The Canisius women’s lacrosse team hits the road for a two-game road trip, beginning Friday at 4:30 p.m. when they faceoff against Delaware. The team will then head to the US Lacrosse Headquarters in Baltimore, Md., Sunday, for a game against defending national champion North Carolina at noon.
The Griffs are 2-3 to begin the year, defeating Binghamton 18-12 Tuesday afternoon from the Bearcats Sports Complex. Both of the Golden Griffins’ wins have come on the road, with the team also gaining a win at Oregon on Feb. 13, 15-11.
Junior Lauren Smolensky leads the Golden Griffins with 17 points on two goals and 15 assists. Smolensky set a Canisius single-game record against Binghamton with nine assists, breaking the previous mark of eight set by Carly Quinn on 4/18/2012. The attacker also added a goal in the game, recording career highs in assists (9) and points (10). Junior Erica Evans ranks second on the team with 16 points, leading the team with 12 goals. Evans, who became the first ever Griff to be named to the Tewaaraton watch list Tuesday, has a team-high 13 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. Senior Ashley Bull leads the Blue and Gold with 16 draw controls. Junior Rebecca VanLaeken has started all five games for the Griffs, posting a 2-3 record along with a 12.73 GAA and a .461 save pct.
Delaware is 2-1 to begin the 2017 season, and is coming off of a 17-5 win over Rutgers last Saturday. Each of the Blue Hens’ first three games have been played at home, opening the year with a 10-9 win over Georgetown on Feb. 11, before losing to Penn, 9-7, on Feb. 18. The Blue Hens are led offensively by junior Becky Goshler, who has totaled 16 points on 13 goals and three assist. Goshler has scored at least three goals in each contest to begin the year. Senior Jaime Schwartz ranks second on the team with eight points (4g, 4a), having recorded an assist in all three of Delaware’s games. Junior goalkeeper Taylor Carpenter has started each game for the Blue Hens posting a 7.37 GAA and a .378 save pct.
No. 2 North Carolina entered the season as the No. 1 team in the country, after being crowned the NCAA National Champion this past May. The team was knocked out of the top spot this past Saturday, Feb. 25, when they were defeated by No. 1 Maryland 13-10. Junior Marie McCool leads the Tar Heels with 11 goals and is tied for the team lead in points with 15. Junior Ela Hazar is tied with McCool with 15 points on six goals and nine assists.
The Griffs and Blue Hens have faceoff against one another on two occasions. Canisius won the first-ever meeting between the teams, 8-4, in 2015 and was defeated by Delaware a season ago by a score of 13-4.
Canisius will play the Tar Heels for the second time in the history of the two programs Sunday afternoon. The teams first met in 2014, with No. 1 North Carolina getting a 24-6 win over the Blue and Gold. The Tar Heels were the defending national champions when the teams squared off in 2014, the only other occasion the Griffs have played a team following a national championship.
After completing the weekend trip, Canisius will return home for a game against Duquesne Wednesday at 4 p.m. from the Demske Sports Complex.
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