PREVIEW: Dallas at St. Mary's College (IN) (4/25) | Illinois Institute of Technology (4/26)
(Photo Graphic Courtesy of Hannah Miller)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
(4/25 at St. Mary's College)
(4/26 at Illinois Tech)
THE LEAD
The University of Dallas women's lacrosse team (4-6) heads to St. Mary's College (IN) (6-10) on April 25 for a 1 p.m. (EST) contest. Dallas finishes the spring campaign the next morning at 11 a.m. against Illinois Institute of Technology (5-10).
The Lady Crusaders have gone 1-3 on the road this season, with their lone triumph occurring in the most recent affair nearly two weeks ago. This weekend also marks the second consecutive game weekend slate this month and year for UD. The first time resulted in a 1-1 split.
Dallas is closing the year on a five-game road stint, and is also notably a season-long.
RECENT ACTION
About two weeks ago, the Dallas women's lacrosse squad headed to Purchase College and was defeated 17-5, before accumulating 18 scoring plays at College of St. Elizabeth on Sunday. The total in the triumph marked the second highest goal output on the campaign for UD.
In the setback at PC, the Navy and White trailed 14-2 at halftime, allowing a 9-0 run to close the stanza from the opposition. Four players scored for the Lady Crusaders with senior Mary Hilker (Haslett, Mich.) posting two to lead the squad. Juniors Colby Madrigal (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), Hayley Rodgers (Houston, Texas), and freshman Sarah Schmitz (Huntington, N.Y.) rounded out the quartet.
Dallas performed much better rattling off 45 shot attempts and 33 on cage in the 16-point route the following afternoon. Freshman Patty Hahn (Plano, Texas) and Madrigal caught fire and poured career-bests, five goals apiece to carry the offense. Hilker notched a hat trick with three and senior Meghan Falconer (Kohler, Wis.) and Rodgers chipped in two each.
IMPACT PLAYERS
The team-leader in most offensive categories has been freshman Erin Chadwick (Tampa Bay, Fla.) with 19 goals, five assists, 24 points, 50 shots, and 39 on goal.
Rodgers has scored in the past two matches on the trip and has found the back of the cage in six of the last seven. The attacker ranks second on the team notching personal bests with 17 goals. Rodgers has picked up a team-high 34 groundballs, and added two assists and shot 36 of 47 on target.
Hilker and Hahn round out the unit of double-digit performers in goals, although Hahn landed half of them in the latest meeting on the pitch. She has compiled 31 groundballs and posted two hat tricks this season.
Hilker is third on the squad with 16 netters and 35 shots. The senior boasts an 80.0 percent shots on goal-clip with 28 being contested. Hilker has scored in seven contests this year, and holds the longest active streak of four in a row; including all three on this road trip.
Madrigal has scored in three of the past four affairs and is one shy of 10 goals overall. She has been credited with two assists, picked up 23 groundballs, and taken 26 shots. Schmitz is steady placing the ball in between the pipes three-straight contests. The rookie also has dished a trio of assists.
Working all 588 minutes in the cage for the Dallas women's lacrosse team is senior Christine Jablonsky (Colorado Springs, Colo.). She has picked up 88 saves and holds the highest career mark for the Lady Crusaders' program with 383.
SCOUTING ST. MARY'S
The Belles have dropped four-straight and are looking to end a three-game slide at the home confines. SMC fell 11-7 on Thursday versus Kalamazoo. It was the narrowest margin for the Belles since topping Trine, 8-6, on Apr. 11 at its place.
As a team, St. Mary's is averaging 8.7 goals per game. Opponents have tallied 107 netters in the first half this season.
Leading the Belles offensively are Emilie Vanneste with 43 goals and 52 points from the nine assists; along with Clare Theisen chipping in 32. The duo have broken the century line in shots with 105 and 103, respectively. Also providing solid numbers in scoring results are Aubrey Golembieski with 21 and Hanna Makowski with 16.
Shannon Weyer has stopped 115 saves in 960 minutes as the goalkeeper.
Dating back to 2011 digital archives, these programs have never met. Sunday's matchup completes the spring for the Belles' too.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET HAWKS
Illinois Tech fell in the latest two outings, but are 4-3 at home this season. One of those setbacks on the home field was Thursday in a 21-7 final. Before these pair of setbacks, the Scarlet Hawks won three in a row, with the latter pair occurring after triple overtime.
As a squad, IIT has totaled 98 goals and is averaging 6.53 goals-per game and 18.7 shots-per game. Leading the group offensively with over 20 points each are Cassandra Reineke with 24 and Florencia Carrerou just shy of the top slot with 23. Completing the double-digit netter totals are Isabel Fitzpatrick Meyers and Sarah Maciorowski with 18 and 11, respectively.
Briana Villagrana projects to be the keeper with 919:48 minutes logged for the Scarlet Hawks this season and 138 saves. Sunday's contest with the Lady Crusaders will end the spring for them as well.
The teams have never met prior to this year.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Dallas Twitter: UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports)
Women's Basketball Twitter: UDallas Lacrosse (@UDallas WLAX)
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics