HIGH POINT, N.C. – After a huge Big South win Wednesday against Longwood, women's lacrosse remains on the road to face Presbyterian College this Saturday, April 15th. This will be the Panther's sixth conference match-up and Presbyterian's fifth game against a Big South competitor this year.
GAME INFORMATION
High Point vs. Presbyterian College | Saturday, April 15th | 1:00 P.M. | Bailey Memorial
LIVE STATS | WATCH
Last Time Out
Three Panther players tallied four goals in a huge conference win in Farmville, Virginia Wednesday night. It was a complete collaborative effort by High Point to pick up their third Big South win against Longwood, 20-14. Several players ended the night with notable accolades, including Kay Rosselli, who set a new career-high with four goals in the contest. Taylor Suplee also surpassed her 600-save all-time career mark after making five saves to help lead the Panthers to the win. Emma Genovese was back and better than ever, contributing four goals, three of which were scored in the last five minutes. Loescher made headlines again, tying her season-high nine points with four goals and five assists. For the eighth game this season, Pia Cavallaro put her name on the scoring sheet as well. Other offensive contributors included Bruce, Smith, Nowakowski, and Cha. In the center circle, Caitlyn Baehr secured six draw-controls and freshman Rachelle Gauthier added three.
About the Blue Hose
Presbyterian College holds an even 6-6 record entering Saturday's contest. The Blue Hose are 3-1 in conference play with their only Big South loss coming against Campbell. They are coming off of a record-setting win against Winthrop this past Wednesday, where they defeated the Eagles 11-10 for the first in program history. Willow Hammond and Abby Edmisten lead the Blue Hose with 36 points each on the season. Edmisten has secured Big South Offensive Player of the Week twice this season for her efforts contributing 26 goals and 10 assists. Freshman attacker Avery West leads the squad in caused turnovers with 12 and senior defender Kendall Goldfarb trails right behind her with 11. Head coach Eric Clakeley is in his fourth season leading the Blue Hose. Clakeley has already tallied more wins this year (6) than the past four seasons win-totals.
Match-up History vs. Presbyterian
The Panthers have never dropped a match to the Blue Hose, holding a 13-0 record all-time. High Point picked up a 19-4 win last spring against Presbyterian at Vert Stadium. Rosselli had a hat-trick in the win, Cavallaro had two goals and Loescher and Brockamp each added one.
Panther Notes
Suplee Makes 600 Career Saves
With five saves on Wednesday, Taylor Suplee has now passed her 600 career save mark between Penn State and High Point. A huge accomplishment by the redshirt senior, Suplee now ranks fourth in saves per game in the conference. "Taylor has earned it and she deserves it. That recognition is awesome. We are so grateful she chose High Point to finish out her career" said Coach Boswell.
Four Goal Trio
Loescher, Genovese and Rosselli each netted four goals in the Panther's 20-14 win Saturday. Rosselli had a career day with her four goals, marking the most goals she has ever scored in the Purple and White in a single game. Loescher's four goals combined with her five assists tied her season-high nine points from the start of the season. With 30 assists, Loescher is now just one away from 100 and has passed Abby Hormes to crown herself second all-time in career assist leaders.
Cavallaro Turning Up the Heat
Junior attacker Pia Cavallaro was a force in the Panther's win against Radford Saturday. Now ranked third in points on the team with 22, Cavallaro contributed two goals and dished out an assist against Radford. Cavallaro then put up six points in two games against Duke and Longwood. An under-the-radar threat, Cavallaro is a force to be reckoned with.
Defense Steps Up Big
The Panther's defense was on fire Saturday to secure the win. Graduate defender Jenna Kraft contributed four caused turnovers to take her CT-count to eleven on the season. Caitlyn Baehr had another phenomenal performance with five draw controls, two caused turnovers, and four ground balls. Suplee and Coachman combined for eleve saves.
Brockamp, Rosselli, and Miles Add Hat Tricks
With efforts by Rosselli, Brockamp, and Miles, the Panthers tallied their third win of the season and second conference win on Saturday against the Radford Highlanders. Brockamp and Rosselli added their first hat-tricks of the 2023 season. Miles secured her second three-goal game to mark her sixth multi-point game of the year.
Sophomore Stand-Outs
Sophomore midfielder Espirit Cha and sophomore defender Caitlyn Baehr both made a huge impact in Wednesday night's game. Cha tallied her first points of the season with three goals and an assist. Baehr recorded a season-high nine draw controls for the Panthers, along with two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Baehr Breaks Top-50 in Caused Turnovers Nationally
Sophomore defender Caitlyn Baehr accumulated seven caused turnovers in High Pont's two games against Winthrop and Mercer. Baehr added four ground balls, two caused turnovers, and five draw controls in the Panther's win against Radford. She now has 20 total caused turnovers on the season and has been recognized nationally for her efforts. Baehr ranks 41st in the country in caused turnovers per game, averaging 1.67.
More Milestones for Mena
Graduate attacker Mena Loescher solidified her 200th career point in the Panther's game against Mercer Saturday. After crushing her 100-goal milestone, Mena has now tallied 225 points in the Purple and White, is second in the conference in points per game and assists per game and is ranked 18th nationally in points per game.
Freshman Finalizer
Freshman Shannon Smith scored the first golden goal of her career Wednesday to defeat the Winthrop Eagles in double-OT. Smith had two goals in the win and marked her third game contributing points. Along with her two goals, the attacker had one ground ball, one assist, and a caused turnover.
Suplee Hits Career-Mark 200 Saves
Redshirt senior Taylor Suplee hit a big milestone in the Panther's game against Elon Wednesday, March 15th. After tying her season-high ten saves, she surpassed 200 career-saves in under two years at High Point. She is now just 15 saves away from moving up to fourth best all-time in total saves in the history of the program.
Smith and Kucia Make First Start of the Year
Freshman attacker Shannon Smith and senior defender Kristen Kucia made their first starts of the year against Elon. Kucia was a huge threat on the defensive end with a career-high two caused turnovers for the Panthers. Smith picked up one ground ball and secured a draw-control as well. As a freshman, Smith has seen action in all six games.
Scudillo With Stellar Defensive Effort
In the Panthers' trip out west, senior defender Ava Scudillo accumulated six caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls in the two games. In HPU's matchup against USC, Scudillo tallied a season-high three caused turnovers and continued the performance tallying three more caused turnovers against SDSU.
Miles Secures First Career Hat-Trick
Jordan 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 ten 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
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 Graduate 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 fourth in assists per game in the Big South Conference.
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.
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 Mena 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 1st-Team All Big-South Midfielder Emma Genovese and 1st-Team All Big-South Goalkeeper Taylor 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 Mena Loescher, Graduate Midfield Emma Genovese, and Redshirt-Senior Goalkeeper Taylor 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.
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