Thursday, May 1 | at #1 Stonehill | North Easton, Mass. | W.B. Mason Stadium | 4 p.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

OPENING DRAW 
Thursday's match between Saint Francis and Stonehill marks the fourth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2023 season. The Skyhawks have won the last three meetings in the series, including both meetings in Massachusetts. It will be the second meeting between the two teams in the NEC Tournament after Stonehill defeated Saint Francis 19-14 in the NEC Quarterfinals last season at W.B. Mason Stadium.

RED FLASH AND THE NEC TOURNAMENT
After not making the NEC Tournament in the first 22 years, Saint Francis has made the postseason in the last three seasons. The squad is looking for its first tournament win after falling 12-6 to No. 1 Sacred Heart in 2023 and 19-14 to #4 Stonehill last season.

Saint Francis looks to become the third No. 4 seed to win an NEC Tournament game and the first not named Mount St. Mary's. The Mount defeated top seed Monmouth 15-9 in 2003 and top seed Sacred Heart 7-4 in 2012 for the only two times the fourth seed outlasted a No. 1 seed.

CAN HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF?
The Saint Francis men's basketball team lost to CCSU in the NEC Quarterfinals last season and defeated the Blue Devils in the NEC Championship Game 46-43 on March 8. The Red Flash women's lacrosse team will face Stonehill for the second year in a row. Last season, the Skyhawks downed Saint Francis 19-14 in the NEC Quarterfinals. 

THE WORD ON THE SKYHAWKS
Stonehill comes into the contest 10-6 overall and 8-1 in NEC play after defeating Delaware State 24-5 on Saturday. Natalie Coutu powers the Skyhawks with 43 goals and 11 assists for 54 points. Grace Murphy, who missed seven games, is second on the team with 34 tallies and nine assists for 43 points. Meaghan Fealy is third with 22 markers and seven helpers for 29 points, and Cameron Flaherty has 17 goals and 11 assists for 28 points. Julia Kogan leads the position players with 35 ground balls and draw controls (95), while Lauren Molinaro fuels the team in caused turnovers (21). Nina Tremonte has 121 saves, an 11.20 goals against average, and a .440 save percentage. 

LAST TIME WE MET
Stonehill defeated Saint Francis 14-11 in the regular season in Loretto on March 29. Junior Mak Patten powered the Red Flash with two goals and three assists, while freshman Heather Delbone had two goals and two assists. Natalie Coutu (four goals, two assists) and Abby Hanifin (five goals, one assist) each had six points to pace the Skyhawks. Senior Taylor Coughlin had four saves for Saint Francis, and Nina Tremonte turned away seven shots for Stonehill.

LAST WEEK'S ACTION
Freshman Samantha Hewitt registered a hat trick and an assist and netted the eventual game-winning goal to help Saint Francis clinch its third-consecutive NEC Tournament appearance with a 13-10 win against Le Moyne on Saturday. Junior Brooke Lacey paced the Red Flash with four goals. Senior Victoria DiRenno stuffed the stat sheet with a goal, three ground balls, three caused turnovers, and five draw controls, while senior Taylor Coughlin made 11 saves in the winning effort.

NEXT TIME OUT 
The winner between Saint Francis and Stonehill advances to the NEC Championship Game on Saturday at 6 p.m. If the Red Flash advances, the team will play in the NEC Championship Game for the first time in program history.

NEC STATS
Sophomore Elizabeth Garcia leads the league in caused turnovers (2.20) and ranks second in ground balls (3.20) Garcia is 10th in ground balls and 17th in caused turnovers in the nation. Senior Taylor Coughlin leads the NEC in saves (8.81) and is second in goals against average (10.42) and saves percentage (.458), and seventh in ground balls (2.44). Coughlin is 27th in goals against average, 33rd in saves per game, and 33rd in save percentage in NCAA Division I. Senior Victoria DiRenno is third in draw controls (4.81), while junior Brooke Lacey is fourth in points (3.00), fourth in shots (5.67), and fourth in goals (2.33). Freshman Samantha Hewitt is fifth in assists (1.00) and sixth in points (2.63). DiRenno sits 58th in the nation in draw controls. Senior Chyler Espino is ninth in ground balls (2.38) and 10th in draw controls (3.19). Junior Julia Givens is eighth in goals (1.94) and senior Christina Roncarati is ninth in goals (1.88), while junior Mak Patten is ninth in points (2.47) and 10th in assists (0.88).
 

