SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team will open a two-game swing in Erie this week with a 4 p.m. game Wednesday at Gannon University's McConnell Family Stadium.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
•  Live Stats: LINK
•  Live Video: LINK
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU Athletic Communication Office.
 • Search for "Rock Athletics Digital Network" in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices.
* This game will be produced by Gannon and simulcast on the Rock Athletics and PSAC Digital Networks
 
GAME 9 DETAILS
• Opponent: Gannon University
• Date: Wednesday, March 29, 2023  |  4 p.m.
• Location: McConnell Family Stadium  |  Erie, Pa.
• All-Time Series: Gannon leads 10-7
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +1
• Last Meeting: April 19, 2022 at SRU – SRU won 24-8
 
RECORDS
Slippery Rock enters the game with a 5-3 overall record and a 1-2 mark in PSAC West games. The Rock are coming off a heartbreaking 10-9 loss to division-leading IUP Saturday in which SRU scored the tying goal with 17 seconds left, but had it waived off after confusion surrounding the stick check after the goal was scored. Gannon enters the game with a 1-7 overall record and a 1-2 mark in PSAC West games. The Golden Knights are coming off a 14-12 loss at home Sunday to D'Youville University.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES  |  Game-by-Game Results
Gannon owns a 10-7 edge in the all-time series that dates back to 2009. The Golden Knights won the first seven games in the series between 2009-13, but Slippery Rock is 7-3 since the 2014 season with all three losses coming by three or fewer goals in that stretch. The Rock blew a 13-6 halftime lead on the road in the first meeting last spring and lost 16-15 at Gannon before extracting some revenge by way of a dominant 24-8 win in the second meeting last spring.
 
LAST MEETING - APRIL 19, 2022  |  Box Score
After blowing a 13-6 halftime lead in the first meeting between the two teams last spring, Slippery Rock jumped out to another 13-6 halftime lead at home in the second meeting. This time, SRU erased any chance at a comeback by outscoring Gannon 8-0 in the third period on the way to a 24-8 win last April at The Rock. SRU outshot Gannon 41-14 and put up advantages of 26-9 in draw controls and 15-10 in ground balls. Katie Dlugosz matched Gannon's scoring output herself to lead SRU with eight goals and one assist, while Jamie DiCarlo added two goals and seven assists to give SRU two players with nine points. Charleigh Rondeau set the SRU single-game record with 18 draw controls. Gillian O'Rourke made three saves in goal. Gannon got four goals from Caroline Stevens and two goals from Alli Jacobs. Cheyenne Jess made 10 saves in goal.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Overall Record: 5-3
• PSAC Record: 1-2
• Home Record: 4-1
• Away Record: 1-2
• Streak: Lost 1
• Last Five Games: 2-3
• Head Coach: Taryn Burkholder (2nd season, Niagara '12)  |  Record: 15-10
 
ROCK COMING OFF HEARTBREAKER
Slippery Rock is coming off a heartbreaking 10-9 loss Saturday against division-leading (4-0 in PSAC West) Indiana (Pa.). The Rock trailed 10-6 with just under six minutes to play, but dominated possession the final five minutes to rally back into the game. Trailing 10-9 with under a minute to play, Lauren Searles drew a penalty and scored the tying goal with 17.9 seconds to play, but after a lengthy discussion, officials waived off the goal after they determined Searles didn't leave her stick on the ground long enough to check her stick. Possession was awarded to IUP, which ran out the final 17 seconds to win and hand SRU its first home loss of the year.
 
RONDEAU OWNS ALL THE SRU DRAW CONTROL RECORDS
Charleigh Rondeau has pulled down 61 draw controls in seven games this spring and has already topped the all-time SRU career record with 286 draw controls and counting. She also owns the SRU single-season (144) and single-game (18) records for draw controls and her 6.98 draw controls per game over 41 games are also an SRU career record.
 
RONDEAU AMONG NATION'S BEST
Charleigh Rondeau ranks No. 3 among all players in Division II in draw controls per game with an average of 8.71 in 2023. Only Alicia Cannon of Anderson (9.67) and Kristie Fisher of Erskine (9.25) average more among the Division II ranks.
 
SEARLES SMASHES CAREER-HIGHS
Junior attacker Lauren Searles has stepped up this spring and leads The Rock in scoring with 25 points on 21 goals and four assists in eight games. She entered this spring with a previous career-high of just six points on five goals and one assist, which she recorded over eight games in 2022. Searles is scoring goals on exactly 50 percent of her shots this spring with 21 goals on 42 attempts. She is coming off an eight-goal week last week after scoring five goals in a win over Lock Haven and three in the loss to IUP.
 
