Top-Seeded Women's Lax Heads To A-10 Championship Tournament Friday

University of Massachusetts Women's Lacrosse Game Notes & Information
Game 18 (A-10 Semifinals)	#4 Saint Joseph's (10-7)/#5 VCU (7-9) vs. #1 Massachusetts (14-3)
Date // Time // Tournament Info	Friday, April 26, 2019 // 1:00 PM (ET) // Tournament Central // Bracket
Location	Fairfax, Va. // George Mason Stadium
Tickets // Directions	Available at the gate // $10 adult, $5 children under 18, FREE A-10 students with ID // Directions
Live Statistics	Live Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Twitter	@UMassAthletics // @UMassLacrosse
Instagram	UMass Lacrosse
Facebook	UMass Lacrosse

University of Massachusetts Women's Lacrosse Preview

• After finishing the Atlantic 10 schedule unbeaten for the eighth time in the last nine years, the UMass women's lacrosse team gears up for the postseason starting with Friday's A-10 semifinals against the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal match-up between fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's and fifth-seeded VCU. With a 14-3 overall recorded and a 9-0 mark in league play, UMass earned the No. 1 seed after collecting its 11th Atlantic 10 regular season title.
• The potential semifinal match-up for UMass comes against teams that were close games during the regular season. The Minutewomen defeated Saint Joseph's 11-8 at Garber Field, the second lowest goals scored in a game this season for UMass. The Maroon & White defeated VCU 22-14 thanks to five-goal games from both Stephanie Croke and Kaitlyn Cerasi.
• UMass will be playing for its 11th overall league championship title which included a run of nine-straight from 2009-2017. The Minutewomen have reached the A-10 Championship title game 11 consecutive years. The first A-10 title won by the program came in 2000 with a 3-2 overtime victory against Temple.
• On the year, Kaitlyn Cerasi leads UMass with 72 points on 38 goals and 34 assists followed closely by Kiley Anderson's 65 points on a team-best 56 goals. The 2018 A-10 Midfielder of the Year, Stephanie Croke, leads that unit for the Minutewomen once again with 63 points (40 goals, 23 assists), 43 draw controls, 20 groundballs and 13 caused turnovers on the year. Sophomore Haley Connaughton rounds out the quartet of 60-plus point scorers with a career-best 62 points (31g, 31a). Anderson is also one of the top draw specialists in the country with a team-best 87 this season.
• Anderson's 208 career draw controls are second all-time in UMass history, while her 152 goals are the 6th most. Cerasi's is just on the verge of cracking the 200-point plateau which would make her the 8th player in program history to do so. She currently has 99 goals and 99 career assists are the 5th-most in program history. Goalie Lauren Hiller's 38 wins are the third most for a career, while her 381 saves rank sixth overall - her 17 saves in the win over Richmond marked the second-most for a single game in program history and were a new career high for the junior.
• Nationally, the Minutewomen rank 4th overall for scoring offense (17.29 goals/game), are 2nd in draw controls per game (18.53) and 2nd in points per game (25.47). Anderson ranks 11th in the NCAA for goals per game (3.73) and is 13th for total goals. Cerasi ranks 19th in total points and 22nd in total assists for the year. UMass has one of the top draw specialist duos in the country with Anderson ranking 25th overall (5.80/game) and Caitlyn Petro just behind at 28th nationally (5.62/game).
• One of the most winningest programs in NCAA women's lacrosse over the last nine years with 156 victories (including this year), UMass has reached the NCAA Tournament in nine of the previous 10 years with the Minutewomen reaching the second round in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2016, UMass reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1984.
• Since 2011, UMass is 77-5 at home between Garber Field and McGuirk Stadium as its home venues. Since moving back to Garber Field in 2016, the Minutewomen are 30-2 in the stadium with the two loses both coming from Boston College.
• In Atlantic 10 play, UMass is 71-1 since 2011. The 61 consecutive wins from the start of the 2011 league schedule until the loss to VCU in 2018 is an NCAA record.
• For complete coverage of the UMass women's lacrosse program, follow the Minutewomen on Twitter (@UMassLacrosse), Instagram (@UMassWLacrosse) and Facebook (@UMassWLacrosse) as well as online at www.UMassAthletics.com.

Scoreboard