thanks to Bridgette Gale, Athletic Media Relations Assistant – Jacksonville University for the press release   JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—With five top-scoring seniors returning, the typical reaction would be to assume they would be the leading scorers on the season. The top-three sophomores, who are all education majors, had a different train of thought. So far this season, three of top five scorers for the Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse program are sophomores and they alone combine for roughly 41 percent of the goals scored this season. “It’s a really cool feeling having the sophomores step up and be some of the top-scorers on the team,” said leading attacker Danielle Della Rocca. “We just work really well together so it’s extremely promising for the upcoming two years, we still have such a long way to go and so much time to get better.” There are 10 sophomores on the team comprised of nine field players and one goalie. The field players combine for nearly 50 percent of the total goals on the season for the Dolphins. Della Rocca leads the team with 36 goals (averaging a hat trick a game), and ranks fifth in the country with 52 points. Rachel Aus has 22 goals, followed by midfielder Hannah Wilcox with 15. “Our super-sophomores (as they are affectionately known by the coaching staff) are doing a great job,” said Head Coach Mindy McCord. “To have 14 underclassmen, led by 10 sophomores, contributing and helping our team be ranked in the top 15 RPI in the nation really says a lot about their confidence as young players. It is also a testament to their ability to learn our systems quickly and be leaders.” The sophomores didn’t have individual expectations going into the season but had an overall goal to work hard and play the best they could for the team. “Our coaches have instilled in us to do the best we can, all of the time,” said midfielder Wilcox. “We don’t ever go out and think ‘oh we need to score however many goals to keep our percentage up’. We get on the field, do our job and when we’re open and have the shots we take them and hope they find the back of the net.” “My teammates and I have really stepped up and it’s great to have our class come together and play well,” said attacker Aus. “Everyone competes well as a team and it’s great that it isn’t a one-man show.” Jacksonville is off to its best program start ever with a 10-2 record, only dropping decisions to No. 4 Florida and No. 18 Stony Brook. “When we looked at our schedule prior to the season starting, we knew that we had the possibility of having an amazing season,” added Aus. “We saw that there were two really difficult games and some games that we were definitely going to have to fight for a win. We had high expectations, but being 10-2 is pretty amazing.” The Dolphins return home to D.B. Milne Field as they face Atlantic Sun opponent Detroit on Thursday, April 2 at 4 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN3. ###   Bridgette Gale Athletic Media Relations Assistant Jacksonville University (o):(904)-256-7761 (c): (904)-599-0801