They aren’t quite back-to-back champions like the Grove City men, but the W&J women’s lacrosse program will come into this year’s tournament as defending champions and have secured the top seed. The Presidents were rated as the No. 6 overall team in Region VI in the latest NCAA Division III rankings and are now eyeing up an automatic qualifying bid to be one of 32 teams in the Division III Championship.
But that last honor is up for grabs for any squad that wins the PAC title this year, so let’s look at the four teams competing.
#1 WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON (10-4, 8-0 PAC)
W&J just knows how to win games in the PAC. It’s rare to see an undefeated team come into the postseason without leading in many different offensive and defensive stat categories. What they are statically best at, though, are things that both create efficiency and opportunity. No one has a higher shot percentage (.508) and causes more turnovers (14.79 per game) than the Presidents. Freshman Ella Phillips leads the way in taking it away.
In actual gameplay, nobody has been able to touch them, outside of an 8-6 escape over Thiel at the beginning of April. They’ve otherwise won by 8 or more against PAC competition. It’s a balanced attack offensively, with top 10 scorer junior Amanda Effland and sophomore clutch scorer Aisa Uhler.
Next game: Wednesday at 7 pm vs. #4 Saint Vincent
#2 GROVE CITY (13-3, 7-1 PAC)
The first step for the Wolverines will be to effectively shake off how their regular season ended heading into this tournament. A 17-9 loss to W&J puts them in the 2 seed instead of the top seed and served as their only PAC loss of the year.
Otherwise, Grove City battled through the conference, surviving an overtime game against Franciscan and a one-point win against Saint Vincent. They like to get plenty of shots on net, leading the conference in doing so. Freshman goalie Elyse Kiggins has been a big key to their success as well, boasting the best goals against average in the PAC and ranking fifth in overall save percentage.
They’ll look to senior Brooke Stoltzfus and junior Madison Nazigian for offense along the way.
Next game: Wednesday at 7 pm vs. #3 Franciscan
#3 FRANCISCAN (8-5, 5-3 PAC)
The Barons bring their high-powered, 2nd-ranked offense to the table into this postseason. Good luck turning them over, too, as they protect the ball better than any other team in the conference.
Senior Grace Deegan has been a stud for them this year. She can change a game with her scoring ability. She ranks second-best in goals per game and points per game. Rose Kane has been excellent in goal as well, ranking 2nd-best in goals against average and 3rd best in save percentage.
They’ll head in playing pretty well, winners of their last three games after losing three straight before that.
Next game: Wednesday at 7 pm @ #2 Grove City
#4 SAINT VINCENT (10-7, 5-3 PAC)
They be the fourth and final team in this tournament in terms of seeding, but don’t look past this Saint Vincent team. They come in as the top scoring team in the PAC as well as the top team in draw controls. All of that means that they are never quite out of it.
Senior Joey Smith leads the conference in points per game and assists per game and the Bearcats will look to her leadership and offensive prowess to try to get past Washington and Jefferson. Sophomore Bridget Doyle ranks in the top 10 in goals and assists as well.
They’ll try to put together a better performance against the Presidents than they did when they played them in the regular season, falling to the top-ranked team 17-7.
Next game: Wednesday at 7 pm @ #1 W&J