NEC HONORS
For the fourth time this season, freshman Samantha Hewitt has been named the NEC Rookie of the Week. She became part of an exclusive class of nine players in NEC history and was named NEC Rookie of the Week four times. Senior Taylor Coughlin was selected as the NEC Defensive Player of the Week for April 21-27. She has earned the distinction for the first time this season and the third time in her career.

Hewitt registered all three of her goals and assist in the final 23 minutes and 29 seconds with three of the Red Flash's final seven tallies, including the eventual game-winning score with 8:05 left in the fourth quarter to help propel the Red Flash back into the NEC Tournament for the third consecutive season. The freshman cut the Dolphins lead to 7-6 (8:29, third quarter) and 9-8 (14:03, fourth quarter) before dishing out an assist on the go-ahead goal with 10:07 left and the team's 11th goal of the day with 8:05 left in the fourth quarter, which proved to be the difference, to give Saint Francis an 11-9 lead in a game the Red Flash would win 13-10. Hewitt notched her fifth hat trick and finished the regular season with 26 goals and 16 assists for 42 points. She moved into sixth place on the freshman goals list and third on the freshman point list, becoming just the fourth freshman to reach 40 points in a season. 

Coughlin made seven of her 10 saves in the final 38 minutes to help the Red Flash close the game on an 11-4 run to earn its third-straight NEC Tournament appearance thanks to a 13-10 win against Le Moyne on Saturday. The senior also added a team-high five ground balls in the winning effort. Coughlin registered double figures in saves for the sixth time this season and the 14th time in her career.

Hewitt, who also earned the top rookie honor February 17-23, March 11-16, and April 7-13, is the ninth player to earn at least four awards and sixth most in NEC history, with five players earning the distinction five times, including Bella Fisher in 2023. Hewitt is the fourth player to earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors four times in NEC history.

Coughlin earns her third NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor after receiving the award twice in her junior year. Coughlin ties Peyton Le Conte for achieving the most Defensive Player of the Week awards in her career. She is the fourth player to garner the honor in two seasons, joining Le Conte and former teammates Elyssa Enrique and Bella Burke.

It is the ninth and 10th time Saint Francis has earned a significant award this season. Along with Hewitt and Coughlin's honors, sophomore Elizabeth Garcia received NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors twice (February 17-23 and April 7-13), junior Brooke Lacey (February 17-23) and junior Julia Givens (April 14-20) picked up NEC Player of the Week distinction and  Heather Delbone earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors (February 10-16) for the second most awards in one season in team history. 

Coughlin, Hewitt, and Brooke Lacey have been named NEC Prime Performers.

Lacey scored four goals against Le Moyne. The junior posted the first goal of the game, the second Red Flash tally, and the fifth in the first half to complete a hat trick with 5:36 left in the second quarter. She added a tally in the third quarter to cut the margin to 7-5 with 10:08 left in the third quarter during the Red Flash's 10-3 second half. She added three draw controls against Le Moyne. Lacey also had her fifth hat trick of the year and her third game with four scores or more. The junior paced the team with 35 goals and 10 assists for 45 points.

Coughlin, sophomore Elizabeth Garcia, and junior Mak Patten lead the team with three NEC Prime Performer selections, while Givens, Hewitt, Lacey, senior Victoria DiRenno, and senior Christina Roncarati each have a pair of Prime Performer honors this season.
 

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 eight 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 five 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 313 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 15 shots turned away. Coughlin is the program's all-time leader in goals against average (11.04). 

Senior Chyler Espino moved back into the top 10 in career draw controls and stands at 129 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 107 ground balls in her career to sit in fifth place and can move into fourth place with 16 ground balls. She has also moved into the Top-10 for caused turnovers with 49 and can move into seventh place with one caused miscue and fifth place with three caused turnovers.

Senior Victoria DiRenno has moved into eighth place for career draw controls with 109 and became the ninth player in team history with 100 draws in her career. She can move into seventh place with one draw and fifth place with 11 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 77 draw controls to rank fourth on the single-season chart in the category. She can move into third with five draws. On the freshman charts, Samantha Hewitt ranks second in assists with 16 helpers, with the program record for freshmen sitting at 27. The freshman is third with 42 points as a freshman, three points from second, and six points from tying the freshman standard for goals. She is also sixth in goals with 26 and can move into fifth with three tallies, and fourth with four markers. Hewitt needs three 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 three ground balls and can move into 10th place for draw controls with two 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.