Women's Lacrosse Heads East for Saturday BIG EAST Matchup at Villanova

Saturday, April 13

Villanova, Pa.

1 p.m.

Xavier University

Villanova

Women's Lacrosse Heads East for Saturday BIG EAST Matchup at Villanova

04.12.24 | Women's Lacrosse

Live Stats Watch Game Notes

By: Dianna Lewis, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's lacrosse heads east to face Villanova on the road Saturday.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER at VILLANOVA
April 13 | 1 p.m. ET | Villanova, Pa.
Live Stats | W atch

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

2024 Record: 5-7 (1-2 BIG EAST)
2023 Record: 11-6 (3-3 BIG EAST)
2023 Postseason: BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals
Head Coach: Jill Batcheller (3rd Season)
Series History: 0-1
Last Meeting: April 19, 2023 - Villanova won 21-9
• Riley Halloran led with two goals while seven additional Musketeers contributed a goal.
• Lola Mancuso and Kiera Armitage were the lone Musketeers to notch an assist.
• Kiera Armitage led efforts in the draw circle with seven controls and Erin Berls posted five.
• Sydney Saba collected the team-high of three ground balls. Marina Piszczor and three former players recorded two each.
• Hannah McFeeters forced the team-high of two turnovers on the Wildcats.
• Marina Piszczor totaled three saves and Jada Brandon accumulated six.

LAST OUTING

• Five Musketeers each contributed to the scoring efforts for Xavier against UConn. Lola Mancuso and Kirra Crowley led with two goals apiece, their fourth game of the season as leading scorers for Xavier. Samantha Balara, Lily Hayes, and Katherine Prentice posted one each.

• Dylan Halloran and Samantha Balara each notched an assist for Xavier.

• Sawyer Walker boasted a team-high five draw controls, reaching her fourth game of the season with five or more.

• Gianna Cua forced a career-high three caused turnovers on the Huskies and collected a team-high two ground balls.

• Marina Piszczor secured 16 saves in the cage, a program record and career-high.

• The Musketeers totaled nine points, 11 draw controls, 13 ground balls, nine caused turnovers, and 16 saves.

BIG EAST WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

• Machaela Henry was tabbed the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on April 8 for the first time in her career. The freshman midfielder collected a career-high three caused turnovers and tied her career-high of four ground balls against the Hoyas. Henry accumulate three caused turnovers, four ground balls, four draw controls, and two shots on goal off two shots between the UConn and Georgetown contests. She is the first Musketeer to collect the award in the 2024 season and the third in the program.

• Lola Mancuso was tabbed the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week for the third time this season on March 11 following a win over Detroit Mercy and a loss to Cincinnati. The sophomore attacked collected a combined five goals, 13 shots on goal, six draw controls, two ground balls, and two caused turnovers in the two contests. Her 10 shots on goal against Detroit Mercy broke the program single-game record and became a new career-high.

• Megan Droney earned her second career selection to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on March 11 following a win over Detroit Mercy and a loss to Cincinnati. The freshman midfielder accumulated a combined two goals, three assists, two ground balls, and one caused turnover between the two contests.

• Lola Mancuso earned her first career BIG EAST Honor Roll selection on March 4 following a one-score loss to Akron. The sophomore attacker collected four goals for her 10th career hat trick, one assist, two draw controls, three ground balls, and a career-high four caused turnovers.

• Lola Mancuso was selected as the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week for the second consecutive week on Feb. 26 after a 15-11 win over Presbyterian. The sophomore attacker collected her ninth career hat trick, recording three goals, and broke her career-high in assists with four and tied her career-high for ground balls with three. Mancuso remains the only Xavier women's lacrosse player to earn the award.

• Katherine Prentice earned a spot in the BIG EAST weekly awards with her first Honor Roll selection on Feb. 26. The freshman midfielder boasted a career- and team-high four goals against the Blue Hose, notching her second career hat trick. Prentice also accumulated one assist, three draw controls, and one ground ball in the 15-11 win.

• Lola Mancuso was selected as the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week on Feb. 19 for the first time in her career. In the record game against Radford, Mancuso led the scoring efforts with seven goals, a new career-high and a single-game program record for the Musketeers. The sophomore attacker tallied a hat trick in the first 15 minutes of action, an impressive feat for the program's leading scorer. Along with the seven goals, Mancuso tacked on three assists and five draw controls, also career-highs in the respective categories, and one ground ball and one caused turnover. The seven goals and three assists combined for a total of 10 points, which surpassed the previous single-game record of eight points, also a record owned by Mancuso.  Lola Mancuso is the first player in Xavier women's lacrosse history to be tabbed as a BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week.

• Colby Wasson was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 19 for the first time in her career. The freshman defender collected five ground balls and five caused turnovers, a career-high and a season-high for the Musketeers in the respective categories. Wasson broke the caused turnover single-game record and is now the first Musketeer in program history to be tabbed as a Defensive Player of the Week.

