ELON, N.C. – After a 2-0 road trip last weekend, the Elon women’s lacrosse team (10-5, 3-2 CAA) closes out the regular season at William & Mary (6-9, 0-5 CAA) on Saturday, April 30. The game is set for noon in Williamsburg, Va., at Martin Family Stadium.
Last Time Out
For the second straight game, the Elon posted a shutout in the second half en route to a 12-5 win at Hofstra in its last game on April 24. The Phoenix used a 7-0 advantage in the second frame to claim its second straight win and give Elon its first 10-win season in program history. The Phoenix outshot the Pride, 26-18, claimed 17-11 advantage in ground balls, won 10 draw controls and went 17-of-19 in clear attempts. The maroon and gold saw a game-high six points from Sloane Kessler, who netted three scores and had another three assists. Both Shelby Scanlin and Stephanie Asher scored another three goals for Elon followed by two goals and one assist from Maeve Cowley. Stephanie Thomson and Shannon Horan also notched a point each with a goal and assist, respectively. Alexis Zadjura won four draw controls for the Phoenix, while Scanlin claimed two. Rachel Ramirez picked up a game-high four ground balls followed by three each for Melanie McHugh, Abby Godfrey and Zadjura. Ramirez posted her 10th win of the season in goal for Elon with five saves after 10 shots-on-goal by Hofstra.
Scouting the Tribe
After starting the season 6-4, William & Mary is looking to snap a five-game losing skid and claim its first CAA win of the season. Shannon Quinn leads the Tribe with 37 points on the season with 35 goals and two assists and is second in the league in goals per game (2.33), while Danielle Palmucci is the assist leader with 16 this year. On defense, Abby Junior has tallied 28 caused turnovers to go along with 39 ground balls and 14 draws. She ranks second in the conference in both caused turnovers (1.87/game) and ground balls (2.6/game). She helps the Tribe lead the CAA and rank 19th nationally in caused turnovers per game (9.8).
The Series
The only previous meeting between Elon and William & Mary came last year on April 12, 2015, in conference play. The Phoenix claimed a tight 8-7 win in Rhodes Stadium for the program’s first CAA victory.
Program Milestones
In just its third year, the Elon women’s lacrosse program has reached several new program milestones. This season marks the program’s first winning season and the first 10-win season for the Phoenix.
CAA Player of the Week
On April 25, the CAA announced that Maeve Cowley had been named the CAA Co-Player of the Week. Cowley led the Phoenix last week after tallying seven points off six goals and one assist. The sophomore took 12 total shots, 10 of which were on goal, to finish the weekend with an 83.3 shot-on-goal percentage. She went a perfect 2-for-2 in free-position shots, won three draws and had one caused turnover. The Oakhurst, N.J., native scored four goals off four total shots in Elon’s win at Drexel to go along with two draws. In the victory at Hofstra, she added another three points after two goals and one assist and had a one draw and a caused turnover.
CAA Defensive Player of the Week
Along with player of the week, the CAA named goalie Rachel Ramirez the CAA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Ramirez tallied two wins in goal for the Phoenix last week, reaching 10 wins on the season for the first time in her career. The junior posted nine saves and had a 50.0 save percentage. The Lindenhurst, N.Y., native allowed only nine goals on 35 total shots faced in the 120 minutes in goal, while also tallying five ground balls and one caused turnover. She allowed only four goals and had four saves along with one ground ball and a caused turnover at Drexel. In the win at Hofstra, she tallied five saves to go along with four ground balls.
RPI Report
In the latest NCAA Women’s Lacrosse RPI released on April 25, Elon ranks 25th out of a total 111 DI women’s lacrosse teams. The Phoenix has played five teams ranked in the top 30, including two wins, while six of the seven CAA programs rank in the top 50.
Conference Rankings
Nearing the end of the regular season, the Phoenix ranks near the top of the Colonial Athletic Association in ground balls and shots. The team is third in ground balls (14.87/game) and second in shots (23.67/game). Stephanie Asher ranks fifth in the league with her 33 goals this year and is fourth in the CAA in scoring with 2.20 goals per game, while Sloane Kessler ranks 10th with her 1.73 goals/game. Asher also ranks first in shots per game with 7.0 and Kessler is fourth in assists with 19 on the season. Goalie Rachel Ramirez is fourth in saves (5.73/game) and first in ground balls (2.93/game).
Next Up
The Phoenix has already clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Elon faces No. 2 seed Towson in the semifinals on Friday, May 6, at 3:30 p.m. in Philadelphia at Drexel’s Vidas Field.