The Canisius women's lacrosse team, the 2016 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament champions, will play at No. 8 Cornell on Friday, May 13, in the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship. Cornell, winning its first ever Ivy League Championship against Penn this afternoon 11-10, will serve as a host venue for the regional round, with all games being played at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y.
The Golden Griffins claimed their fifth MAAC title in the last six season seasons, defeating Monmouth University this afternoon in the MAAC Championship 17-5. Canisius (13-6), enters the tournament having won 11of its last 12, dating back to Mar. 25. The Griffs are led offensively by sophomore Erica Evans, who tallied five goals with two assists in the championship game, en route to being named the 2016 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship's Most Valuable Player. Evans ranked fourth nationally in the regular season for goals and currently leads the team in goals (69), points (89), draw controls (78) and caused turnovers (31).
Sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca VanLaeken, along with the Canisius team-defense, have recorded the best goals-against average in Canisius history so far this season. VanLaeken currently has the second best goals-against average in team history, while becoming the first ever Griff to hold seven teams to five goals or fewer.
Cornell enters the NCAA Tournament winning three out of its last four games, including Ivy League Tournament wins over Princeton and the afore mentioned Penn. The Big Red rank in the top 25 nationally in save percentage (23), scoring defense (12), scoring margin (23) and caused turnovers per game (23). Junior Catie Smith ranks 12th in the nation in caused turnovers per game, while junior goalkeeper Renee Poullott sports the ninth best goals-against average in the nation. The Big Red will have a familiar face on the sideline, assistant coach Rachael Burek served as the Golden Griffins assistant coach each of the past two seasons, before joining Cornell for the 2016 season.
Princeton and UMass round out the four-team field in the Griffs region. The Minutemen and Tigers will also faceoff this Friday. Both the Canisius-Cornell and UMass-Princeton game times will be announced tomorrow by the NCAA.
