Posted: Mar 08, 2021
This Week for SHU Women's Lacrosse
Tuesday, March 9th
at 10 Marian University Knights (3-0)
7 PM | Marian, Ind. | St. Vincent Field
Saturday, March 13th
at 2 University of Cumberlands Patriots (3-0)
1 PM | Williamsburg, Ky. | UC Lacrosse/Soccer Complex
This Week for the Saints: The Siena Heights University women's lacrosse team kicks off the 2021 season with two non-conference road games against the Marian University on Tuesday, March 9, and the University of the Cumberlands on Saturday, March 13. This will be the first lacrosse game for the Saints in 363 days when the team played at Albion on March 11, 2020.
Head Coach: Alexa Matta is in her second season as the head coach for the Saints. She currently has a 2-2 record as the 2020 season was cut short after just four games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Matta's familiarity with the WHAC came as a four-year starter for the Indiana Tech women's lacrosse team from 2012-16.
History: Siena Heights is 58-57 all-time in women's lacrosse. The Saints are 10-12 the past two seasons (2020 was cut short after just two games due to COVID). The team has had back-to-back seasons with a winning record in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference after a 5-4 campaign in the 2019 season and a 4-2 mark in 2018. The 2018 team made history as the first Saint women's lacrosse team to achieve a berth in the NAIA national tournament.
On the Road: Siena Heights is 41-47 all-time in road contests. They are 3-6 all-time in season-opening games all of which have been on the road.
Season Outlook: The Saints will have a condensed schedule consisting of 11 games. Nine of the 11 games will be WHAC conference games. SHU has six games in the month of March consisting of four away games against Marian (Mar. 9) and Cumberlands (Mar. 13), Lourdes (Mar. 26), and Bethel (Mar. 30). Then two home games against Indiana Tech (Mar. 20) and Concordia (Mar. 23). In the month of April, the Saints have two home games against Cleary (Apr. 3) and Aquinas (Apr. 17) and three road game against Madonna (Apr. 7), Rochester (Apr. 10), and Lawrence Tech (Apr. 14)
WHAC Coaches' Preseason Poll: The Siena Heights women's lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the 2021 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Coaches' Preseason Poll
Lawrence Tech sits atop the poll after finishing with 100 points and all of the first-place votes. Concordia received 88 points to take the second-place slot. Siena Heights sits third with 75 points. Cleary (64 pts), Madonna (59 pts), and Aquinas (57 pts) claimed fourth, fifth, and sixth in the poll. Indiana Tech claimed seventh with 46 points while Bethel sat in eighth with 29. Rochester (17 pts) and Lourdes (15 pts) rounded out the poll in the final two spots.
Series History: Marian - The two teams have only met once in the 2018 season on March 18th on Marians home field as the Saints won 20-11.
Cumberlands - The two teams have only met twice as the Saints played at Cumberlands home field in the 2017 season on March 9th and won 15-10. The last time the teams played each other was in the 2018 season on May 9th in the NAIA quarterfinals and the Saints loss 24-13.
Scouting Reports: Marian - Kyrstin August leads the Knights in goals (19), assists (11), and points (30). Ashlyn Gray, Katelynn Gray, and Breanna DeJong lead the team in groundballs (12). Grace Moenning has 16 saves, a .444 save percentage, and a 3-0 record in goal.
Cumberlands - Bella Ricchiazzi leads the Patriots in goals (14), assists (7), and points (21). Olivia McCarrell leads the team in groundballs (8) and Emily Heim leads the team in draw controls (14) and has one game-winning goal. Reegan Hensley had one game-winning goal. Olivia McCarrell has 28 saves, a save percentage of .571 and a 3-0 record in net.
