HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University women's lacrosse makes a trip out west to face the University of Southern California and San Diego State University both for the first time in program history. The Panthers will first face off against the Trojans of USC on Friday, March 3rd before traveling over to compete against the SDSU Aztec Warriors Sunday, March 5th. 

GAME INFORMATION

High Point at No. 19 University of Southern California
Los Angeles, Calif. | McAlister Field
Friday, March 3 | 6 P.M. EST (3 PM PT)
Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

High Point at San Diego State University
San Diego, Calif. | Snapdragon Stadium 
Sunday, March 5 | 6 P.M. EST (3 PM PT)
Video | Live Stats 

Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "We are so excited to leave campus this week and head to California for a portion of our spring break trip. This senior class has not had the same opportunity we've had in past years to fly with teammates and play in different parts of the country due to the restrictions with Covid. I'm thrilled to play two really competitive opponents that High Point has never competed against and get West Coast exposure. I love this group we have, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds over the next few weeks." 

Last Time Out
The Panthers lost a tough battle to No. 13 James Madison University on Saturday. High Point started out the game strong, quickly responding to JMU's three goals with two goals from sophomore attacker Jordan Miles. Miles ended the day with her first career hat-trick and a ground ball pickup. Emma Genovese also had another stellar performance with a hat trick of her own. Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Mena Loescher conquered a huge milestone, tallying her 100th goal in the Purple and White. Taylor Suplee was dominant in the cage, making four saves in the first quarter and ending the day with 10. In the end, James Madison's Tewaaraton-level offensive threats would be too much for the Panthers, though, as the Dukes would go home with another tally in the win column. 

About the Trojans 
USC is 2-1 on the season, defeating San Diego State and Ohio State and falling to Boston College. The Trojans are ranked 19th nationally as senior attacker Ella Heaney leads the way with nine points off of four goals and five assists. Prior to the 2023 season start, senior defender Olivia Dooley was named to the Tewaaraton Watch List and Inside Lacrosse added Dooley and graduate transfer Emma Wightman to the ILWomen Preseason All-American Honorable Mentions List. USC was picked second overall in the PAC-12 Preseason polls and is currently third in the conference behind Stanford and Oregon. Lindsey Munday is in her 11th season as head coach of the Trojans. She was recognized as Lacrosse Magazine's person of the Year in 2013 for her accolades both as a player and coach. Munday holds a 125-55 record in her reign at USC. Munday was named the 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and was a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Coach of the Year (2015 and 2016). She was chosen as the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) West/Midwest Coach of the Year in 2016 and was honored by Inside Lacrosse (ILWomen) honored Munday as that season's National Coach of the Year. 

About the Aztec Warriors
San Diego State is 1-4 so far this season. The Aztec Warriors tallied their one win against University of California at Berkeley on February 19. Senior attacker Deanna Balsama leads the team with 15 goals, two assists, and six caused turnovers. Senior goalkeeper Sam Horan has already accumulated 62 saves this season and holds a .459 save percentage. The Aztec Warriors began play in 2012 and are headed by coach Kylee White, who has been the only coach in program history. She is assisted by former star players Brandi Padilla and Taylor Gait. Under Kylee White, San Diego State has recorded 80 wins and won the MPSF twice. They are now independent in women's lacrosse and will join the PAC-12 conference in the coming years. 

Match-up History 
This will be the first time the Panthers face off against USC and San Diego State. The Panthers have only matched up against one PAC-12 competitor before —The University of Oregon. High Point holds a 3-2 record against Oregon, defeating them most recently in 2017, 17-13. 

Panther Notes

Players To Watch
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Suplee is only 16 saves away from 200 going into Friday's game. Suplee has accumulated 25 saves already this season with a season-high 10 against JMU. Last spring, Suplee started all 19 contests for the Panthers and denied 158 shots. Graduate attacker Loescher is also on the prowl for 200 career points. After crushing her 100-goal milestone on Saturday, Mena has now tallied 177 points for HPU. 

Milestone Mena
With seven minutes left in the second quarter against JMU, Loescher netted a goal that not only knotted the score at four, but also marked her 100th career goal at High Point. Loescher's teammates celebrated as she flipped in a shot back-handed to reach her milestone in the most fashionable way. Loescher leads the conference in assists per game (2.67) and is ranked 18th in the nation for assists per game. She is tied in points per game (5.33) in the Big South alongside Campbell's Sam Bischoff.

Miles Secures First Career Hat Trick 
Miles had a career day for herself, netting a career-high three goals. Miles scored back-to-back goals in the first half to respond to three JMU goals and keep the pressure on offensively. She netted her third goal with 10 minutes left in the third quarter to keep High Point within range of the Dukes. Miles has now started and played in all three games for the Panthers as a sophomore. 

Career Day for Genovese
In the Panthers' second game and first win of the season, Genovese was on fire verus the Mount with four goals, five draw controls, two ground balls and one caused turnover. Her four goals set a career-high for the graduate midfielder as she followed it up with three more goals against the Dukes. 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 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.

Key Returners
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. Loescher tallied an astounding 46 goals and 30 assists, while junior midfielder Kay 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 First-Team All Big-South Midfielder  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 sedshirt-senior goalkeeper Suplee were named to the Preseason All- Conference team. This is the first Preseason All-Conference accolade for all three players. Coming off a 46-goal and 36-assist season in 2022, Loescher was named the Big South Preseason Offensive 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.