Youngstown State University
Lindenwood
Lacrosse Faces Lindenwood in Non-Conference Tilt on Wednesday
3/18/2024 1:14:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
The Youngstown State lacrosse program will return to the road as they face non-conference opponent, Lindenwood, at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo. on Wednesday. First draw against the Lions is set for 1 p.m. Eastern.
Gameday Info
YSU at Lindenwood
Scouting Lindenwood
This will be the first meeting in program history for the Penguins and Lions. Lindenwood is 8-1 on the season, having only lost to UC Davis by a narrow margin of 13-12. Lindenwood's game versus Youngstown State will be their fifth-straight contest against Mid-American Conference members. Lindenwood defeated Kent State (18-11), Akron (14-7), Detroit Mercy (22-12), and Central Michigan (16-12). Throughout the season the Lions have also defeated San Diego State, Radford, Louisville, and University of California.
Leading Lindenwood's offensive effort is Logann Eldresge who has scored 34 goals and made 12 assists for 46 points on the year. Alissa Digiacinto has also crossed the 20-goal mark early in the season with 21 goals and five assists for 26 points on the year. Sara Grieco leads the team in assists with 20 and led the team in goals in their most recent contest against Central Michigan with four.
Ryleigh Cavanaugh has collected the majority of draw controls for the Lions, netting 86 so far in the season for an average of 9.56 draw controls a game. Mandy Beck leads in ground balls with 17 and caused turnovers, forcing seven.
At goal, Hailey Sims has made 55 saves while allowing 61 goals in just over 400 minutes of play. She owns a 6-1 record and has averaged a .474 save percentage.
Lindenwood is under the direction of Jack Cribbin who is in his 19th season with the team. Cribbin led the team to an 8-10 overall record in 2023 with a 3-4 record in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Cribbin led the team to a Division II National Championship in 2021 before the program moved to Division I.
By The Numbers
- Freshman Lena Cox leads the Penguins in goals (19) and points (23) and recorded a career day in the Penguins' most recent contest with Kent State. Cox scored five goals, all in the second half, and made an assist for six points. Three of her goals occurred in the final five minutes of the game in a comeback that fell just short. Cox ranks fifth in the MAC in goals per game (2.38) and sixth in points per game (2.88).
- Youngstown State leads the MAC by a large margin in shots percentage with 83 of 185 shots finding the back of the net (.449).
- Freshman Ava Kreutzer is second on the team in goals (12) and points (15) and has recorded a hat trick in three of the Penguins' last four games. Kreutzer has recorded an impressive shot percentage with 12 goals on just 18 shots (.667).
- Freshmen Grace Rund and Katie Grottenthaler each eclipsed the 10-goal mark against Kent State. They are tied for third on the team with 10 goals apiece.
- Ally Garrett ranks fifth on the team in goals with nine while Genna Cooke has scored seven goals. Other Penguins to find the back of the net are Emma Hoffman (4), Jade Shearer (3), Molly Sheridan (2), Callie Vaudry (1), and Aryn Lohrey (1).
- Shearer and Cox are tied for the lead in assists with four apiece while Kreutzer and Madison Maciag have each delivered three.
- Kayla Stecker has led the Penguins defensively this season. Kayla has grabbed 23 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers to tie for first in the Mid-American Conference in caused turnovers per game (1.75) and rank fourth in ground balls per game (2.88). Her six ground balls and five caused turnovers at Stetson were the second-best single-game marks in YSU history in both statistical categories.
- Genna Cooke leads a well-balanced draw control effort for YSU with 19 draw controls while Katie Grottenthaler has collected 16 and Mia Stahl 15.
- Paige Borkowski has recorded 88 saves in the Penguins' first eight games, allowing 139 goals for a .388 save percentage. Borkowski set the program's single-game saves record with 20 against Stetson.
Last Time Out
The Penguins moved to 0-8 on the season and 0-1 in conference play after their second half comeback attempt fell just short in a 16-15 loss to MAC preseason favorite, Kent State, at Farmers National Bank Field on Sunday.
YSU entered halftime down, 12-7, before they outscored Kent State 8-4 in the second half to own a 15-14 lead with a minute to play. The Golden Flashes scored two goals in the final minute to come away with the victory.
Cox scored career-highs of five goals and six points while two other freshman also recorded hat tricks, Katie Grottenthaler and Ava Kreutzer. Ally Garrett found the back of the net twice while Grace Rund and Aryn Lohrey each scored once, this marking Lohrey's first career goal.
Freshman goalie Paige Borkowski made 11 saves on the day while giving up 16 shots for a .407 save percentage. Mia Stahl and Tyler Smith led YSU with three draw controls a piece while Dany Emler grabbed two ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Harris at the Helm
Head coach Rob Harris took the reins of the Penguins in July of 2023 after nine impressive seasons as head coach of the Division II Davenport Panthers. In 2021, Harris delivered a historic season at Davenport, leading the team to its first NCAA top-25 ranking as well as a GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference) tournament finals appearance. During his tenure with the Panthers, he led the team to an impressive 70 percent win percentage (102-45), winning both an NWLL National and NAIA Invitational Championship in his career.
In August of 2023, Harris brought on experienced coach Taylor Woolard to his staff, who spent three seasons as the head women's lacrosse coach at Division II Converse University. Woolard serves as associate head coach of the Penguins. Further detailing the experience of the Penguins' coaching staff is Halle Bielke who served as interim head coach of the Penguins during the 2023 season and remains with the Penguins as assistant coach in 2024.
Up Next
Youngstown State will jump back into MAC play on Sunday when they travel to Detroit, Mich. to face Detroit Mercy at Titan Field on Sunday. First draw is set for 1 p.m.
For news and updates throughout the 2024 women's lacrosse season, follow @YSUwlax on Twitter.
