Saturday, April 25 | at Le Moyne | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Field | 11 a.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

OPENING DRAW 
Saturday's game between Saint Francis and Le Moyne marks the second meeting in the series after the two teams met for the first time last season in Loretto. The Red Flash defeated the Dolphins 8-6 in the inaugural meeting, with the teams squaring off in Syracuse for the first time in 2025.

WHERE WE STAND IN THE NEC
Saint Francis is 4-4 in the NEC, and Le Moyne is 3-5 in league play. The winner of Saturday's match is almost sure to clinch the No. 4 seed. However, the Red Flash could clinch its third consecutive tournament appearance with a loss against the Dolphins if the goal difference is one goal, the team does not allow more than eight goals, and FDU defeats CCSU, causing a three-way tie for fourth place. If either of those things do not happen, the Red Flash would be eliminated with a loss. Stonehill has the upper hand for the No. 1 seed and the right to host the tournament. If Stonehill (vs. Delaware State), LIU (vs. Howard), and Wagner (vs. Mercyhurst) win, Stonehill will be the regular season champion. The Skyhawks can also be the No. 1 seed with a win and an LIU loss. LIU would be the No. 1 seed with a win and a Wagner loss, or if Stonehill, LIU, and Wagner all lose. Wagner can claim the No. 1 seed with a win and a Stonehill loss. 

THE WORD ON THE DOLPHINS
Le Moyne comes into the contest 4-12 overall and 3-5 in NEC play after falling 9-8 at Stonehill on April 19 after the Skyhawks scored the decisive goal in the final 28 seconds. Maddi Barney registered a hat trick, and Bella Sampo dished out four assists against Stonehill. Sampo leads the team with 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points. Barney is second on the team with 20 tallies and five assists for 25 points, while Julia Blakeslee (15 goals, six assists) and Alexa Strelick (11 goals, 10 assists) are tied for third with 21 points. Blakeslee leads the team in draw controls (44), Grace Brinza has a team-best caused turnovers (19), and Katherine Amico fuels the field players in ground balls (24). Amanda Manfredi has 126 saves, a 12.36 goals against average, and a .420 save percentage. 

LAST TIME WE MET
Nancy Alden broke a 5-all standstill and started a 3-0 goal run with a tally at 7:17 in the third quarter to power Saint Francis past Le Moyne 8-6 on April 3, 2024. Alden finished the game with two goals along with Julia Givens, and Brooke Lacey and Danielle Hernandez posted a goal and two assists for three points for the Red Flash. Rhonee Shea Pal paced the Dolphins with a hat trick in the loss. Taylor Coughlin made a career-high 18 saves for Saint Francis, and Paige Crandall had seven stops for Le Moyne. 

LAST WEEK'S ACTION
Playing in its first overtime game since 2014 and first-ever on the road, Saint Francis lost on a free-position goal by LIU with 1:09 left in overtime on April 19. Victoria DiRenno, who eclipsed 100 draw controls for her career in the game, won the draw in overtime, and Julia Givens had her shot go wide with 1:35 on the clock. Saint Francis got the ball out of bounds, but a turnover allowed the Sharks to take it on their offensive end to score the decisive goal. Givens finished the game with a career-high six goals, including tying the game to send it to overtime with 15 seconds left. Brooke Lacey added two goals and an assist, while Christina Roncarati found the twine twice, and Samantha Hewitt dished out two assists. Taylor Coughlin made nine saves to reach 300 saves in her career.

NEXT TIME OUT 
If Saint Francis clinches a berth in the NEC Tournament, the Red Flash will compete in the four-team tournament on May 1 and 3 at the home of the regular season champion.

NEC STATS
Sophomore Elizabeth Garcia leads the league in ground balls (3.20) and caused turnovers (2.20). Garcia is 11th in ground balls and 15th in caused turnovers in the nation. Senior Taylor Coughlin leads the NEC in saves (8.67) and is second in goals against average (10.45) and saves percentage (.453). Coughlin is 26th in goals against average, 35th in saves per game, and 39th in save percentage in NCAA Division I. Senior Victoria DiRenno is third in draw controls (4.80), while junior Brooke Lacey is fourth in points (2.93), fourth in shots (5.57), and fifth in goals (2.21). Freshman Samantha Hewitt is seventh in assists (1.00) and eighth in points (2.53). DiRenno sits 58th in the nation in draw controls. Senior Chyler Espino is seventh in ground balls (2.47) and 10th in draw controls (3.27). Senior Christina Roncarati and junior Julia Givens are eighth in goals (1.93), while junior Mak Patten is ninth in points (2.47) and 10th in assists (0.93).

NEC HONORS

Junior Julia Givens was named the NEC Player of the Week for April 14-20. It is her first Player of the Week honor and her third significant award after being named the NEC Rookie of the Week twice in 2023.

