ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- The College of Saint Benedict lacrosse team (0-1) will return to action this weekend with a pair of road games against Wisconsin-LaCrosse (3-0) at 1 p.m., on Saturday, March 9 and Milwaukee School of Engineering (0-0) at 11 a.m., on Sunday March 10.
Saint Benedict, which has been selected to win the 2024 Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) championship, opened the season with a 20-3 setback at NCAA DII Northern Michigan (5-1) on Feb. 24 in Marquette, Mich. CSB, which plays five road games before the home opener on March 23 against UW/River Falls, scored three goals, including two by first-year
Lizzie Schrubbe and one by
Grace Fitzgibbons, who also had two draw controls, in the setback at Northern Michigan.
Sami Hackley had an assist and five ground balls in the opener.
About UW-LaCrosse
UW-LaCrosse, which is directed by first-year interim head coach Alexandra Robinson, has opened the season with three straight wins. They opened with a 23-8 win over Augsburg before defeating Lake Forest, 17-16, in overtime and then handling Edgewood, 11-4 on March 6. UW-L has a 51-to-28 goals edge against opponents and lead in ground balls, 66-48, but have been defeated 38-40 in draw controls. Ava Schiltz leads the team with 17 goals while Megan Feeney has 10 goals and an assist.
About MSOE
The Milwaukee School of Engineering, which meets CSB for the first time ever in their season opener, is directed by second year head coach Terra Ringo. In its inaugural season, MSOE has been voted to placed fifth in Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference.
Crandall Begins 2nd Season
Directed by head coach
Patrick Crandall, the Bennies recorded a 7-0 record in the MLC a year ago and finished 11-3 overall. As the new season begins for Saint Benedict on Feb. 24 against Northern Michigan in Marquette, Mich., CSB is projected to again capture the MLC title. Saint Benedict, which open the home season on March 23 against University of Wisconsin-River Falls, received four first-place votes and 24 total points in the preseason poll.
2023 Season Review
A year ago, CSB had a memorable year with not only a conference title but an appearance in the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) playoff championship. During its 11-3 season, the Bennies had a perfect 7-0 conference mark and finished 1-1 in the league's playoffs. CSB recorded a 13-3 victory over Cornell College in the opening round on May 3 at the CSB Athletic Field. In the tournament championship, the Bennies dropped a 16-6 decision to Lake Forest, a team CSB had defeated in its home opener on April 12, 16-14.
As a result of the program's success, CSB Head Coach
Patrick Crandall was named "MWLC Coach of the Year." Sophomore
Sami Hackley was the "MWLC Rookie of the Year" while a total of seven Bennie student-athletes received postseason recognition. Named to the All-MWLC first team sophomore
Chloe Lewis, sophomore midfielder
Grace Fitzgibbons, and Hackley. Second team honorees included sophomore midfielder
Emma Osland, sophomore attacker
Ella Steinke
Leading The Way
Named CSB's first-ever MWLC Offensive Player of the Week, S. Hackley was first-team All-MWLC and "Rookie of the Year" after leading the team with 37 goals and with 10 assists has 47 points. Hackley, who had multi-goals in 11-of-13 games, recorded four goals in a game five times including a high of five in the tournament win over Cornell. She had a team high 66 draw controls and ranked second on the lead with 32 ground balls while registering a team-high four game-winning goals. In league play she led the MWLC in draw controls with 43 and her 24 goals were tied for second with her 33 points tied for first.
Up Next- After the trip to UW-La Crosse (Mar.9), and Milwaukee School of Engineering (Mar.10), CSB will travel to UW- Eau Claire (Mar.13). CSB will open up league play on Mar. 20 to take on Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. Saint Benedict host UW-River Falls on Saturday (March. 23) as they open up the home portion of the schedule at 1 p.m in the CSB Athletic Field.
