino was an All-NEC first-team performer in her sophomore campaign. Junior Julia Givens was an All-NEC second-team recipient in 2024.

WELCOME TO THE LO' 
Saint Francis women's lacrosse head coach Morgan Gott has added 11 newcomers to the team in 2025. Sophomore Elizabeth Garcia, and freshmen Kayla Adam, Heather Delbone, Lani Filoon, Samantha Hewitt, Mackenzie Metzger, Sav Musto, Lily Robertson, Bella Tesche and Calyssa Yankow joined the Red Flash for the 2025 campaign. Garcia and Robertson transferred to Saint Francis for the spring semester. Gott also added assistant coach Craig Lowery to the team.
 
FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH 
Saint Francis has four players who hail from Canada: Seniors Olivia Baldini (Hamilton, Ontario) and Taylor Coughlin (Hespeler, Ontario), junior Mak Patten (Welland, Ontario), and freshman Sav Musto (Stouffville, Ontario). Both goalkeepers (Coughlin and Musto) are from Canada.

ABOUT THE COACH 
Head coach Morgan Gott is in her first season in Loretto after serving as an assistant coach for the last two seasons. She registered her first career win as a head coach thanks to a 17-11 victory against Duquesne on February 22, 2024. In 2023, she helped the Red Flash has set a program record for overall wins (10), conference wins (5), longest winning streak (6) and clinched the program's first-ever NEC Tournament appearance. In the two seasons as an assistant coach, Gott helped the Red Flash to an 18-14 overall record and a 12-6 record in NEC play and the first two NEC Tournament appearances in program history.