HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University women's lacrosse is back at Vert Stadium this Saturday to face 13th-ranked James Madison University at 2 p.m. The Panthers are coming off their first win of the season against Mount St. Mary's, which saw graduate midfielder
Emma Genovese have a career-day as she led the way with four goals and five draw controls in the win.
GAME INFORMATION
High Point University vs. James Madison University | Saturday, Feb. 25 | 2:00 P.M.
Vert Stadium | High Point, N.C.
Live Stats |
Video |
Game Notes
Last Time Out
The Panthers defeated the Mountaineers of Mount St. Mary's, 10-8, this past Saturday.ray Genovese, Mena Loescher, Shannon Smith, Grace Bruce and Kay Rosselli all recorded points in the win. Loescher scored back-to-back goals to open the contest, with two wrap-around shots around the crease. Genovese then tallied her first of the day, off a beautiful assist from redshirt sophomore Bruce. Bruce netted a goal for herself with seven minutes left in the first quarter to put HPU up 4-2. Freshman attack Smith made her scoring debut for the purple and white, quick-sticking into the back of the net early in the third. Rosselli also put her name on the scoring list, with two consecutive goals late in the game to maintain the lead. Genovese was the star of the afternoon, putting the icing on the cake with the tenth goal and ending the day with a career-high four goals.
Career Day for Genovese
Emma Genovese was on fire Saturday with four goals, five draw controls, two ground balls and one caused turnover. Her four goals set a career-high for the raduate midfielder and helped lead the Panthers to their first win of the season. Genovese's previously held career-high was three goals in the 2022 season against Elon and Wofford.
Shannon Smith Makes Her Scoring Debut
Freshman attack Shannon Smith scored her first career goal for the Purple and White on Saturday against Mount St. Mary's, off a cross-cage assist from Emma Nowakowski. Smith also picked up two ground balls and has been one of the only freshmen to appear in both games for the Panthers.
Loescher Ranked Nationally and In-Conference for Beginning 2023 Performance
Mena Loescher tallied nine points off of five goals and four assists in her season-opening game against Davidson. In the Panthers second game against Mount St. Mary's Saturday, Loescher opened the contest with two back-to-back goals, picked up two ground balls, two draw-controls and dished out an assist. She has not only made a significant impact in both games for High Point, but she is having her name heard across the conference and nationally. After two games, Loescher is tied for 24th in the nation in assists per game. The Preseason Offensive Player of the Year is also second in points per game, third in goals per game, and third in assists per game in the Big South Conference.
One Goal Away From 100
Mena Loescher will also be on close watch, as she is just one goal away from her 100-goal mark. The graduate attacker added 22 goals as a freshman, one goal in her COVID season as a sophomore, 23 goals as a junior, 46 goals as a senior, and has already tallied seven goals in her 2023 graduate season.
Loescher Starts the Season Off With a Bang
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Mena Loescher lived up to her title with quite the performance in her season-opener Saturday, February 11th. The Graduate attack posted a whopping nine points off of five goals and four assists against the Wildcats of Davidson. Loescher had a hat-trick in just the first quarter and scored all five of her goals unassisted.
Miles Starts Off Strong
Sophomore attack Jordan Miles opened up her year with the first goal of the 2023 season for the Panthers. Miles scored within the first five minutes off an assist from Loescher. She scored her second goal of the contest unassisted in the second quarter to knot the game at seven.
Rosselli Adds Three Points for the Panthers
Junior midfielder Kay Rosselli ended her 2023 debut second in points on the day, with two goals and an assist. Rosselli scored her first of the game off an assist from Loescher, just seconds after Miles' first goal of the season. She scored her second goal, unassisted, to tie the score at eight just before the halftime break.
About the Dukes
James Madison currently holds a record of 2-1 and is ranked 13th in the nation. The Dukes opened up their season with a tough loss against the Tar Heels and won their next two games against Virginia Tech and UConn. Redshirt junior Isabella Peterson currently leads the Dukes with nine goals and two assists. Peterson tallied five goals and an assist against No. 1 North Carolina. She also added three goals in JMU's win against Virginia Tech. Peterson was named to the Tewaaraton Watch list alongside her teammate Mairread Durkin prior to the 2023 season. Durkin was named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in the American Conference and both Durkin and Peterson were listed as Third Team Preseason All Americans. Redshirt senior Rachel Matey earned Defensive Player of the Week honors last week after her stellar performance picking up six ground balls, causing five turnovers, and totaling nine draw-controls.
Match-up History
High Point is 1-7 all-time against JMU. The Panthers secured their sole win against the Dukes at home in the 2016 season. The last matchup between the two teams was in February of last year, with James Madison taking the match 11-6. Genovese and Rosselli both contributed a goal in the game. Genovese also had two draw controls and three caused turnovers. Suplee made 10 saves in the loss.
Panther Notes
Although the single-season points record-holder Abby Hormes will be talked about as a huge loss for the Panthers this year, they return a strong core group both offensively and on the defensive end. Graduate Attack Loescher tallied an astounding 46 goals and 30 assists, while Junior Midfielder Rosselli added 31 goals with her 20 assists. Loescher made a huge impact against #1 ranked UNC tallying a goal and three assists. Rosselli netted three goals and had an assist against the 6th team in the nation, Duke, early in the 2022 season.
The Panthers also return 1st-Team All Big-South Midfielder Emma Genovese and 1st-Team All Big-South Goalkeeper Suplee. Genovese was a dominant force for HPU in the 2022 season contributing 13 goals, 14 assists, and 47 draw controls. Suplee held it down on the other end with 158 saves. Suplee had a season-high 16 saves in the Panther's 17-12 win over Mercer on April 23rd. Genovese had three goals in High Point's first win of the 2022 season against Elon.
Loescher, Genovese, and Suplee Earn Preseason Accolades
Graduate attack Loescher, Graduate Midfield Genovese, and Redshirt-Senior Goalkeeper Suplee were named to the Preseason All-Conference team. This is the first Preseason All-Conference accolade for all three players, while Loesher was tabbed the Big South Preseason Player of the Year.
Panthers Tabbed Second in Preseason Poll
High Point was voted second in the conference in the 2023 Big South Conference Preseason Women's Lacrosse Poll. The Panthers first-place votes fell just short of the Mercer Bears, who were crowned the Big South Conference Tournament Champions last spring.
Preseason Conference Poll
- Mercer
- High Point
- Campbell
- Furman
- Winthrop
- Gardner-Webb
- Wofford
- Longwood
- Radford
- Presbyterian
#GoHPU
