April 23, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK IN GAEL LACROSSE
This week the Saint Mary's women's lacrosse team will host the No. 18 ranked Denver Pioneers in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game on Sunday, April 27 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Saint Mary's Stadium. The game will be the final game of the regular season for the Gaels.

Saint Mary's will enter the game with a 2-13 overall record, and is 0-4 in MPSF play following a 14-13 loss to UC Davis on the road on April 20. Denver enters the game with a 10-5 overall record and is ranked 18th in the country. Denver enters the week 3-0 in MPSF play, and is one game behind California for first place in the MPSF standings. The Pioneers will take on Cal on Saturday before traveling to Moraga on Sunday.

WHO'S HOT
In the only game that Saint Mary's played last week, Abbie Coleman had a big game as she tallied six points in the loss to UC Davis. Coleman's six points consisted of two goals and a game-high four assists. Coleman scored the first goal for SMC, then with 11 minutes remaining, added her second goal to keep the game tied at 11-11.

SAINT MARY'S TO HONOR THREE SENIORS
Prior to the start of Sunday's game against Denver, Saint Mary's will recognize three seniors that will be making their final appearance at home. Those seniors include Chloe Dee, Alex Oetken, and Lisa Vogeley. In 36 games, and a little over two seasons, Dee has tallied 62 points on 44 goals and 18 assists. Oetken, who has missed the last 10 games this season with a hand injury, has 13 goals and nine assists for 22 points in 56 career games. After starting on defense her first three years, Vogeley has 22 points on nine 13 goals and nine assists this season. She how 14 goals and 12 assists in 58 career games.

SCOUTING THE NO. 18 RANKED DENVER PIONEERS
Denver enters the final week of the regular season with a 10-5 overall record and a 3-0 record in MPSF play, and is ranked 18th in the national polls. Following a 13-9 home win over Stanford on Sunday, Denver secured one of the top two spots in next week's MPSF Tournament, and a bye into the second round. This season, the Pioneers have scored a total of 202 goals, scoring 51 more goals than their opponents. Denver is averaging 14.3 goals per game, while allowing 10.7 goals per game. The Pioneers have won four straight games and eight of their last 10 contests heading into this week's schedule.

The Pioneers are led by Steph Coyne who has 67 points on 26 goals and 41 assists. Coyne's 41 assists leads the team, while her 26 goals are fifth best on the squad. Megan Carver is second on the team with 47 points on 29 goals and 18 assists. The team's leading goal scorer is Ali Flury, with 38 goals. Karen Morton is second on the team with 30 goals and Lexi Sanders has added 28 goals this season.

SMC VERSUS DENVER; THE SERIES
When the Gaels and Pioneers meet on Sunday, it will mark the 14th meeting between the two schools. Saint Mary's holds a 4-9 overall record against Denver, but since the MPSF began in 2004, the Pioneers have won all six conference games. Saint Mary's won four of the first six games between the two schools, but has lost the last seven overall. In the last game played between SMC and Denver, the No. 17 ranked Pioneers posted a 20-7 victory over the Gaels in Denver on April 13, 2007.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME
In its only game of the week, Saint Mary's suffered a 14-13 MPSF loss, on the road, to UC Davis. UCD jumped out to a 5-1 lead before SMC answered with four of five goals to trail 6-5 at halftime. The Gaels scored the first two goals of the second half to take a 7-6 lead, followed by back-to-back goals by the Aggies. From there the teams exchanged goals the rest of the way. SMC failed to answer the final UC Davis goal, which came with 4:28 remaining in the contest. Abbie Coleman tallied six points on two goals and a game-high four assists, while Dana Elfvin and Alana Burrough had three goals each for the Gaels.

PJ HAINLEY LEADS 2007 SQUAD IN POINTS
After finishing second on the team in goals last season, P.J. Hainley leads the 2008 squad with 19 goals through 15 games. After leading the 2007 team in points (31), Hainley ranks second this season with 25 points. Hainley is second on the team with 19 caused turnovers and third fourth with 21 draw controls.

COLEMAN LEADING THE WAY IN POINTS
Following her six-point game against UC Davis, sophomore attacker Abbie Coleman leads the team with 28 total points. Coleman has 14 goals and leads the squad with 14 assists. She leads the team with 31 draw controls and is third in ground balls (33) and caused turnovers (17). As a freshman, Coleman was first on the team in assists (12), second in points (30), and third in goals (18).

SIX PLAYERS RECORD DOUBLE DIGITS IN GOALS
This season six players on the roster have recorded at least 10 goals. Hainley leads the way with 19, and is followed by Alana Burrough (18), Dana Elfvin (17), Chloe Dee (16), Abbie Coleman (14), and Lisa Vogeley (13).

SMC RANKED IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Saint Mary's ranks in the top-35 in two statistical categories. The Gaels rank 16th overall in the country in ground balls with 19.7 per game. SMC is 31st in the nation in caused turnovers with 8.9 per outing.

2008 MPSF LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2008 MPSF Championship will be determined by a six-team postseason conference tournament. Teams will be seeded on the basis of regular season finish. The following is the schedule for the event, which will be played at Cal's Memorial Stadium from April 30-May 3.

MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
MPSF QUARTERFINALS - Wed, April 30
Game 1: #5 UC Davis vs. #4 Oregon 1pm
Game 2: #6 St. Mary's vs. #3 Stanford 3pm
*No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have quarterfinal byes

MPSF SEMIFINALS - Thu, May 1
Game 3: Losers Games 1 & 2 11am
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. #1 Seed 1pm
Game 5: Winner Game 2 vs. #2 Seed 3pm

MPSF THIRD-PLACE - Fri, May 2
Game 6: Losers Games 4 & 5 1pm

MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP - Sat, May 3
Game 7: Winners Games 4 & 5 1pm

NEXT WEEK
Saint Mary's will compete in the 2008 MPSF Lacrosse Championships, which will be held at the University of California, Berkeley's Memorial Stadium. Saint Mary's will enter the touranment as the sixth seed, and will open against the No. 3 seeded Stanford Cardinal. The game will be played on Wednesday, April 30 at 3 p.m.