ECAC Div. III Women's Lacrosse Tournament, 1st Round
Cabrini University Cavaliers (11-8, 5-1 Atlantic East) vs. DeSales University Bulldogs (10-7, 5-2 MAC Freedom)
Wednesday, May 8, 7:30pm
Center Valley, PA

Game Day Links: Live Stats
ECAC Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament Bracket
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What's At Stake?
The winner of Wednesday's first round tilt will advance to Saturday's semifinal round, where it will face tournament host FDU-Florham at 2pm.

Wednesday's other first round games include Neumann at Drew and Pfeiffer at Marymount. The winners of those games will meet in Saturday's first semifinal.

How Cabrini Got Here
The Cavaliers advanced to the ECAC Tournament on the strength of the nation's 22nd ranked offensive attack. Cabrini averages 16.26 goal per game and rank second in Division III with 39.26 shots per game.

Five Cavaliers have scored north of 30 goals on the season, with senior Avery Murphy leading the way with 107 points and 82 goals. The senior, who recently earned her third consecutive conference Player of the Year honor, also leads Cabrini with 171 draw controls (5th in the country), 66 ground balls and 56 caused turnovers.

Each of the team's top five scorers, Murphy, sophomores Ashley Tutzauer and Taylor Dimmerling and freshmen Dana Carlson and Shea Neary also claimed All-Atlantic East First Team honors and rank among the league's top 25 in goals and points.  

The Cavaliers also boast three players listing among the top 11 in the conference's ground ball, caused turnover and draw control tables.

Freshman goaltender Sam Hamalak has controlled the Blue and White pipes in each of its 19 contests and owns a 12.99 goal against average with 134 saves on the year, but has stopped nearly .540 of her shots faces over the last eight games.

How DeSales Got Here
In just its third season, the Bulldogs have made tremendous progress. After winning five games in both 2017 and 2018, DeSales scored 10 victories this season and secured its first MAC Freedom Tournament appearance.

DeSales boasts a balanced attack that includes four players with 63-67 points on the year, a quartet the accounts for nearly 82% of the teams's scoring. Sophomore Julia Astram lead the way with 54 goals and 67 points, while classmates Ellis McCall and Katie Stordy lead the club with 24 helpers each.

Stordy also anchors the Bulldogs' defensive effort, as the sophomore leads the club with 39 caused turnovers, 78 ground balls and 122 draw controls. Graduate student Annabella Stigliano also makes major contributions to the effort with 34 caused turnovers and 40 ground balls.

Sophomore netminder Rachel Sheubrooks has recorded at least eight saves in 10 contests and enters tonight's contest with a .425 save percentage with 206 saves.

Last Meeting: 1st Meeting
Wednesday will make the first time the Cavaliers and Bulldogs have met.

Cabrini's Last Outing: Cabrini 21, Marywood 6 (5/4/2019, Scranton, PA)
Cabrini avenged its only conference loss in seven years with Saturday's Atlantic East championship victory at Marywood. With the 21-6 win, the Blue and White claimed its eighth consecutive conference championship, 18th overall and first in the Atlantic East.

Senior Emma Rodner-Tims was named Most Valuable Player after pairing three goals on three shots, three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
 
Murphy provided the offensive spark, matching a career high with eight goals, two assists, nine draw controls, four caused turnovers and three ground balls. Dimmerling also matched a career best with five goals, while Carlson added two goals, two assists and six draw controls.

Tutzauer, Neary and junior Mattie Porter caused two turnovers each, while Neary added a season best seven ground balls. Hamalak was called on for just four saves in nearly 50 minutes of action to earn the victory, while senior Devon Scharf notched two saves in relief.

Trailing 2-1 five minutes into the game, the Cavaliers responded with seven unanswered goals and never looked back. After holding a commanding 11-4 lead at the half, the Blue and White opened the second half with seven unanswered markers, extending its lead to 18-4 with 17 minutes to play.

Cabrini's 21 goals, seven free position goals and 50 shots rank among the team's top performances of the season, while its six goals allowed are among its fewest and the fewest the Pacers have scored all season.

DeSales Last Time Out: FDU-Florham 16, DeSales 1 (5/1/2019, Madison, NJ)
The third year program made its first postseason appearance, earning the number three seed in the MAC Freedom tournament. Unfortunately, the could not carry the momentum from three consecutive wins into the postseason.

FDU-Florham led 12-0 at the half and held DeSales scoreless until the 17:40 mark of the second half.

McCall recorded the lone goal for the Bulldogs, while Stordy added seven draw controls and four ground balls. Sheubrooks tallied 13 saves in the loss.

The Bulldogs were outshot 39-16 in the loss, including 29-11 in shots on target, while the Devils pressured them into 31 turnovers and 15 successful clears in 24 chances. DeSales' 16 shots and 10 draw controls ranked among its fewest of the season, while its 31 turnovers were among its most of the campaign.

 

	TALE OF THE TAPE
Cabrini		DeSales
11-8, 5-1 Atlantic East	Record	10-7, 5-2 MAC Freedom
309	Goals	230
109	Assists	88
746	Shots	526
456	Ground Balls	364
281	Caused Turnovers	180
317	Draw Controls	240
.401 (79-197)	Free Position Percentage	.383 (41-107)
.751	Clear Percentage	.737
.397	Save Percentage	.426
	TEAM LEADERS
Avery Murphy (82)	Goals	Julia Astram (54)
Murphy/Tutzauer (25)	Assists	McCall/Stordy (24)
Avery Murphy (107)	Points	Julia Astram (67)
Avery Murphy (171)	Draw Controls	Katie Stordy (122)
Avery Murphy (66)	Ground Balls	Katie Stordy (78)
Avery Murphy (56)	Caused Turnovers	Katie Stordy (39)
Sam Hamalak (.386)	Save Percentage	Rachel Sheubrooks (.425)