O'ROURKE EARNS PSAC WEEKLY AWARD
Rock goalie Gillian O'Rourke was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week earlier today for her performance in a pair of games last week. O'Rourke made 12 saves and grabbed five ground balls in a 17-9 win over Lock Haven and then made 11 saves and grabbed five ground balls while limiting IUP to its lowest scoring output against a PSAC West opponent this spring. After being replaced as the starter earlier this season, O'Rourke has battled back with back-to-back strong performances and raised her season save percentage to .465.
 
ROOKIES AMONG KEY CONTRIBUTORS
Slippery Rock has two true freshmen ranked in the top five on the team in scoring through the first eight games of the season with Olivia Fox and Ida Modin both tied for third in points on the SRU roster with 10 goals and four assists for 14 points. The Rock have also gotten seven points from Leora Owings on three goals and four assists and six points from Erin Melcher with four goals and two assists. Owings ranks second on the roster with 11 caused turnovers and leads all field players with 18 ground balls.
 
MISSING ERYN LITTLE
Slippery Rock has played the last three games without midfielder Eryn Little, who has five goals and one assist on the year while also grabbing 10 draw controls, averaging more than one point and two draw controls per game. Little is expected to return to the lineup soon.  
 
SRU STATS BREAKDOWN
Through eight games, Slippery Rock is outshooting opponents 243-194 and outscoring the opposition 104-80. The Rock have posted advantages of 163-151 in ground balls and 121-94 in draw controls while also causing 97 turnovers and limiting opponents to 72.3 percent success on clear attempts.
 
Lauren Searles leads the team in scoring with a career-high 25 points on 21 goals and four assists while also leading the team with 37 shots on goal. Brooke Wisniewski ranks second in scoring with 18 goals and two assists. Olivia Fox and Ida Modin with 10 goals and four assists each rank third. Charleigh Rondeau has eight goals and four assists while leading the team with 61 draw controls. Rachel Mahoney (seven goals, three assists) and Camryn Whipple (6g, 4a) round out the players with double figure points.
 
Alexa Juska leads the defense with 12 caused turnovers, while Nicole Masi has 11 and Amelia Nitsche has 10. Hailey Ohlsen has started the last four games and is up to seven caused turnovers to round out the top defensive players for a unit that is playing without Sara Danowski, who suffered a season-ending injury after setting the single-game caused turnover record earlier this spring.
 
Gillian O'Rourke has started six games in goal and owns a 3-2 record with a 10.57 goals against average and a .465 save percentage. Izzie Sutton has started two games and is 2-1 with an 8.52 goals against average and a .441 save percentage. Combined, The Rock's two goalies own a 10.00 goals against average and a .459 save percentage.
 
GANNON PRIMER
• Overall Record: 1-7
• PSAC Record: 1-2
• Home Record: 1-2
• Away Record: 0-5
• Streak: Lost 2
• Last Five Games: 1-4
• Head Coach: Jennifer Pawlowski (4th season, Edinboro '14)  |  Record: 11-32
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon dropped its first five games of the year before picking up a 14-13 win over Lock Haven March 18, but has since dropped two more games to slip to 1-7 on the year. The Golden Knights are being outscored 128-71 and outshot 254-175. Opponents have managed a 174-129 advantage in ground balls and an 87-48 edge in caused turnovers. Gannon has been solid in the draw circle and owns a 119-107 edge in draw controls.
 
McKenna Woodworth and Caroline Stevens lead the team with 19 points each with Woodworth scoring a team-high 17 goals and Stevens scoring 13 goals to go along with six assists. Stevens also leads the team with 35 draw controls and 16 ground balls. Macy Hepditch ranks third in scoring with 10 goals and three assists and has 29 draw controls. Lauren Squires paces the defense with seven caused turnovers.
 
Gannon has used two goalies on the year. Haleigh Manning is 0-3 with a 15.44 goals against average and a .348 save percentage while playing 283 minutes. Riley Finnegan is 1-4 with a 16.82 goals against average and a .329 save percentage while playing 196 minutes.
 
NEXT UP
Slippery Rock will travel back to Erie Saturday for a 3 p.m. game at No. 25 Mercyhurst.
 
 

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