Musketeers Host Louisville in Midweek Matchup

Wednesday, March 19

Cincinnati, Ohio

6 p.m.

Xavier University

Louisville

Musketeers Host Louisville in Midweek Matchup

03.18.25 | Women's Lacrosse

Xavier will play Louisville for a final tune up before conference play.

By: Abbey Curtis, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - The Xavier lacrosse team hosts Louisville on Wednesday night in their final matchup before BIG EAST play begins. First draw is set for 6:00 p.m. at Corcoran Field.

The Musketeers are currently 1-6 after a loss to Wofford on Sunday while the Cardinals are 4-5 with a 1-3 record in the ACC, coming off of an 18-5 loss to No. 1 Boston College.

game information

MARCH 19 | 6:00 PM

Xavier Musketeers (1-6, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Louisville Cardinals (4-5, 1-3 ACC)
Watch - bit.ly/3Fznmdk
Live Stats - bit.ly/4ix3K7V

last time out

Lola Mancuso scored her 100th career goal against Wofford on Sunday. She becomes the first Musketeer to reach that milestone.
Julie Cassidy scored four goals for her second consecutive career hat trick.
Xavier honored its four seniors, Julie Cassidy, Aubrey Dean, Julia Frombach and Dylan Halloran prior to the game.
Morgan Handzel recorded 11 draw controls for her fourth game this season with double figures.
Teegan Lannon registered nine saves in goal along with three ground balls.

about the musketeers

Morgan Handzel was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after breaking her own single game draw control record with 15 on Thursday and also broke the single season program record in the same game. She currently is the all-time draw control leader at Xavier with 67 thus far.
Teegan Lannon was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week after a 1-1 week in the cage where she maintained a .437 save percentage. The sophomore only allowed a season-low five goals against Gardner-Webb and had nine saves against Wofford.
Lola Mancuso earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Her 3.57 goals per game ranks 24th in the country.
The Musketeers lead all opponents in draw controls, 117-72.
Xavier's 16.71 draw controls per game ranks 10th in the nation and the .619 draw control percentage ranks 13th.
Handzel averages 9.57 draw controls per game, the highest of any rookie in the NCAA.
Xavier has a .486 free position percentage in comparison to opponents' .403 percentage.

scouting the cardinals

Louisville was picked to finish 10th in the ACC Preseason Poll.
The Cardinals finished last season with an 8-11 record before falling in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Negai Nakazawa leads the team with 18 points on 11 goals and seven assists.
Reese Whiteman has 13 goals and two assists.
Xavier and Louisville are facing off for just the second time in program history.
The Cardinals won last year's matchup 15-7 in Louisville.

2025 schedule

The Musketeers were picked to finish seventh in the BIG EAST preseason poll.
Xavier will face Duke, Bucknell, South Florida and Gardner-Webb for the first time in program history.
The Musketeers will face opponents from six conferences outside of the BIG EAST.
Xavier faces two teams who reached the NCAA Tournament last season, including Duke and BIG EAST foe Denver.
Denver was ranked No. 23 in the IWLCA Preseason Poll while Duke checked in at No. 25.
XU opens the home slate on March 13 against Gardner-Webb.
BIG EAST play begins on March 23 when Xavier hosts reigning champion Denver at Corcoran Field.
Xavier will travel to Butler on April 26 for the final game of BIG EAST regular season play.
The 2025 BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Tournament will be hosted by Villanova from May 1-3, welcoming the top four teams in the final standings.

preseason poll

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
(First Place Votes)

Denver (5) 35 pts
UConn (1) 31
Villanova (1) 24
Georgetown 22
Marquette 18
Butler 11
Xavier 6

BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Meg Bireley, Marquette, Sr., A

BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Riley Daly, UConn, Sr., D

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team^
Abby Beran, UConn, So., D*
Riley Daly, UConn, Sr., D*
Rayea Davis, UConn, R-Jr., A*
Lauren Black, Denver, Sr., A
Emelia Bohi, Denver, Sr., GK
Caroline Colimore, Denver, Sr., M*
Ryan Dineen, Denver, Jr., A
Megan Klingenberg, Denver, Jr., D
Lily Athanas, Georgetown, Sr., D
Gracie Driggs, Georgetown, Jr., A
Maley Starr, Georgetown, Sr., M*
Meg Bireley, Marquette, Sr., A*
Tess Osburn, Marquette, Jr., A
Mary Moore, Villanova, So., M*
Sydney Pappas, Villanova, Sr., A*
Maddy Stoddard, Villanova, Sr., D
Emma Verhoest, Villanova, So., DS*

*denotes unanimous selection
^ extra player added due to tie in voting