The High Point University women's lacrosse team opens the 2012 season on Saturday when it hosts Navy at noon at Vert Stadium. The Panthers went 15-4 and won the National Lacrosse Conference championship in their inaugural season in 2011.

High Point set the record for wins by a first-year NCAA Div. I program last year, breaking Navy's mark of 13-4 from 2008. The Panthers defeated Jacksonville, 13-12 in overtime, in the NLC championship game. Head coach Lyndsey Boswell was named NLC Coach of the Year.

HPU returns 18 players from that squad, including NLC Player of the Year Grace Gaeng and four other All-NLC selections. The Panthers still have a very young roster: after featuring 18 freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors last season, High Point now has 10 freshmen, 12 sophomores, four juniors and two seniors.

ATTACK
Gaeng leads a talented group of attackers that also includes sophomores Chelsea Thompson and Mackenzie Carroll. Gaeng led High Point and the NLC with 78 points on 53 goals and 25 assists as a sophomore in 2011. She also had 27 draw controls (tops among attackers) and 25 ground balls. Gaeng joined HPU after transferring from the University of Maryland, which won the NCAA title in her only season there.

Thompson was close behind Gaeng in offensive production, scoring 48 goals and assisting on 20 for 68 points to go along with 29 ground balls in 19 games. Carroll tied Gaeng for the team lead with 25 assists and also scored 30 goals as a freshman last year.

Alexis Goldman returns as HPU's lone senior attacker after scoring 17 goals with four assists and taking most of High Point's draws last season. Prior to HPU, Goldman attended St. Andrews Presbyterian College for two years, where she was coached by Boswell.

High Point's attack also features sophomore Kelsy Mugele (seven goals, three assists last season) and freshmen Abby Berrettone, Jenna Hornick and Emilie Pugliese on attack. Freshman Kendyl Gardner played attack in high school but is expected to get playing time in the midfield early in the season.

MIDFIELD
High Point University returns a very capable midfield group led by senior Heather Ziccarelli, first-team All-NLC selection Sara Kuhlman and sophomores Christie Dougherty and Alec Perry.

Ziccarelli scored 20 goals and four assists, showing poise in tough situations last season – she scored a key goal in the NLC title game against Jacksonville and had a very strong game in the season finale against North Carolina.

Kuhlman earned All-NLC honors after scoring 29 goals with eight assists, a team-leading 34 draw controls, 38 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. She scored four goals in the NLC championship victory. Dougherty played all season but finished particularly strong, scoring six of her 18 goals and getting six of her 23 draw controls during HPU's three NLC tournament games. She scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the NLC Championship.

Perry is one of the quickest players on the team, often using her speed to create fast-break opportunities for HPU. She scored 16 goals with four assists and 24 ground balls as a freshman.

Sophomore Jasmine Jordan played mostly as a defender last season but, with HPU's increased depth, could move up to the midfield and become more of an offensive threat this season. She is one of HPU's fastest and most tenacious players and leads all returners with 46 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers from last season. She also scored 11 goals and had four assists.

Three freshmen are likely to pull playing time in the midfield. Gardner, whose sisters play at Loyola and Virginia, was named a Freshman to Watch by Inside Lacrosse Magazine after starring as an attacker in high school. Stephanie Pazulski had a very strong preseason and will likely take a lot of HPU's draws this season. Katie McLaughlin, sister of junior defender Courtney McLaughlin, has strong potential in the midfield. All three were named high school All-Americans.

DEFENSE
One of High Point's strongest areas last season was its defense as the Panthers ranked seventh in the country with 8.2 goals allowed per game. Two All-NLC selections return on that end of the field: Courtney McLaughlin and Jordan, although Jordan may get more playing time in the midfield this year.

McLaughlin, a junior, had 40 ground balls, 20 draw controls and 18 caused turnovers in 19 games last season after transferring to HPU from North Carolina. Jordan leads HPU's returners with 46 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers last year. Both McLaughlin and Jordan have the speed to get involved with the attack, particularly in transition.

Several other sophomores are expected to contribute right away on the defensive end: Cissy Woodyard, Patricia Bigelow, Megan Weisman and Morgan Lambert.

Woodyard was mostly a stay-at-home defender as a freshman last year and grabbed 20 ground balls, caused 10 turnovers and had nine draw controls. Bigelow played in 17 games and grabbed 21 ground balls with nine caused turnovers. She is expected to play a larger role this year. Weisman was limited to 10 games due to injury last season but is back at full strength this year. Lambert played in 15 games and grabbed 15 ground balls. Sophomore Christy Staso adds depth after getting into eight games in 2011.

Two freshmen could see playing time early in the season on defense. José Brake was a member of England's under-19 training squad and Kelly Hardesty had a very strong high school career for Clearview Regional in New Jersey. Freshman Cristy Askew will miss the 2012 season with an injury.

GOALIES
The Panthers will be much stronger in goal this season after having just one netminder eligible to play last year. Junior Anna Wallingford and freshman Julia Burns join junior Lauren Hayes in the cage for 2012.

Wallingford sat out last season after transferring from the University of Connecticut, where she made 14 appearances (11 starts) and posted a 12.34 goals-against-average in 2009. She made a season-high 15 saves against Georgetown that year.

A high school All-America selection, Burns is expected to get significant playing time after helping her Broadneck High team to a 13-4 record and an appearance in the state tournament last year.

Wallingford and Burns join Hayes, who played every game and posted an 8.17 goals against average and .439 save percentage for High Point last year.

SCHEDULE
High Point will play a tougher out-of-conference schedule this season, including the season opener against Navy and home games against UC Davis, Holy Cross, Vermont, George Mason and Oregon at Vert Stadium. On the road, the Panthers will take on ACC members Virginia Tech and Duke as well as Robert Morris.

HPU has seven regular-season games against NLC opponents, starting with a rematch of last year's NLC title game against Jacksonville at Vert Stadium on March 30. HPU also hosts Presbyterian, Liberty, Longwood and Davidson before playing in the NLC Tournament at Davidson May 4-6.

This will be the final season for the National Lacrosse Conference, as the member teams will split into the Big South and Atlantic Sun conferences.