May 2, 2010
Providence, R.I. – The tournament field and game times have been set for the 2010 BIG EAST women’s lacrosse championships to be held on May 6 and 8 at Rutgers’ Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J.
Notre Dame (11-5, 6-2) will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face No. 3 Syracuse (12-5, 6-2) in the second game of the semifinals, 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first semifinal at approximately 8:00 p.m. on Thurs., May 6. Despite finishing in a tie for second place with the Orange, the Irish receive the No. 2 seed due to their head-to-head win over Syracuse on April 11, a 6-5 victory at Arlotta Stadium.
The Georgetown Hoyas (11-5, 8-0) captured the BIG EAST regular-season title on May 1 with a 10-9 win at Syracuse. They will face the No. 4 seed, Loyola (11-6, 5-3) in the opening semifinal game at 5:30 p.m. on May 6. The championship game will be played on May 8 at 1:00 p.m. CBS College Sports will carry all three games live.
The Hoyas won the BIG EAST regular-season title for the ninth time in school history following the win over Syracuse. Georgetown finished the regular season unbeaten in BIG EAST play for the seventh time in 10 seasons, but will look for its first BIG EAST tournament title.
Loyola will be the No. 4 seed in the tournament as the Greyhounds make their debut in the BIG EAST Championship. Loyola wrapped up BIG EAST play April 28, but had to wait for Friday’s result between Rutgers and Louisville to be assured of a spot in the tournament.
For Notre Dame, Syracuse and Georgetown this marks the fourth consecutive year that all three schools have advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament.
The regular-season meetings between Thursday’s semifinalists were both decided by one goal. Notre Dame defeated Syracuse 6-5 April 11 and Georgetown defeated Loyola 13-12 in double-overtime April 28.
Georgetown enters the BIG EAST Championship on an eight-game winning streak, with the Hoyas’ last loss coming March 28 to Princeton in triple-overtime. The Hoyas are led by attack Molly Ford, who has 41 goals and 25 assists for 66 points, while attack Ashby Kaestner brings 43 points (33g, 10a) into the postseason. Goalie Caitlin Formby has started all 16 games and has an 11.18 goals-against average and a .434 save percentage.
Notre Dame has won six of its last seven entering the postseason, with the lone setback in that run coming in overtime to Rutgers last weekend. The Irish have been paced by attack Gina Scioscia, who has 34 goals and 20 assists for 54 points, and midfielder Shaylyn Blaney, who has a team-high 36 goals with three assists. Irish goalie Ellie Hilling has started all 16 games and has a 9.11 GAA and a .425 save percentage.
Syracuse saw a five-game winning streak snapped with Saturday’s loss to Georgetown. The Orange are paced by attack Christina Dove, who leads the team with 82 points on 58 goals and 24 assists. Goalie Liz Hogan also sits atop the BIG EAST charts in goals-against average (8.44) and save percentage (.531).
Loyola will turn to the BIG EAST’s scoring leader, attack Grace Gavin, to pace the Greyhounds in their first BIG EAST Championship. Gavin (62g, 20a, 82p) and midfielder Emily Gibson (32g, 14a, 46p) have combined for 94 goals, making them the fifth-most potent scoring tandem in the nation. Goalie Kerry Stoothoff is third in the BIG EAST with a 9.37 GAA and a .493 save percentage.
2010 BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse ChampionshipYurcak Field - Piscataway, N.J.
Semifinals - Thursday, May 6No. 1 Georgetown (11-5) vs. No. 4 Loyola (11-6), 5:30 p.m.No. 2 Notre Dame (11-5) vs. No. 3 Syracuse (12-5), 45 minutes after completion of first game
Final - Saturday, May 8Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
All games televised live on CBS College Sports