HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University women's lacrosse team is clicking on all cylinders heading into the final regular-season stretch.

The Panthers are tied for the third longest active DI winning streak in the nation behind only North Carolina (13) and Princeton (10). High Point, Florida and Drexel are all on an eight-game winning streak.

"We are really clicking," HPU junior attacker Shannon Smith said. "We are trusting our game plan and sticking together throughout the whole game, not getting off track and getting individual. I think we've done a really good job of that. Each unit — the midfielders, the defenders, attackers and draw — are all doing their job to get stops, goals, and then in the transition and clear we are all having it come together, and we are connecting."

High Point hasn't lost a game since March 5 when William and Mary bested the Panthers by a goal, 18-17.  Since then, HPU has been unstoppable as a complete unit, outscoring opponents 152-75 over the past eight games to sit at 9-4. The other three losses came against nationally-ranked Duke and Navy, along with Liberty.

The Panthers have scored 20 goals in five of the eight wins, while defeating ACC's Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on March 23 and allowing its fewest goals in a game since 2022 when they limited Gardner-Webb to two goals on April 9. In that game versus the Runnin' Bulldogs, High Point blanked them in the second half to extend its scoreless quarter total to five this season.

HPU didn't allow a goal in the third quarter verus Virginia Tech, Winthrop, Longwood while denying Gardner-Webb for the entire final 30 minutes.

"The early-game losses were definitely something that has set us up for right now," HPU Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell said. "I feel like we learned so much about ourselves in those games. The wins and the losses, but mostly the losses that forced us to really take a look at ourselves and figure out where our deficits were."

The defensive pressure has transitioned into offense, and it shows in the national rankings.

As a team, the Panthers are third in scoring offense (16.85), fifth in free-position percentage (0.556), fifth in shot percentage (0.487), and sixth in points per game (24.00). Senior attacker Esprit Cha, who leads the team in goals, is 16th in goals (46), 21st in goals per game (3.54) and 26th in free-position percentage (0.647).

Cha has a plethora of offensive support as Allie Connally has a team-leading 55 points (29 goals, 26 assists) and 64 draw controls while Reese Dowgiallo has 49 points (26 goals, 23 assists), Shannon Smith has 45 points (36 goals, nine assists) and Bella Germani has 22 goals and four assists. All of these players are within the top-50 national rankings.

Defender Julia Dustin is 21st in caused turnovers per game (2.08) as she has a team-leading 27, which is 25 more than she had as a freshman. Goalie Ava Welsh, who has over 100 saves this season, is 23rd in ground balls per game (2.85) behind a team-best 37. The sophomore duo has started every game and has anchored the defense in its impressive lockdown approach.

"I think player development is something that our staff does a really great job with," Boswell said, "and I'm really proud of the staff and the work that they are putting into our individual players; it's paying off for the units."

The Panthers will take their team-first mentality into a Saturday showdown at Big South Preseason favorite Mercer on Saturday, April 12 at 12 p.m. The winner of this matchup is highly favored to host the Big South Championships with an automatic bid on the line for the NCAA Tournament.

HPU is looking to defeat Mercer for the first time since 2022 and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time and first since 2021.

The Panthers wrap up the season by hosting Wofford (April 16) and traveling to Radford (April 23). The Big South Championships are hosted by the top seed on May 2-4.

"We want to be our best every single game, and I think when we are at our best, we are successful," Boswell said. "It's one game at a time for us. We talk a lot about being grateful for the time that we have here together and we just want to make the most of every chance over these next three games. We love practicing and being in film together; the girls just love being together. There is more road trips and so much time left; we don't want to miss a moment. We want to take advantage of every moment together. I'm really grateful for a team that loves each other as much as they do. It's really exciting"