Youngstown State University
Robert Morris
Women’s Lacrosse Faces Robert Morris in MAC Tournament Semifinals on Thursday
5/2/2023 11:34:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
| Game Information | |
|---|---|
| Thursday | May 4 @ 1 PM | |
| Joe Walton Stadium | Moon Township, Pa. | |
| MAC Tournament Information | |
| Live Coverage | |
|---|---|
| ESPN+ | |
| Live Stats | |
| Live Tweets | @YSUwlax | |
The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team will compete against Robert Morris in the Mid-American Conference Semifinals on Thursday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, Pa.
First draw is set for 1 p.m., and fans can watch the contest on ESPN+.
Scouting Robert Morris
Robert Morris concluded the regular season with a 9-8 overall record and a 7-1 record in conference play, earning a share of the MAC regular season title. The Colonials were slated as the No. 1 seed in the MAC tournament and named hosts for the action. On Saturday, Robert Morris completed a comeback win over Central Michigan in a 12-11 overtime victory to earn the top seed. The Colonials' only loss of conference play was a 13-10 defeat against Kent State on April 5.
Youngstown State and Robert Morris have faced twice this season with RMU coming away victorious in both matchups. On April 1, the Colonials defeated the Penguins 12-10, and on April 12 RMU earned the victory 12-6.
Leading RMU's scoring efforts are Chelsea Coleman and Colleen Tifft. Coleman has scored 36 goals and made six assists for 42 points on the season. Tifft leads the team with 46 points on the year, scoring 35 goals and making 11 assists. Coleman also leads RMU in caused turnovers, forcing 19 on the year. Jordan Anderson leads the team at the draw, recording 81 draw controls on the season.
Goalkeeper Jamie Keller has made 124 saves on the year while allowing 167 goals for a .426 save percentage.
Robert Morris is under the direction of head coach Katrina Silva, who is in her sixth season as head coach and 12th with the team. She led the Colonials to a MAC Championship in 2021 after a perfect record in league play. In 2022, Robert Morris finished the season with a 9-9 overall record and an 8-2 conference mark to earn a share of the regular season league title. They earned a spot in their second-consecutive MAC Championship game in which Central Michigan was victorious.
Penguins vs. Colonials Series History
In the series history between Youngstown State and Robert Morris, the Colonials own a 6-1 advantage and swept the 2023 regular season competition against the Penguins.
Last season, the teams split their regular season matchups. YSU defeated Robert Morris 19-17 on April 30 to earn a share of the 2022 MAC regular season title after the Colonials earned a victory earlier in the season. The teams also faced off in the MAC tournament last season in which Robert Morris earned a 22-14 win over the Penguins.
By the Numbers
- Ali Korin leads the Penguins with 40 goals scored on the season. Korin has also made 12 assists for 52 points on the year.
- Erin Clark leads YSU in points and assists with 56 and 23, respectively. Overall, she ranks third in goals scored with 33 and third in draw controls with 45.
- Natalie Calandra-Ryan has 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 28 while freshman Ally Garrett has scored 22 goals on the season to round out the top-five Penguin scorers.
- Abby Yesko (11), Jade Shearer (9), Tristen Chang (9), 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.
- Chang ranks second on the team in draw controls with 50 while Yesko has tallied 44 on the season.
- Defender Aryss Lindsey leads the Penguins in caused turnovers with 24 while midfielder Molly Sheridan has caused 18 to rank second on the team. Additionally, Lindsey ranks second in ground balls, grabbing 26.
- Goalkeeper Mikaela Staranko has started all 17 games for the Penguins. She has made 115 saves on 388 shots faced while giving up 180 goals for a .390 save percentage. Staranko also leads the Penguins in ground balls with 30. Redshirt-Freshman Jacqueline Cornell has seen action in 11 games this season making 54 saves while giving up 66 goals for a .450 save percentage.
Conference Comparisons
- Youngstown State ranks second in the MAC shots-on-goal per game (21.71) and assists per game (4.94). They also rank third in points per game (17.53), goals per game (12.59), and draw controls per game (14.29).
- With 11 games played, sophomore Natalie Calandra-Ryan still ranks first in the conference in draw controls per game (6.00) and third in goals per game (3.18) and points per game (4.36).
- Erin Clark ranks second in assists per game (1.35), fifth in points per game (3.29), and tenth in draw controls per game (2.75). In addition, she leads the MAC in assists per conference game with a 1.75 average.
- Ali Korin ranks sixth in both goals per game (2.50) and points per game (3.25) overall. In conference play, she ranks third in goals per game (4.00) and points per game (5.00).
- Defender Aryss Lindsey ranks fourth in caused turnovers per game, averaging 1.41. With a 1.20 caused turnover average, Molly Sheridan ranks eighth in the conference.
- In conference play, Abby Yesko ranks fourth in draw controls per game (5.00) while Tristen Chang ranks sixth (4.13).
- Goalkeeper Mikaela Staranko ranks sixth in saves per game with a 6.76 average.
Last Time Out
The Penguins (6-11, 4-4 MAC) are coming off an 18-16 loss to Kent State, who earned a share of the MAC regular season title with a win in the contest. YSU led for the majority of the contest but went scoreless in the fourth quarter as Kent State made a successful comeback on Saturday at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio.
Ali Korin led the Penguins with five goals on the day to record her sixth hat trick in the Penguins' last eight games. Korin also led all players with four ground balls in the contest.
Jordan Miller scored four goals for the second game in a row to mark her fourth hat trick this season. Miller and Korin each added an assist to their impressive performances.
Erin Clark delivered a four-point performance with two goals and two assists. Ally Garrett also scored two goals in the contest while Tristen Chang, Abby Yesko, and Aryss Lindsey each scored a goal a-piece.
Lindsey's goal marked her first of the season after the defender caused a turnover and turned it into a scoring possession. She caused two turnovers and grabbed two ground balls on the day.
Yesko led all players with a career-high 10 draw controls while Chang added eight as the Penguins won the draw control margin 19-18.
Mikaela Staranko and Jacqueline Cornell split time in the cage with Cornell recording the majority of minutes with just over 32. Cornell made five saves while giving up 10 goals for a .500 save percentage.
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
The winner of the No. 1 Robert Morris vs No. 4 Youngstown State matchup will face the winner of the No. 2 Kent State vs. No. 3 Central Michigan contest on Saturday, May 6 in the MAC Tournament Championship. The MAC Championship will be held at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, Pa. with first draw set for 3 p.m.
For live updates and news during the 2023 MAC Tournament, follow @YSUwlax on Twitter.
