HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point women's lacrosse heads to Macon to face top-seeded Mercer University in the first round of the Big South Tournament. The Panthers are coming into the game on a five-game winning streak after defeating Gardner-Webb 15-9 last Saturday. The winner of the semifinals' match will face Furman-Campbell in the Big South Championship on Sunday afternoon.
GAME INFORMATION
High Point vs. Mercer University | Friday, May 5th | 4:00 P.M. | Five Star Stadium
LIVE STATS | WATCH | FREE ADMISSION
Last Time Out
High Point women's lacrosse wrapped up its regular season with a big win on senior day Saturday afternoon at Vert Stadium. Eleven Panthers contributed points on the day. Smith and Miles both notched four points for the Panthers —Miles with three goals and an assist, Smith with two goals and two assists. Genovese tallied seven draw controls at the center circle, while also adding a goal and three ground balls. Defensively, Suplee made five second-half saves and Lexi Jack led with two caused turnovers. The win Saturday marked the Panthers' fifth straight win in a row, eighth win of the year, and seventh win in the Big South Conference.
About the Bears
The Bears are 15-2 overall with a 9-0 in-conference record. They are coming off of a big win against Campbell this past Saturday. Mercer senior attacker Shannon Urey has 79 points off of 72 goals and seven assists. She has been named Big South's Offensive Player of the Week twice this season for her stellar performance. Emma Pizzo has received Big South Defensive Player of the Week as well, leading the team with 39 caused turnovers. Entering her seventh season with the Bears, Samantha Eustace has led Mercer to win the Southern Conference championship on three occasions. She is the only coach to lead the Orange & Black to the NCAA Tournament, having done so three times.
Match-up History vs. Mercer
High Point holds a 3-2 winning record all-time against Mercer. The Panthers and Bears have faced off once this season in Macon, Ga. Mercer took the game 22-6. Since the contest, High Point has won six of their last eight games. In their most recent matchup, there were five different goal-scorers for HPU, led by Loescher with two.
Panther Notes
Panthers Wrap Up Regular Season On Winning Streak
HPU women's lacrosse is firing on all cylinders entering Big South tournament play. The Panthers have won their last five games in a row and have seen contributions all over the field. Loescher has been the leading points-holder for the entire duration of the season and currently holds 79 points in the 17 games played. Ava Scudillo leads the defense in caused turnovers and Suplee has held it down in the cage.
Smith and Suplee Post Season Highs
Shannon Smith and Taylor Suplee both notched season highs in Saturday's game. Suplee made 12 saves in the win and Smith netted two goals along with two assists. The redshirt senior goalkeeper now has 123 saves on the season and Smith has been a huge contributor with points in 10 of the 17 games this year. Suplee was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week for her performance.
Big Night for Brockamp
A season-high could not come at a better time for Mandy Brockamp, as she led the Panthers to their fourth straight win Wednesday night. Brockamp netted four goals, including the go-ahead goal late in the fourth quarter to top the Camels. The win handed Campbell their first Big South loss of the season and Brockamp her 21st point of the year.
Suplee Career-High
Taylor Suplee had an unbelievable performance to top the Campbell Camels Wednesday evening. Suplee held down the defense with a season-high twelve saves to mark her 118th save of the year. She is now just 18 saves away from stepping up to the top-spot for all-time saves.
Nowakowski Tallies Career-High in Points
Emma Nowakowski assisted four of the eight first-half goals against Wofford Saturday. After another assist in the second half, Nowakowski not only led as the game points-leader, but set a new career-high in points for herself off of assists alone.
Connally Tabs First Career Goal Against Wofford
Freshman Allie Connally wrapped around the Terrier goalie to net a no-angle first career goal late in the fourth quarter. The goal was unassisted and the last score of the contest to secure the Panther's 18-10 win.
Loescher Now First in Big South
With another multi-point game Saturday against Wofford, Mena Loescher is first in the Big South Conference in points per game, averaging 4.87. Loescher is on every offensive statistic list as she is also fourth in goals per game and second in assists per game. Nationwide, the graduate attacker is 11th overall in points per game and 12th in points-total.
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 27 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 four 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 35 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 fourth in points on the team with 23, 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.
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.
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.
#GoHPU