Givens scored a career-high six times in an 11-10 overtime loss at LIU on Saturday. The junior gave the Red Flash a 1-0 (13:42, first quarter), 4-3 (9:33, second quarter), 5-3 (8:44, second quarter), 7-6 (0:44, third quarter), and 9-7 (11:12, fourth quarter) leads before twinkling the twine for the sixth time on the afternoon with 15 seconds left to tie the match at 10 and send it to overtime.  Givens was named the NEC Rookie of the Week on March 6 and April 3, 2023. Givens is the sixth player in program history to earn NEC Player and Rookie of the Week, joining Danielle Conwell, Sydney Davis, Emileigh Scott, and former teammates Danielle Hernandez and Bella Fisher. She is the second player to earn NEC Player of the Week honors this season after Lacey earned the distinction for her seven-goal performance against the Dukes. In addition to Givens being the sixth Player to earn NEC Player and Rookie of the Week, she also joins junior Brooke Lacey and former teammate Autumn McHenry as winners of two major awards in their career. Lacey and McHenry earned recognition as NEC Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Givens is the 15th different Player to earn NEC Player of the Week honors, marking the 23rd time a player has received the award.  It is the eighth time Saint Francis has earned a significant award this season. Along with Givens and Lacey, sophomore Elizabeth Garcia received NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors twice (February 17-23 and April 7-13), Samantha Hewitt NEC Rookie of the Week three times (February 17-23, March 11-16 and April 7-13) and Heather Delbone once (February 10-16) for the second most in one season in team history.  Givens and senior Victoria DiRenno were named NEC Prime Performers for their second-season selections. DiRenno, who had an assist against LIU, finished with 10 draw controls to mark the second time she posted double-digit draws this season. The senior had 12 draw controls against FDU on April 5, the second most in the program's single-game history, while the 10 on Saturday sit seventh and the ninth time a player has finished with exactly 10 draw controls. A Red Flash player has scooped up double-figure draws 16 times, but DiRenno is the second player to turn the trick more than once (Scott, nine times). The senior is the eighth player in team history to reach 100 draws in her career and has 104 for her career. She has 72 draws in 2025, the fifth most in single-season history.  Sophomore Elizabeth Garcia and junior Mak Patten lead the team with three NEC Prime Performer selections, while Givens, DiRenno, senior Taylor Coughlin, and senior Christina Roncarati each have a pair, and Lacey and Hewitt each have one Prime Performer.

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. Junior Julia Givens scored a career-best six goals against LIU on April 19. Senior Christina Roncarati and junior Mak Patten each had a career-high five goals against CCSU on March 15. Patten turned the trick again against Delaware State on April 12. Junior Senior Nancy Alden was the other player on the roster to have at least a five-goal game coming into the season with her five-tally performance at Kent State on March 13, 2024.

HATTIES 
Junior Julia Givens leads the team with 11 career hat tricks, including a four-goal performance against Youngstown State on February 16. Junior Brooke Lacey has seven hat tricks in her career, while senior Nancy Alden has three hat tricks in their career. Senior Christina Roncarati has three after recording a four-goal performance in her freshman and senior campaigns and a career-high five goals against CCSU on March 15. Freshman Samantha Hewitt has four hat tricks this season, including three four-goal performances. Senior Mak Patten (five goals vs. CCSU) and freshman Heather Delbone (Charlotte, March 4) each have one hattie in 2025, while junior Victoria DiRenno posted a hat trick last season.

CAREER MILESTONE ALERT 

Senior Taylor Coughlin is sixth for career saves with 302 and is the sixth player in team history to reach 300 stops after reaching the milestone against LIU on April 19. She can move into the Top-5 for saves with 26 shots turned away. Coughlin is the program's all-time leader in goals against average (11.07). 

Senior Chyler Espino moved back into the top 10 in career draw controls and stands at 127 draws. The senior has moved into fourth place in the category and will finish in that spot, with third place being 224 draw controls. She became the eighth player in team history with 100 draws against CCSU on March 15, the sixth player with 100 ground balls against Howard on April 9, and the fourth player with 100 ground balls and 100 draw controls in her career. She has 106 ground balls in her career and can move into fifth place with one ground ball. She has also moved into the Top-10 for caused turnovers with 48 and can move into seventh place with two caused miscues and fifth place with five caused turnovers.

Senior Victoria DiRenno has moved into ninth place for career draw controls with 104 and became the ninth player in team history with 100 draws in her career. She can move into eighth place with two draws.

SEASON MILESTONE ALERT 
Sophomore Elizabeth Garcia became the program's all-time leader in caused turnovers with 33 in the game against Delaware State on April 12. The sophomore is third in ground balls with 48 and can move into second place with 13 ground balls. Senior Victoria DiRenno has 72 draw controls to rank fifth on the single-season chart in the category. She can move into fourth place with two draws and third with 10 draws. On the freshman charts, Samantha Hewitt ranks second in assists with 15 helpers, with the program record for freshmen sitting at 27. The freshman is fifth with 38 points as a freshman, two points from third, and seven points from second. She is also seventh in goals with 23 and can move into sixth with one goal, fifth with six tallies, and fourth with seven markers. Hewitt needs four assists to join the Top-10 for overall assists, and junior Mak Patten needs five assists to join the season chart for assists. Espino can join the Top-10 for ground balls in a season with four ground balls and can move into 10th place for draw controls with four draws.

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. Lani Filoon came off the bench for her first collegiate action against Akron. Filoon recorded her first career assist against CCSU on March 15 and her first career goal against Delaware State on April 12.

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, 2025, and her first NEC win with a 22-2 win against CCSU on March 15, 2025. In 2023, she helped 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. In the two seasons as an assistant coach, Gott helped the Red Flash to an 18-14 overall record, a 12-6 record in NEC play, and the first two NEC Tournament appearances in program history.