Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Lacrosse team is ready for a pair of Skyline Conference matchups this week when it hosts Purchase on Tuesday and heads to the United States Merchant Marine Academy Saturday afternoon. Live Stats and Video will be provided for both contests for those unable to attend.
 
At A Glance: The Knights enter Tuesday's date with the Panthers at 4-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play and are coming off a pair of hard-fought defeats to Farmingdale State and St. Joseph's-L.I. last week.
 
Victoria Ward (Oceanside, N.Y.), who recorded her 100^th career point at Farmingdale State last Wednesday, leads the Mount Saint Mary scoring attack with 33 goals, 15 assists and 38 points. Ward, who ranks third in the league in points and tied for third in the conference in goals, also sits second on the team with 35 draw controls while adding 14 groundballs and four caused turnovers.
 
Karlie Ferrucci (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) has matched her career-high with nine draw controls in each of the last two tilts and paces the Knights in the category with 38 on the season. Ferrucci supports the offensive attack with 17 goals and 23 points and adds 22 groundballs and nine caused turnovers.
 
Freshman Antonia Licardi (Pine Bush, N.Y.) chips in 11 goals, nine groundballs and seven caused turnovers, while Erica Schmidgall (North Massapequa, N.Y.) is second on the team with seven assists while netting 10 goals.
 
Carolyn Del Debbio (Southington, Conn.) is third on the team with 17 draw controls and adds eight forced turnovers while supporting the offense with four goals and four assists. Shannon McGowan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) has potted eight goals and forced five turnovers for the Mount.
 
Kate Crooker (Boonton, N.J.) has forced a team-high 21 turnovers and ranks second on the team with 27 groundballs, ranking second in the conference in caused turnovers per game with 1.75. Crooker supports the offense with five points and adds nine draw controls for the Knights.
 
Briana Fassett (New Mildford, Conn.) checks in with 16 caused turnovers and 18 groundballs, while Maggie Horan (Stony Point, N.Y.) has forced 15 turnovers and picked up 22 groundballs.
 
In goal, Liz Petrellese (Levittown, N.Y.) is in the midst of a strong season, making 132 saves to date while working to a .444 save percentage and 13.75 goals against average. Petrellese, who also leads the team with 32 groundballs, ranks second in the Skyline Conference in total saves, fourth in saves per game, tied for fifth in total groundballs and seventh in save percentage.
 
Previewing Purchase: The Panthers head to Newburgh on Tuesday having lost their last five contests and hold a 2-7 overall record and an 0-4 mark in league play. Purchase is in search of its first win since an 8-6 triumph over Mitchell on March 24.
 
Alyssa Kozak has posted team-highs in goals with 16 and points with 19 through nine games and adds 25 groundballs and a team-high 27 draw controls. Brienne Westfall and Analie Ingalsbe are tied for the team lead in assists with seven with Westfall totaling 13 points and Ingalsbe posting a team-high 29 groundballs and nine caused turnovers.
 
Michelle Gomez supports the offense with 10 points on the strength of six goals and four assists with Leah Dwyer pacing the Panthers with 10 caused turnovers to go along with 18 groundballs.
 
In goal, Casandra Schmoger has started seven games and turned aside 79 shots while posting a .545 save percentage and a 13.03 goals against average. Amani Jamal has played 231:39 in goal over seven contests, including two starts, and has made 53 saves for the Panthers.
 
Recent History: Mount Saint Mary and Purchase will meet for the seventh time since 2016 on Tuesday with the Knights holding a 5-1 record in the last six matchups. After a 14-13 loss to the Panthers on April 7, 2016, the Knights have won five straight in the series, including a 20-1 road win on April 22, 2022.
 
Scouting USMMA: The Mariners were picked to win their fourth straight conference crown by the league's head coaches in 2023 and enter a Tuesday tilt at Maritime with a 9-1 overall record and a perfect 5-0 record against Skyline Conference rivals. USMMA has won its last seven contests, including a 20-2 triumph over Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday.
 
The Mariner offensive attack features seven players with at least 16 goals, including a team-high 25 markers from Lauren Jablonowski who adds a team-high 20 assists for 45 points. Jablonowski adds 10 caused turnovers for the Mariners, nine draw controls and eight groundballs.
 
Jenna Turrentine totals 32 points on the strength of 24 goals and eight assists to go along with 21 groundballs and 17 draw controls with Julia Coughlin checking in with 22 goals and eight assists. Samantha Atwood is good for 21 goals and 25 points while Gianna Russo posts 16 goals and 21 points.
 
Kaitlyn Latchaw is second on the team with 34 points, scoring 19 times and assisting on 15 other goals to go along with eight caused turnovers and nine groundballs. Jaqui Sheedy is in the midst of a big all-around year, totaling 29 points on 16 goals and 13 assists while leading the team in draw controls (62), groundballs (48) and caused turnovers (23). Sheedy leads the conference in caused turnovers per game and  draw controls.
 
In goal, Amber Heverly has started nine of the Mariners' 10 games and played 525:00 of a possible 595:32 heading into Tuesday's contest with the Privateers. Heverly has turned aside 73 shots and is working to a .584 save percentage and a 5.94 goals against average with both marks leading the conference.
 
Recent History: Mount Saint Mary won the first meeting between the first two programs, 12-9, in 2017, but the Mariners have responded with victories in the next five decisions in the head-to-head series.
 
What's Next: Mount Saint Mary plays its final two regular season contests next week when it travels to Manhattanville on Wednesday and hosts Old Westbury on April 29.