Youngstown State University
Kent State
Women’s Lacrosse Closes Out Regular Season at Kent State on Saturday
4/27/2023 10:35:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
| Game Information | |
|---|---|
| Saturday | April 29 @ 1 PM | |
| Dix Stadium | Kent, Ohio | |
| Live Coverage | |
|---|---|
| Watch | |
| Live Stats | |
| Live Tweets | @YSUwlax | |
The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team will close out the 2023 regular season as they face Kent State on Saturday at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio.
First draw is set for 1 p.m., and the contest will be streamed on boxcast.tv.
Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes are currently tied for the lead in the Mid-American Conference with a 6-1 conference record and a 9-7 overall record. They are coming off a narrow victory over Detroit Mercy, 16-15, on Wednesday while YSU defeated the Titans 20-8 on Saturday. Kent State has earned conference wins over Akron (6-5, 19-6), Robert Morris (13-10), Eastern Michigan (19-9), and Central Michigan (16-15). The Flashes' only conference loss of the season came against Robert Morris on April 15 by a margin of 13-12. The Penguins have also earned two wins over Akron (18-7, 18-5) and Eastern Michigan (17-15) but have fallen to Central Michigan (15-8) and Robert Morris twice (12-10, 12-6).
Leading Kent State's scoring effort is Jackie Wolford who has scored 60 goals on the season, adding 13 goals for 73 points. Kenzie Sklar ranks second on the team with 59 goals, 10 assists, and 69 points. Wolfar and Sklar rank one and two in the conference in goals per game. Zayda Crumpton leads the team in draw controls (65) and caused turnovers (16).
Goalkeeper Madison Flannigan has recorded a .502 save percentage, making 159 saves while allowing 158 goals on the season.
Kent State is under the direction of head coach Brianne Tierney who has been with the Golden Flashes since their inaugural season in 2019. So far in 2023, she has led Kent to their best season on record with only one conference loss. In 2022, the Flashes finished with a 6-12 overall record and were 3-7 in the MAC.
Penguins vs. Golden Flashes Series History
In the series history between Youngstown State and Kent State, the Penguins own a 3-1 advantage. The Golden Flashes won the first-ever contest between the teams on March 28, 2021 by a 19-10 margin; however, YSU has not lost to Kent State since, winning the last three matchups between the teams. YSU swept the 2022 series over the Golden Flashes with a 18-11 win on April 23 and a 21-20 victory on March 17.
By the Numbers
- Ali Korin leads active Penguins in goals scored with 35. Korin has also made 11 assists on the season for 46 points, which ranks third on the team overall.
- Erin Clark leads active Penguins in points and assists with 52 and 21, respectively. Overall, she ranks third in goals scored with 31 and second in draw controls with 44.
- Natalie Calandra-Ryan has also scored 35 goals in 11 games played and added 11 assists for 46 points. Calandra-Ryan still leads the team in draw controls with 66.
- Jordan Miller ranks fourth overall in goals with 24 while freshman Ally Garrett has scored 20 goals on the season to round out the top-five Penguin scorers.
- Abby Yesko (10), Jade Shearer (9), Tristen Chang (8), Taylor Bumstead (8), Molly Sheridan (2), Shannyn Cullen (2), and Dany Emler (2), have also found the back of the net multiple times in 2023.
- Defender Aryss Lindsey leads the Penguins in caused turnovers with 22 while midfielder Molly Sheridan has caused 17 to rank second on the team. Lindsey and Alexa Beyer are tied for second in ground balls, grabbing 24.
- Goalkeeper Mikaela Staranko has started all 16 games for the Penguins. She has made 114 saves on 370 shots faced while giving up 172 goals for a .399 save percentage. Staranko also leads the Penguins in ground balls with 28. Redshirt-Freshman Jacqueline Cornell has seen action in ten games this season making 49 saves while giving up 56 goals for a .467 save percentage.
Conference Comparisons
- Youngstown State ranks second in the MAC in shots-on-goal per game (21.38) and assists per game (4.94). They also rank third in points per game (17.31), goals per game (12.38), and draw controls per game (14.00).
- With 11 games played, sophomore Natalie Calandra-Ryan still ranks first in the conference in draw controls per game (6.00) and second in points per game (4.36). Calandra-Ryan sits third in goals per game, averaging 3.18.
- Erin Clark also ranks in the top 10 in several statistical categories as she sits second in assists per game (1.31), fifth in points per game (3.25), and tenth in draw controls per game (2.75).
- Ali Korin ranks sixth in both goals per game (2.33) and points per game (3.07).
- Defender Aryss Lindsey ranks fifth in caused turnovers per game, averaging 1.38. With a 1.21 caused turnover average, Molly Sheridan ranks eighth in the conference.
- Goalkeeper Mikaela Staranko ranks sixth in saves per game with a 7.13 average.
Last Time Out
The Penguins (6-10, 4-3 MAC) earned an impressive 20-8 victory over Detroit Mercy on Senior Day inside the Watson and Tressel Training Site Saturday afternoon. This win sealed a Mid-American Conference tournament berth for Youngstown State.
Ali Korin, who was celebrated prior to the start of the contest, scored the 100th goal of her career with an impressive four goals in the Senior Day game. Korin also added an assist for five points on the day.
Jordan Miller and Jade Shearer also scored four goals in the contest. Shearer's four-goal performance marked a career-high for the freshman and was her first career hat trick.
Erin Clark and Ally Garrett also delivered hat tricks with three goals apiece while Clark added two assists for five points. Taylor Bumstead also had a multi-goal outing, scoring two goals in the contest.
Tristen Chang led all players with six ground balls, also tallying four draw controls and a caused turnover. Aryss Lindsey and Molly Sheridan each caused two turnovers on the day while Abby Yeskoled the Guins with seven draw controls.
Splitting time in the cage, Jacqueline Cornell recorded five saves in the second half while Mikaela Staranko caused two turnovers in the first.
Offensive Awards
Two Penguins have been named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week in 2023: Erin Clark and Natalie Calandra-Ryan.
Calandra-Ryan earned the award on March 7 after impressive performances against Niagara and No. 3 Northwestern, scoring four goals, netting nine draw controls, and grabbing two ground balls across both games.
Clark earned this season's first Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week for her all-around impressive offensive performance against Butler in the Guins' season-opener, delivering a seven-point performance and scoring the game-winning goal.
Penguins Picked Fourth
YSU was selected fourth in the 2023 Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving 31 points.
1. Robert Morris (4) – 46 points
2. Central Michigan (3) – 43 points
3. Kent State – 32 points
4. Youngstown State – 31 points
5. Akron – 18 points
T6. Eastern Michigan – 13 points
T6. Detroit Mercy – 13 points
Up Next
Youngstown State will compete in the MAC tournament semifinals on Thursday, May 4. Opponent, location, and time are to be determined for the contest. The winner will move on to the MAC championship on Saturday, May 6.
For news and updates throughout the 2023 women's lacrosse season, follow @YSUwlax on Twitter.
