BRYN ATHYN, Pa. – After picking up its first North Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament victory on Tuesday, the Bryn Athyn College women's lacrosse team will travel to Morrisville State for the tournament semifinals on Saturday, May 5 at 11:30 a.m.
Tickets will be available at Drake Field's main entrance one hour prior to the start of the game and are $4 per adult, $2 per student, and children 12 and under are admitted free.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Bryn Athyn (9-3)—the fourth seed—wore down Wells College to pick up a 17-10 victory in the opening round on May 1. It was the Lions' first-ever postseason contest. Bri Lennox led the offensive attack with nine goals, while Brenna Sweeney, Laura Clymer, and Chantal Farmer all scored twice. Anja Weisser made 11 saves.
Morrisville State (10-7) earned a first-round bye after claimed the NEAC's top seed. The Mustangs finished in a three-way tie for first place at 8-1 in the conference but won the tiebreaker with Medaille and Keuka to be number one.
AT STAKE
The winner of this semifinal will take on the winner of the Medaille/Keuka match in the conference final on Sunday, May 6 at 1 p.m. at Morrisville State. The conference champion receives the NEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
SERIES HISTORY
The Lions are 0-4 against the Mustangs, including a 12-4 loss in the regular-season finale on April 28 in Morrisville. Sabrina Colbridge was Bryn Athyn's leading goal scorer in the setback with two goals. Courtney Cavellier (four goals, one assist) and Gianna Branca (three goals, two assists) led the way for Morrisville State with five points each.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Bryn Athyn sports one of the top defenses in Division III as the Lions have the 13th best scoring defense, allowing 6.83 goals per game, and are 13th with 14.50 caused turnovers per game. The Lions are 22nd in D-III with 26.50 ground balls per game.
The Lions are 3-1 away from General Ronald K. Nelson Field this year.
The victory over Wells in the opening round was Bryn Athyn's first when allowing 10 or more goals in a game this season. The Lions were 0-3 prior to Tuesday.
Bri Lennox, the NEAC Rookie of the Year and All-NEAC first-team selection, is Bryn Athyn's record holder for the most goals in a season with 58, which ranks her third in the NEAC, most draw controls in a season with 66, which is sixth in the conference. She is also sixth in the NEAC with 66 points. The Lions are 8-0 when she scores at least five goals.
Sabrina Colbridge, who recorded her 100th career point in the win over Wells, is third in the NEAC with 22 assists. When Colbridge has at least one assist, Bryn Athyn is 8-0.
After missing five straight games due to injury, Kyla Rogers came back to score a goal in the last three games.
All-NEAC first-team goalie Anja Weisser is 11th in Division III with a 55.2 save percentage and a 6.83 goals against average. The Lions are 7-1 when Weisser stops at least half of the shots on goal she faces.
Bryn Athyn's defense also had a pair of All-NEAC second-team selections in Gianna Ciacciarelli and Sarah Reed. Ciacciarelli ranks eighth in the NEAC with 26 caused turnovers. She has caused three or more turnovers five times. Reed sits 10th in the NEAC with 25 caused turnovers and 18th with 40 ground balls.
SCOUTING MORRISVILLE STATE
The Mustangs have won two of the last three NEAC championships, including the 2017 title.
Morrisville State is 6-2 at home and the Mustangs have rattled off six straight victories on Drake Field. The team averages 15.75 goals and allows 9.25 goals in their home games.
Offensively, the Mustangs are third in the NEAC with 14.06 goals per game, but in conference play the team is averaging a NEAC-best 17.89 goals per game. Morrisville State scored at least 20 goals six times, however, the Mustangs haven't scored more than 12 against the other three teams remaining in the conference tournament.
Morrisville State had six All-NEAC selections, led by NEAC Offensive Player of the Year Gianna Branca. Branca leads the NEAC in goals (60), assists (54), and points (114). She is 36 points ahead of the closest competitor. Branca has at least three goals in every NEAC match except one, the Mustangs' 11-9 loss at Keuka on April 15.
Courtney Cavellier—another all-conference first-teamer—ranks fifth in the conference with 53 goals. She is also third in ground balls (63) and fourth in draw controls (89) and caused turnovers (37). Cavellier has scored in every match this season except the Keuka loss.
All-NEAC first-team defender Lexi Firkins sits second in the NEAC with 44 caused turnovers and fifth with 54 ground balls. In the last two matches, Firkins only has one caused turnover after missing the previous two matches.