• Megan Droney also earned a spot in the BIG EAST weekly awards with her first Honor Roll selection on Feb. 19 after the 17-10 victory over Radford. Droney becomes the second player in program history to be tabbed to the Honor Roll. The freshman midfielder reached career-highs with her two goals and four assists, tallying six points and breaking the single-game record for assists. Droney also recorded two ground ball in the highest-scoring game the Musketeers have played.

BIG EAST STANDINGS

Place	Team	BIG EAST	OVERALL
1.	Denver	4-0	10-3
2.	UConn	3-1	7-5
3.	Georgetown	3-1	5-9
4.	Villanova	1-2	5-7
5.	Marquette	1-2	5-9
6.	Butler	1-4	2-11
7.	Xavier	0-3	3-9

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
First Place Votes in ()
Denver (6)           36 pts
Connecticut        29
Villanova           25
Georgetown (1) 21
Marquette          19
Butler                  10
Xavier                 7

BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Kate Shaffer, Connecticut, Gr., A

BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Sam Thacker, Denver, Gr., D

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Leah Rubino, Butler, Sr., M
Rayea Davis, Connecticut, R-So., A
Madelyn George, Connecticut, Gr., M
Kate Shaffer, Connecticut, Gr., A*
Landyn White, Connecticut, Gr., GK*
Emelia Bohi, Denver, Jr., GK
Julia Gilbert, Denver, Gr., A
Abby Jenkins, Denver, Sr., DS
Bryn McCaughey, Denver, Sr., D
Trinity McPherson, Denver, Gr., D*
Sam Thacker, Denver, Sr., D*
Tatum Geist, Georgetown, Sr., M*
Kylie Hazen, Georgetown, Sr., A
Leigh Steiner, Marquette, Sr., M
Sydney Pappas, Villanova, Jr., A*

*denotes unanimous selection

SCHEDULE NOTES

• The 2024 women's lacrosse schedule consists of nine home games and seven road games with a full BIG EAST schedule. The Musketeers are eligible for the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament, which will be hosted at Xavier's Corcoran Field from May 2-4.

• The Musketeers will face six new opponents, Arizona State, San Diego State, Akron, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, and Louisville, in non-conference action.

• Xavier women's lacrosse will face teams from six different conferences in the program's second season (BIG EAST, PAC-12, Big South, Mid-American, AAC, and ACC).

• The six-game BIG EAST slate opened on Mar. 23 in a loss to Butler and closes on Apr. 27 at 1:30 p.m. ET on the road at Denver.

• The 2024 home opener on Feb. 17 against Radford ended with a Musketeer victory and home action concludes on Apr. 20 vs Marquette.

• The Musketeers will face three teams that saw action in the 2023 postseason: Denver (NCAA Tournament Semifinals) and Marquette and UConn (NCAA Tournament First Round).

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Head Coach Meg Decker enters her second season at the helm of the program. Last season, Decker led the Musketeers to four program wins, three postseason awards, and three in-season awards. Coach Decker continues to strengthen the Xavier program in it's second season. The head coach also played crucial roles in establishing women's lacrosse programs at the U.S. Naval Academy as an athlete, Virginia Commonwealth as an assistant coach, and Hartford as a first-time head coach.

• Assistant Coach Lexy Biller enters her first season with the program after a successful playing career at Lindenwood. Biller was paramount in the success of the Lindenwood program, leading the squad to a 2021 NCAA DII National Championship, breaking the program records in career draw controls, earning 2021 USA Lacrosse All-American honors, All-Region First Team IWLCA Honors, and a 2023 All-ASUN Second Team selection after the program's transition to Division I.

• Xavier's 2024 squad consists of 36 athletes - 14 freshmen, 15 sophomores, two juniors, four seniors, and one graduate. Of the 36 players, 20 letterwinners are returning to the program for the second season and 16 are new to the roster. Head Coach Meg Decker added two transfers, Julia Frombach and Jordan Miller, and the 14 freshmen in the off-season.

• Among notable returning letterwinners is sophomore attack Lola Mancuso. Mancuso scored the first program goal, the first free position goal, the first hat trick, and the first sock trick, as well as became the first player to be named a BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and secured the program's highest postseason honor as the 2023 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. She led the Musketeers in points, goals, free position goals, shots on goal, total shots, game-winning goals, and man-up and man-down goals.

• Additional notable returning players are Erin Berls, a 2023 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection, Kiera Armitage, the program leader in draw controls and a 2023 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, Marina Piszczor, the program leader in saves, shots faced, and save percentage, and Claire Slade, the program leader in assists.

• In the inaugural season, the Musketeers recorded a 4-10 (0-6 BIG EAST) record, notching wins over Radford, Presbyterian, Longwood, and Eastern Michigan.