HIGH POINT, N.C. – HPU women's lacrosse returns to home turf to face the Wofford Terriers Saturday, April 22nd. High Point is coming off of two big conference wins against Longwood and Presbyterian this past week and is on the hunt for its fifth Big South win of the season.
GAME INFORMATION
High Point vs. Wofford College | Saturday, April 22nd | 12:00 P.M. | Vert Stadium
LIVE STATS | WATCH
Last Time Out
The Panthers tallied a huge 16-12 win against Presbyterian this past Saturday. In the win, Mena Loescher recorded her 100th career assist in the Purple and White while also contributing a hat-trick of goals. Jordan Miles had a career-high four goals to lead the eight different goal scorers. Brockamp added a hat trick in goals and also set a season-high 13 draw controls in the center circle. Rosselli ended the afternoon with two goals and an assist to amass 100 career points in less than three seasons. Bruce, Nowakowski, Smith, and Cha all each added a goal. Ava Scudillo led the defense with four caused turnovers and Taylor Suplee made six stops for High Point. The Panthers are now 4-2 in Big South play.
About the Terriers
Wofford is 6-8 so far this season and they hold an even 3-3 record in Big South play. The Terriers have tallied wins against Big South competitors Gardner-Webb, Longwood, and Winthrop. In their most recent matchup, Wofford picked up a 18-12 win against the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb. Senior attacker Olivia Abe leads the team with 35 points off 21 goals and 14 assists. Freshman midfielder Emma Stalteri has picked up a Big South Freshman of the Week award this season and has contributed 18 points for the Terriers. Freshman defender Kristen Courtemanche also leads the team on the other end with 17 caused turnovers and 26 ground balls. Jessie Aguglia is in her first season as head coach for the Terriers after leaving Gardner-Webb as the winningest coach of all time in their program.
Match-up History vs. Wofford
High Point and Wofford have only faced off one time previously. The Panthers took the only game 24-11 in Spartanburg. Pia Cavallaro had five goals in the win and Loescher and Genovese each added a hat trick of goals. Nowakowski, Brockamp, and Rosselli all contributed a goal. Genovese added seven draw controls as well.
Panther Notes
Rosselli Hits 100 Points
With three points off of two goals and an assist Saturday,
Kay Rosselli passed her 100-point career mark. Rosselli has been a top performer all season and she now ranks second in points with 22 goals and five assists.
Dowgiallo Doubles Up at Duke
Freshman attacker Reese Dowgiallo contributed a career-high two goals against a tough Duke lacrosse team on Tuesday. Dowgiallo has now appeared in seven games as a freshman and has added three points for the Panthers.
Another Career Day for Loescher
Mena Loescher tallied another career mark individually on Saturday. After tallying an assist early in the game, Loescher accomplished 100 total career assists. Loescher now sits second in assists all-time in the program, passing Abby Hormes and Erica Perotta. She has 31 assists so far this season, which is second in the conference and 19th in the nation. The graduate attacker is also 11th in the entire country in points per game.
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 and has passed Sarah Zeto, sitting at third in total saves in High Point lacrosse program history. "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.
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. Baehr ranks 47th in the country in caused turnovers per game, averaging 1.62.
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.
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. The senior defender now has eight caused turnovers on the season and has picked up seven ground balls.
Milestone Mena
With seven minutes left in the second quarter against JMU, Mena 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 points per game and is ranked in the top-40 nationally for assists.
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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