LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 16, 2012)-
The Rollins women's lacrosse team is on the verge of the
program's first game in the NCAA Tournament and will face a
tournament tested opponent in West Chester, Thursday morning on the
campus of Bellarmine University in the first semifinal game of the
2012 DII Women's Lacrosse Championship.
Rollins has put together a historic campaign in the program's fifth
season, winning an unprecedented 15 consecutive games and ending
the season with an overall record of 15-1. On the other side the
Golden Rams of Westchester are in a familiar place having earned
their 10th NCAA appearance in 12 years. C.W. Post in the other
semifinal also is making its 10th appearance in the tournament,
while the Golden Rams own the all-time mark with 13 victories, the
most of any program since the tournament's inception back in 2001.
West Chester owns a pair of National Championships with crowns in
2002 and 2008.
The Tars enter tomorrow's game as the No.1 seed after completing a
very successful season, which saw wins over NCAA Tournament tested
teams to prepare Rollins for the postseason. West Chester comes
into the matchup as the underdog as the Golden Rams earned the
third seed and had to knock off second-seeded Limestone to earn
their berth in the semifinals.
Both programs are enjoying success and have been dominant with the
Tars completing their fifth season as a program, while holding a
.702 winning percentage. The Golden Rams have been a model of
consistency with a .819 winning percentage in 15 seasons. Rollins
will look to earn a victory in the series against West Chester with
the Golden Rams having owned the series with two victories over the
Tars in 2010 and 2011.
The Tars will look to counter the staunch defense of West Chester
with a triple threat attack of Cat
Kelley, Erica
Pagliarulo and Sophie
Townsend as the trio account for 149 points, which is 45% of
the offensive output for the Tars. Kelley, the leader in points
with 54 and Pagliarulo who owns the team-high of 54 goals make them
a tough cover for the opposing defense.
Defensively the Tars use speed and sound tactics to neutralize the
most explosive of opposing attacks with Elyse
De Lisle between the pipes and help from Katie
Palasz and Courtney
Bianculli. The trio has established a stingy defense as they
only allow an average of 7.94 goals per game, while De Lisle holds
a .465 save percentage.
Fans check RollinsSports.com for all the latest news and
information on the Tars march to Louisville with live streaming and
live statistics available at RollinsSports.com via NCAA.com.
