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#10 Women’s Lacrosse Takes on #19 Wingate Friday in NCAA First Round

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in , , , .

via FSC press release

LAKELAND, Fla. – The 10th-ranked Florida Southern College women’s lacrosse team is set to open its sixth NCAA tournament postseason on Friday, May 13 against the 19th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The Moccasins and Bulldogs square off at 3:00 p.m. Friday at the Queens Sports Complex in Charlotte, N.C.
 
2022 South Regional
Four teams converge on the Queen’s Sports Complex where hosts and the number one team Queens will take on fourth-seed No. 12 Tampa at 11:00 a.m. before second-seed No. 10 Florida Southern takes on third-seed No. 19 Wingate at 3:00 p.m.
 
The Mocs are 4-1 against the three teams in contention to advance to the national semifinals, where Florida Southern’s lone loss came against then-no. 3 Queens (N.C.) 12-9 on Feb. 27 before going 3-0 against previously undefeated Wingate 19-13 on March 9 and a pair of wins over Tampa, 23-19 against then-no. 15 Tampa on April 6 and then 20-10 against the 12th-ranked Spartans on May 1.
 
The Field (by seed)
No. 1 Queens Royals – 19-0 – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
The Royals posted a 19-0 record heading into the NCAA Tournament including a 2-0 record in the SAC tournament where Queens earned the title with a 21-5 win over Wingate.
 
Queens posted a 4-0 record against teams inside the top-25 this season with wins over then-no. 23 Saint Leo (20-7), then-no. 7 Florida Southern (12-9), then-no. 13 Tampa (10-9), and then-no. 23 Limestone (24-2).
 
To date, the Royals have scored 419 goals and hold their opponents to just 95 through 19 games. Rebecca Kinsley and Kyleigh Masteran lead the Royals with over 100 points on the season where Kinsley has 122 points on 65 goals and 57 assists while Masteran is at 104 with 84 goals, the team leader, and 20 assists.
 
Sharn Muffett and Caroline Kraemer have split time in goal where Muffett is 8-0 in 597:15 minutes of action with 42 saves while Kraemer is 11-0 in 542:45 minutes of action with 57 saves.
 
No. 2 Florida Southern Moccasins – 15-3 – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
The Florida Southern Mocs are 15-3 heading into the NCAA tournament including going 2-0 in the SSC tournament, capturing the programs fourth tournament title. The Mocs finished 5-2 in SSC play to earn the second seed, behind Tampa (6-1).
 
Florida Southern posted a 9-3 record against teams in the top-25 or programs that received votes in the Inside Lacrosse Women/Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association coaches’ poll.
 
This season, the Mocs have outscored opponents 326 to 191 and have a .569 shooting percentage, which tops all Division II programs as well as first in free position percentage at .583. The Mocs are second in the nation in scoring offense (18.11) and points per game (26.67).
 
Hailey Daleo is the team leader in points (74), goals (55), and is third in assists (19). Abby McFerren is right behind her with 72 points and is third in goals (40), while she is the team leader in assists (32). Two others are over 60 points this season, Lizzy Lynch (65) and Madison Tare (62). Tare is second on the team in scoring this year for the Mocs with 46 goals.
 
Patricia Werker is 9-3 in goal with 662:46 minutes played with 97 saves ahead of Brittany Iamele at 6-0 with 330:13 minutes played with 40 saves to her credit.
 
No. 3 Wingate Bulldogs – 15-3 – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Wingate reflects Florida Southern’s record at 15-3 going into Friday’s NCAA First Round where the Bulldogs are on a one game losing streak, dropping the SAC Championship game to No. 1 Queens, 21-5. Wingate posted a 1-2 record in the regular season against teams ranked in the top-25 with its lone win against then-no. 16 Limestone (12-11) with losses to then-no. 6 Florida Southern (19-13), and then-no. 3 Queens (19-12).
 
The Bulldogs outscore opponents 301-164 in 18 games led by Leah Knowles with 64 goals. Knowles is the team leader in points as well with 88 ahead of Becca Ruiz (57).
 
Megan Biase leads the Bulldogs from the backline with 800:48 minutes played posting a 14-3 record with 108 saves. Emily Rango is 1-0 in 146:16 minutes played.
 
No. 4 Tampa Spartans – 11-7 – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Tampa owns an 11-7 record as the fourth-seed in the tournament and suffered a 20-10 loss in their last outing, the SSC tournament championship to Florida Southern. The Spartans posted a 6-1 conference record to earn the regular season crown. Tampa posted a 4-7 record against opponents in the top-25 with wins against then-no. 6 Rollins (18-10), then-no. 12 Embry-Riddle (17-6), then-no. 17 Lynn (15-9), and then-no. 24 Saint Leo (19-6) in the SSC semifinals. The Spartans suffered losses to then-no.14 Grand Valley State (16-5), then-no. 12 Regis (Colo.) (11-10 OT), then-no. 3 Queens (10-9), then-no. 4 Lindenwood (18-8), then-no. 2 UIndy (15-8), and a pair of losses to Florida Southern, when the Mocs were fifth, 23-19, and then in the SSC title game 20-10.
 
