Having celebrated Senior Day last weekend with a victory, the Clarkson University Women's Lacrosse team looks to close out the regular season on a high note when the team travels this weekend to face Skidmore College and Rensselaer on Friday and Saturday.
The Golden Knights are 5-10 overall and 2-5 in the Liberty League and could still find themselves in a tie for fourth-place by weekend's end with a sweep. Clarkson is just 4-21 all-time against Skidmore and has enjoyed recent success versus the Thoroughbreds, winning four times in the past seven meetings including a 16-12 victory in 2013, but the opposite is true in the series tally against Rensselaer. Clarkson is 7-23 all-time in matches against the Engineers, but RPI has won 22 straight, the most recent a 16-5 win in 2013.
Clarkson is a very young team with 19 players owning sophomore status or less as collegians, and the freshmen have put together strong first seasons, especially on offense. First-year Paige Fayette (Theresa, NY) is a three-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week and ranks seventh in the conference in points per game, with 39 points and 14 assists for 53 points through 15 games. Classmate Ashley Flick (Watertown, NY) has finished off 22 scores this year and ranks third on the team in goals. Leading the way in points per game, and ranking third in the conference, is sophomore Christine Wright (Watertown, NY), who has 26 goals, a league-best 23 assists, and 49 points to go along with 23 draw controls. On the defensive side, sophomore Hanna Gleason (Massena, NY) has posted team-bests with 25 groundballs and 15 caused turnovers, and classmate Meaghan McKenna (Hamburg, NY) ranks eighth in the league in draw controls with 35. Also key in the midfield and on the defensive end are junior Cassie Grace (Potsdam, NY), who has 24 groundballs and 23 draws, and sophomore Emma Jeffery (Baldwinsville, NY) who has produced 24 groundballs, caused 10 turnovers, and chipped in 12 points on nine goals and three assists.
Skidmore (4-10 overall, 3-4 Liberty League) has a top-heavy scoring trio similar to Clarkson's group that has combined for 124 points, but the Thoroughbreds haven't been quite as proficient. Tyler Phillips has 40 total points on 31 goals and nine assists, but has added to those numbers with 28 groundballs, 27 draws, and 14 caused turnovers. Spencer Morgan has 25 points, with nearly all of them coming on her 24 goals. Peggy Healy has enjoyed more even production with 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists. Defensively, Rachel Talanian ranks fourth in the league in groundballs with 42 and has also caused 19 turnovers, while Paige DiAntonio has nearly matched those numbers on 33 groundball pickups and 14 caused turnovers. Caroline Browne can't match the groundball totals of the other two (27), but leads the squad in draw controls (41) and caused turnovers (20).
Rensselaer (9-4 overall, 7-0 Liberty League) started the season ranked in the top 20, but has since dipped out of the rankings. The non-conference losses won't matter much if the Engineers aren't challenged in conference play, however, and RPI has done well to stay unbeaten in a difficult league. Meg Colitz is fifth in the Liberty League in both goals (35) and points (46) per game while Rachel Scofield has done her part to distribute with 19 assists, fourth in the conference in per game ratio, and she has also added 15 goals, 35 groundballs, 28 draws, and caused 14 turnovers. Erin Riley is a force in the midfield, earning 51 draws, the second-best figure in the conference, and added in 32 points on 22 goals and 10 assists. Michelle Denny (29), Jamie Wakefield (20), and Marissa Page (20) have also added plenty in the goal-scoring category for the Engineers. Wakefield has added in 40 draws, Page has 21 groundballs, and Denny is among the team leaders in assists with 13. Defensively, Lydia Wolter ranks ninth in the league in caused turnovers with 20 and she has also added 22 groundballs. Backboning the team's defense, Erin Amarello has a team-best 38 groundballs and posts a 9.29 goals against average and a 42.6 save percentage.
