This Week: Notre Dame College women's lacrosse plays one game this week, hosting Frostburg State University, on April 4. First draw is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Records: NDC is riding a two-game winning streak and has an overall record of 4-7, while going 2-0 against MEC opponents. Frostburg State has started the season 5-5, while winning its first conference game last week.
Coaches Corner: Elizabeth Mettler is in her first season leading NDC and Taylor Cline is now in her fourth season coaching at Frostburg.
Rankings: Neither of these teams are ranked in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II top 25 poll.
Series History: Notre Dame has a 4-5 record all-time against Frostburg State. These two teams first met in 2021, but have faced each other three times in each of the past three seasons. The Falcons and Bobcats meet twice in the regular season and they both have reached the MEC Championship Game every year since 2021. Notre Dame won the conference championship over the Bobcats in 2021 and 2022, while FSU took the trophy in 2023.
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame has dominated the start of conference play. They outscored two opponents, 45-12, last week. Last Wednesday, NDC led Davis & Elkins, 13-2 at halftime, and the Falcons won by a score of 19-6. On Saturday, against West Virginia Wesleyan, Notre Dame scored nine goals in the first quarter, a season-high for a quarter, and led 17-2 after one half. NDC beat the WVWC Bobcats, 26-6.
Among many top performers from the past week,
Gwen Bogash and
Joselyn Storm were named Mountain East Conference Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively. Bogash totaled 12 goals over the two games. The freshman from Mastic, N.Y. scored a career-high eight goals against Davis & Elkins, which was the second-most in a game in program history. She added four goals on Saturday, against W.Va. Wesleyan, to go along with an assist and two caused turnovers on the defensive side. Storm totaled six caused turnovers last week and four of them led to goals for NDC. She led the team in caused turnovers against D&E, tallying four, which tied a career-high and she added two more against Wesleyan. Storm also had five goals and two assists last week.
Bogash, who is now one of just four Falcons to start all 11 games, leads the team with 23 goals and 30 points. She is also third on the team with seven assists.
Grace Nickoloff did not play against D&E, but came back and had seven goals, had four assists and 11 points versus WVWC. She now has 19 goals and a team-leading nine assists.
Jovie Noack has scored in five consecutive games, which includes a total of nine goals over the last three contests, along with three assists. She now has 18 goals on the season.
Joselyn Storm has had an incredible campaign so far. She has 22 goals, six assists, and leads the team with eight free position goals, 16 caused turnovers and 56 draw controls.
Noting the Bobcats: Last week, Frostburg State opened conference play with a battle of the Bobcats. FSU led West Virginia Wesleyan, 11-0, at the end of the first quarter, and led 23-0 before Wesleyan scored for the first time with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. Neila Haney led FSU with four goals (and had two assists) and Camden DeMaio led the team with four assists (and had three goals). Fourteen players scored at least one goal for Frostburg, and as a team, the FSU Bobcats totaled 17 assists. On the defensive side, Frostburg caused 17 turnovers and only allowed three shots on goal.
The FSU Bobcats have two players, Neila Haney (23) and Kerri Hayes (21), who have scored over 20 goals. Maura O'Neill leads the team with 12 assists, while Haney has nine. The Frostburg State defense has been very good this season, allowing fewer than 10 goals in four games. They have already caused 139 turnovers, as Maura O'Neill (27) and Isabelle Kelly (22) both have over 20. Nicole Gray has started nine of the 10 games in goal and has made 79 saves. Neila Haney has won 39 draws.