The Spartans hold a slight advantage in outscoring their opponents 291-131 on the season. Madison Birch leads the team in both points (60) and goals (53) this season, ahead of Sarah Hinkle’s 54 points and 48 goals.
 
In goal, Tampa has split time with Alex Walling drawing the most time played (715:50) and holds a 5-7 record with 107 saves while Kyli Warnkin has played 362:52 minutes with a 5-0 record with 43 saves.
 
Head-to-Head – Florida Southern vs Wingate
This season, Florida Southern holds the 1-0 mark against Wingate where the Mocs defeated the Bulldogs 19-13 on March 9 at Berend Field. The Mocs hung on to win over the Bulldogs after a rain delay at halftime postponed play for over an hour.
 
Florida Southern held a 12-3 advantage at halftime before Wingate rattled off a 10-7 advantage in the second half, in the rain, to cut it to the six-goal final.
 
Madison Tare and Abby McFerren paced the team with four goals apiece where McFerren was the team leader in points with two assists for six total points. Hailey Daleo, who was tied for second in goals scored with three, added two assists for five points. Ellie Griffin notched three goals while Marlee Moon Gaddy chipped in two, ahead of Reese ColwellBrenna Smith, and Maria Reeves with one goal apiece.
 
Brittany Iamele earned the win with eight saves in 42:51 minutes of action before Patricia Werker relieved her with three saves for 17:09 of play.
 
The Bulldogs’ Bella Pellet and Leah Knowles led the team with four goals with Becca Ruiz at two goals for the game. Abby Burke, Avery Scherer, and Danielle Scarfoglier each tallied one goal in the contest. Goalie Megan Biase played all 60 minutes and made 12 stops in the loss.
 
All-Time Series
Florida Southern is 3-0 all-time against Wingate with wins in 2019 (20-7), 2020 (19-7), and 2022 (19-13). In the first three appearances, only Florida Southern was ranked where the 2022 postseason game will be a top-25 matchup for the first time in series history.
 
Florida Southern in the NCAA Tournament
Florida Southern is 7-4 all-time in the NCAA postseason including three trips to the NCAA National Championship game with winning it all in 2016, 8-7 over Adelphi, and back-to-back runners-up honors in 2017 and 2018.
 
The last time the Mocs appeared in the NCAA tournament, missing the 2021 tournament with a 9-1 record and no tournament held in 2020, Florida Southern fell in double-overtime to Sunshine State Conference foe, Rollins in the second round, 12-11.
 
When playing tournament game away from Lakeland, the Mocs hold a 4-3 overall with a 3-2 mark in games outside of the state of Florida.
 
USA Lacrosse Magazine All-Americans
Five members of the No. 10 Florida Southern women’s lacrosse team were named to the USA Lacrosse Magazine NCAA Division II All-American Teams the publication announced Wednesday (May 11). Fifth-year senior Abby Hammond led the way for the Moccasins with a First Team nod while senior Hailey Daleo earned Third Team honors. Seniors Lizzy Lynch and Patricia Werker along with freshman Ellie Griffin were named Honorable Mention.   
 
Sunshine State Conference Champions
The Florida Southern Moccasins were crowned the 2022 SSC Tournament Champions after defeating the Tampa Spartans in Tampa 20-10 on May 1. It was the fourth tournament title in program history, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022. The Mocs have 10 total conference titles to their credit with six regular season championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
 
In the game, Hailey Daleo led the Mocs with five goals, just ahead of Brenna Smith with four and Sammy Gorrasi with three. Three Mocs tallied two goals, Ellie GriffinLizzy Lynch, and Katie Yeagle, while a pair of student-athletes notched one goal, Marlee Moon Gaddy and Elise Alders.
 
Patricia Werker had eight big saves in the full 60 minutes in game to earn her ninth win of the season.
 
All-Sunshine State Conference Honors
Florida Southern boasted nine total All-Sunshine State Conference honors and saw Head Coach Kara Reber tabbed the Coach of the Year, as voted on by the SSC coaches. It is the second Coach of the Year honor for the 11th year head coach Kara Reber (2021, 2022).
 
The Mocs saw five First Team honorees in seniors Lizzy Lynch (attack), Hailey Daleo (attack), Abby Hammond (defense), and Patricia Werker (goalie), while junior Madison Tare (attack) and freshman Ellie Griffin (midfield) joined the group on the first team. Sophomores Abby McFerren (attack) and Ryan Kelly (defense) and senior Brenna Smith (attack) were named to the Second Team. 

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