Moon Township, Pa. -- Robert Morris University women's lacrosse begins a four-game road swing visiting La Salle for a 3:00pm contest on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY (1-3, 0-0 NEC), LA SALLE UNIVERSITY (0-2. 0-0 A-10)
NOTE TIME CHANGE 3:00pm
LIVE STATS
LAST TIME OUT
The Colonials picked up their first win of the season with a 17-10 victory over St. Bonaventure. Brittany Byerly scored 6 goals and added an assist, tying 2nd most goals in a game all-time at RMU. Freshman Kerri Sayrafe had the best outing of her career, scoring a hat trick and adding two assists in a five-point outing. Emily Jamison notched her first hat trick of the season. Dana Davis scored two goals and dished 3 assists. Dominique Zigo added a goal and two assists.
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS
Senior Katelyn Fay leads the team with four goals and is tied for the team lead with four points along with junior Allee Ilgenfritz who has a pair of goals and assists. Senior Allie Burnett leads the Atlantic 10 in caused turnovers averaging 2.5 per contest. Burnett has three points as well with a goal and two assists vs. Delaware. Senior Abby O'Donnell ranks third in the conference in ground balls averaging 3.0 per contest. The senior also has one draw control and one caused turnover on the season. Burnett, senior Katie Fonte, and junior Courtney Woolford also have goals on the year. Sophomore Lucy Loughlin has played every minute in the cage for the Explorers with 12 saves through two contests.FIRST TIME OPPONENT
This is the first ever meeting between Robert Morris and La Salle but the Explorers do have experience against Northeast Conference opponents. La Salle has faced NEC opponents 22 times with a 16-6 record in those contests. La Salle also as three other games scheduled this season against NEC opponents, playing at Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State as well as at home against LIU Brooklyn.
OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
Brittany Byerly leads the team with nine goals and 12 points this season, shooting .500 percent through four games. Dana Davis has been a source of offense, scoring in three of the four games this season, putting up six goals and a team-high four assists on the year. Emily Jamison has added six goals and is shooting .600 percent through four games.
DEFENSIVE THREAT
The Colonials defense leads the Northeast Conference averaging 10.33 caused turnovers per game. Sara Arnold has played every minute in goal for the Colonials. She has 17 saves on the year with a .274 save percentage on the 82 shots she has faced.
ALL-TIME LEADER
Jessica Karwacki is the NCAA's all-time leader in draw controls, currently with 570 draw controls, recording a season-high 17 in the last outing vs. St. Bonaventure. Her career average is tops in the nation at 10.75 per game. This season, Karwacki is averaging 8.0 draw controls per game, first in the NEC and 4th in the nation.
NCAA Draw Controls Records
Game 24 Jessica Karwacki, Robert Morris vs. Howard, Feb. 28, 2015
Season 216 Jessica Karwacki, Robert Morris, 2014 (17 games)
Career 570 Jessica Karwacki, Robert Morris, 2013-16 (53 games, still active)
Draw Controls Per Game
Season 12.71 Jessica Karwacki, Robert Morris, 2014 (216 in 17 games)
NATIONAL RANKINGS
In addition to Karwacki, several Colonials are ranked in the top 50 nationally in a variety of career statistical categories. Brittany Byerly is ranked 26th in points per game (2.95), 29th in goals per game (2.19), 38th in career goals (94). Corey Karwacki is 41st in points per game (2.67), 45th in career assists (41). Emily Jamison is 46th in career goals with 89. Dana Davis is 47th in caused turnovers averaging 1.33 per game.
As a team this season, the Colonials rank 24th in the NCAA in caused turnovers and first in the NEC averaging 10.00 per game. Dana Davis is second in the NEC and 11th in the nation in ground balls per game, averaging 3.50 per game.
WINNING WAYS
The Class of 2015 seniors departed with 36 wins to their credit, the winningest class in program history. The Class of 2016 has been a part of 30 victories thus far, needing 6 wins this season to tie that record.
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
RMU is coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the 11-year history of the program, going 10-7 last season after an 11-6 mark in 2014. The Colonials have been at .500 or above for the past three seasons, starting with an 8-8 result in 2013.
Head Coach Katy Phillips returns six seniors to this year's squad including two-time All-NEC midfielder Jessica Karwacki. Karwacki, a senior midfielder, recorded 169 draw controls in 2015 to lead the nation for the second straight season.
Four of the top six scorers from 2015 will pace the Colonials offense this season. Corey Karwacki earned all-conference second team honors last season and is the Colonials leading returning scorer (37 goals, 22 assists). Karwacki's 59 points last season are the third-most ever scored by a Colonial. Now a sophomore, Dana Davis earned all-NEC rookie honors last season after scoring 22 goals and 11 assists. Davis also led RMU in caused turnovers with 22. Brittany Byerly (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland H.S) notched 53 points last season and ranks sixth all-time at RMU. Pittsburgh native and senior Emily Jamison (North Hills H.S.) posted 31 goals in her junior campaign.
Robert Morris loses 32.6 percent of its goal-scoring, 39.6 percent of its assists and 34.8 percent of total points from last season's roster, mostly in the form of graduates Kristin Yoviene and Emma Baukhages.
In 2015, RMU's offense scored an average of 13.79 goals per game on 28.6 shots per game. The Colonials were ranked 1st in goals, assists, points, shots and draw controls in NEC play in the 2015 season. Three Colonials players finished in the top 10 in the conference in goals and points, four of the top ten in assists.
Freshman Sarah Arnold will backstop Robert Morris this season. Returning on defense are juniors Megan Wolfgang, Megan Gold, Megan Yarberry and Amanda Harrington.
Robert Morris was picked to finish fourth in the Northeastern Conference preseason coaches' poll.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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