Women's Lacrosse | 3/22/2019 10:00:00 AM

 
THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University women's lacrosse team is off to its best start since 2009 after an impressive 18-3 road win over Chestnut Hill College Thursday night. The Huskies went 3-1 on their recent four-game road trip, and return home with a chance for a fourth consecutive win when they battle Millersville Saturday afternoon. Bloomsburg is 2-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play with wins over Mercyhurst and Shippensburg, While the Marauders enter Saturday's game at 1-1 in the PSAC, 3-3 overall. The Huskies have not opened a season 7-1 since 2003, when Bloomsburg went 13-2 overall, won the PSAC Championship, and advanced to the national semifinals.

SUPPORT KELSEY'S RECOVERY
• Saturday's game will be played in honor of Bloomsburg alumna and former Huskies women's lacrosse player Kelsey Paulsen, who was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident on March 8. During the game, members of Bloomsburg athletics will be accepting donations at the entrance to Steph Pettit Stadium, with all proceeds supporting Kelsey's recovery. In addition, the Huskies players and coaches will be wearing green to help raise awareness for Traumatic brain injuries. To find out more information or to show your support for Kelsey's recovery, please CLICK HERE.

THE HISTORY: BLOOMSBURG vs. MILLERSVILLE
• Bloomsburg is 32-23 all-time against Millersville, including a 16-13 road win over the Marauders a season ago. Cailyn Gormley (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) powered the Huskies in that win with three goals and two assists, while Grace Kelleher (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) chipped in two goals and an assist. Sabrina Fusco had four goals to pace Millersville. Bloomsburg holds a 3-2 advantage over the last five meetings between the teams, but the Huskies have not defeated the Marauders at home since April 26, 2014. 

THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• Rainy conditions would not slow down the Huskies offense Thursday night, as Bloomsburg cruised to an 18-3 win over Chestnut Hill College. Hannah Jaskuta (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) had five goals and two assists to lead the Huskies, while Kelsey Kilgallon (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) had a career-high six points on two goals and four assists. Caitlin Leap (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) added her first career goal and three assists, and Abby Bergman (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) tallied three first-half goals. Goalkeeper Angela DiPasquale (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) notched her fifth win of the season, turning away three shots in 44 minutes of action. Bloomsburg outscored the Griffins 13-1 in the first half, and forced 30 Chestnut Hill turnovers.

• Jaskuta now leads Bloomsburg in points (28) and goals scored (21) on the season after Thursday's big night. The senior is just five goals away from reaching the 100-goal milestone for her career. Kelleher has been sidelined the last two games with an injury, but leads the PSAC in points per game (5.40), tallying 27 total points on 17 goals and a team-high 10 assists. Bergman has 11 goals, two assists, and a team-high 22 draw controls, while Anna Dempsey (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) has stuffed the stat sheet with eight goals, four assists, 18 draw controls, and 11 ground balls. Kilgallon is tied for third on the team in points (13) with eight goals and five assists, and Megan Smith (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Township) has five goals and three assists.

• The Bloomsburg defense has been stifling in the first half of the season, leading the PSAC in caused turnovers (17.14) and ground balls (28.71) per game. Sophomore Tiffany Diachynsky (Barto, Pa./Boyertown Area) leads the conference in caused turnovers per game with (2.57), while Abby Nocito (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) has recorded 14 caused turnovers and 20 ground balls. Lana Paulo (Washington Township, N.J./Washington Township) ranks third on the team in caused turnovers with 12, and DiPasquale's 3.83 ground balls per game rank fourth in the PSAC this season. DiPasquale has been one of the best net-minders in the conference in 2019, posting a .602 save percentage and 7.83 goals against average (GAA) in six starts. The junior ranks third in the conference in saves per game at 11.33.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS
• Millersville will be looking to bounce back Saturday after a tough 14-5 loss to eighth-ranked East Stroudsburg Tuesday evening. Grace Cobaugh has two goals for the Marauders in the loss, while MaryCait Dorley, Gillian Zimmerman, and Erin Fagan all added goals. Millersville is 1-1 in the PSAC after an 18-10 win over Edinboro last week.

• Genevieve Speights paces the Marauders with 19 points on 13 goals and six assists, while Zimmerman is tied for the team-lead in goals with 13. Sara Burney has four goals and a team-high nine assists, and Calie Swegon has seven goals and seven assists. Sarah Leverentz is third on the team in goals with nine.

• Leverentz has been excellent defensively for Millersville as well this season, leading the team in caused turnovers (13) and ground balls (26). She ranks third in the PSAC in ground balls per game with 4.33. Natalie Sukanick has forced 11 turnovers and scooped up 19 ground balls, while Jasa Lorah ranks second on the team in ground balls with 21. Shannon Davis has started all six games in goal for the Marauders, and has 45 saves on the year. 

LOOKING AHEAD
• Saturday's game marks the start of 10 consecutive games against PSAC opponents to wrap up the regular season for the Huskies. Bloomsburg remains home this Wednesday, March 27, for a battle with Seton Hill, before traveling to Edinboro on March 30. First Draw with Seton Hill is set for 4:00 p.m. Wednesday.