ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick women's lacrosse team is looking for their first ever Empire 8 Tournament win on Tuesday, and they have good reason to believe they will get it. The fourth-seeded Hawks will host fifth seed Russell Sage College on the Wright Stadium turf in the Empire 8 First Round, just six days after 'Wick cruised by the Gators 22-7 in Albany. Hartwick, who will be playing in their first Empire 8 Tournament since 2004 and first postseason game since 2006, is 2-3 in conference play, while Sage is making their first Empire 8 postseason appearance since their move to the conference in 2017-18 and is 3-5 overall and 2-5 in the Empire 8. Opening draw between the two sides is set for 5 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, April 26th.
The Hawks kicked off their pandemic-altered season with a pair of losses, in their opener on the road at Nazareth on April 3rd and then in their first home game vs. Utica on April 7th. They broke into the win column on Saturday, April 10th with a 19-7 win at Keuka, before succumbing to #11 St. John Fisher a week later, 18-4. Entering their final regular season game, the Hawks were 1-3 and certainly in need of a win to have any hope of hosting a playoff game. Russell Sage also lost in their first Empire 8 game, a 20-2 blow at the sticks of Utica on March 24th. They grabbed a win their next time out, 15-4 over Alfred, before falling to 1-3 thanks to a pair of losses to the conference's Rochester contingent, St. John Fisher and Nazareth. A 21-6 at Houghton on Saturday, April 17th set up a battle between the Hawks and Gators the following Wednesday in a crucial matchup for playoff seeding.
That April 21st contest did not have much drama. The Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead by the time ten minutes had gone by, with two of those goals coming from the stick of GinaMarie Wilson (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) for the 99th and 100th points of her impressive Hartwick career. Wilson was not even close to done for the day, however, as she ultimately put up a career high nine points in 'Wick's 22-7 win (and claimed Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week honors as a result). Even with that scoreline, the Gators still had a chance to secure home-field advantage against the Hawks in the First Round, but they fell on Saturday to Keuka, 23-17.
Without a doubt, Hartwick's season MVP is the aforementioned Wilson. She is tied for the team lead in both goals (12) and assists (8), which combined give her the outright team high in points at 20. She also leads all Hawks with 20 draw controls, 14 ground balls, and six caused turnovers. Within the conference, she ranks ninth in goals per game (2.40), seventh in assists per game (1.60), eighth in points per game (4.00), fourth in ground balls per game (2.80), and sixth in draw controls per game (4.00). Other offensive leaders for the Hawks include Rachel Hedden (Burlington, CT/Central Conn. State), with 12 goals and 16 points (as well as 16 draw controls, ranking ninth in the conference with 3.20 per game), Amy Tracy (Smithtown, NY/Florida Southern College), with four goals and eight assists, and Emily Schaub (Brewster, NY/Brewster), who has 10 goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Jennifer Paszko (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury), with her 48 saves on 135 shots faced (.421 save percentage) and 13 ground balls (eighth in the Empire 8 at 2.60 per game), heads up a defensive effort that is also anchored by Michaela McKernan (Branchville, NJ/High Point Regional) and Kelsey Mahoney (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa).
Russell Sage's points leader on the year is Brittany Gage, who scored 11 goals and had a team-high 10 assists for 21 points (all statistics before and after in conference play). Gage is ninth in the conference with 1.43 assists per game, and she also has 10 draw controls, nine ground balls, and eight caused turnovers. Alexandra Queeney is next with a team-leading 13 goals and 18 points, as well as 21 draw controls to rank tenth in the conference at 3.00 per contest. Samantha Shafer has 16 points via 11 goals and five assists, also ranking eighth in the Empire 8 with 4.71 shots per game. The Gators have had three goalkeepers awarded substantial playing time this year, with Marina Azab and her .382 save percentage leading the way at 207 minutes. Carly Plaisance has played nearly 143 minutes to the tune of a .302 save percentage, and Madeline Butta rounds out the remaining nearly 70 minutes with a .286 save percentage. Brylee Pelfrey has earned her keep on defense this season, causing 16 turnovers to rank third in the conference at 2.29 per game as well as scooping up seven ground balls.
Live stats for Tuesday's game can be found here, and the live video stream can be found here. Attendance will be limited to current Hartwick students and employees allowed on campus.
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