BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's lacrosse team will face No. 16 William Smith in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament on Saturday, May 12 at 1 PM. The game will be played at Lions Stadium on the campus of the College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J. Here's a preview of this weekend's matchup.
THE MATCHUP: The Gulls currently have an overall record of 14-3 and finished the season with a perfect 8-0 mark in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play. The Herons have a 14-4 overall record and went 9-1 in Liberty League conference games. Saturday's contest will be the first-ever meeting between Endicott and William Smith.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: This is the 11th NCAA tournament appearance for the Gulls in program history and second straight appearance as the team also advanced to the tournament last year.
ENDICOTT (14-3, 8-0 CCC) | STATISTICS | SCHEDULE
The Gulls earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with an 11-9 victory over Roger Williams on Friday, May 4 during the CCC Championship game. Leading the Gulls offensively throughout the season is Jennifer Lacroix (Wrentham, Mass.) with 68 goals and 16 assists for 84 points. Bella Rino (Northborough, Mass.) has been strong in net for Endicott with a 14-2 record, a 6.40 GAA, and a .574 save percentage on the season.
NO. 16 WILLIAM SMITH (14-4, 9-1 Liberty League) | STATISTICS | SCHEDULE
The Herons advanced to the NCAA tournament with an automatic bid when they defeated Ithaca College, 15-10, during the Liberty League Championship contest. William Smith is led offensively by Melissa Moore (Dedham, Mass.) with 42 goals and 23 assists for 65 points. Jules Kennedy (Winthrop, Mass.) has amassed an 11-2 record in cage and also has a 6.47 GAA and a .521 save percentage.
WHAT'S NEXT
The winner of this contest will move onto the second round game and will face No. 1 TCNJ on Sunday, May 13 at 1 p.m.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
