SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The seventh-ranked Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team will open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action Saturday with a noon home game against Gannon University.
 
GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's game. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
 

Slippery Rock vs. Gannon
The Rock (7-0)	Gannon Golden Knights (3-4)
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach: Taryn Burkholder	Coach Jennifer Pawlowski
Program Records	Program Records
Mihalik-Thompson Stadium
PSAC Standings  |  PSAC Stats  |  PSAC Schedule

 
SPECTATOR INFO
There will be no parking charges for this game. Fans are reminded that there are NO PETS allowed in any SRU athletics facilities. Please do not bring dogs or any other pets to the game. You will be asked to remove your pet from the facility. Parking is available on a first-come basis in the lots immediately surrounding the 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.
 
GAME 7 DETAILS
• Opponent: Gannon University
• Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026  |  Noon
• Location: Mihalik-Thompson Stadium  |  Slippery Rock, Pa.
• All-Time Series: Slippery Rock leads 13-10
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +7
• Last Meeting: April 12, 2025 – SRU won 14-5 at SRU
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS  |  IWLCA  |  USA Lacrosse Magazine
Slippery Rock held steady at No. 7 in the IWLCA rankings and No. 3 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings this week for the third straight week. Gannon is unranked.
 
PSAC WEST TITLE DEFENSE BEGINS NOW
Saturday's game marks the opening of the PSAC West divisional round robin schedule for Slippery Rock. The Rock were picked atop the preseason coaches poll this spring after going a perfect 10-0 in the PSAC West last year to claim the first modern era division title for the program.
 
RECORDS
Slippery Rock is 7-0 and is coming off a pair of spring break wins in South Carolina over the last week. The Rock earned a 9-4 win on the road at Lander and defeated Newberry 11-6 Wednesday to close out the two-game southern swing. Gannon enters the game with a 3-4 overall record and is coming off an 11-10 overtime win against D'Youville Wednesday.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES  |  Game-by-Game Scores
Slippery Rock owns a 13-10 advantage in the all-time series that began in 2009, when SRU was in just its third season competing. Gannon won the first seven meetings from 2009-13, but Slippery Rock is 13-3 since 2014 and has won the last seven straight meetings in the series dating back to 2022. The Rock have limited Gannon to single-digit scoring totals in each of the last seven meetings.
 
LAST MEETING  |  Box Score
Slippery Rock scored the last six goals of the game to pull away for a 14-5 win over Gannon last April to complete a season sweep over the Golden Knights. The Rock finished with advantages of 49-12 in shots and 33-19 in ground balls. Gannon put up a 15-8 advantage in draw controls. Grace Rotter led SRU with a game-high six goals, while Abby Fink chipped in four goals and Isabella Buono scored three goals and handed out one assist. Lily Ventresca made four saves in goal to earn the win. Gannon got two goals each from Charlie Hunter and Caroline Stevens and goalie Haleigh Manning kept her team in the game with an impressive 20 saves.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Overall Record: 7-0
• PSAC Record: 0-0
• Home Record: 3-0
• Away Record: 4-0
• Streak: W7
• Last Five Games: 5-0
• Head Coach: Taryn Burkholder (5th season, Niagara '12)  |  Record: 60-21
 
100 WINS FOR BURKHOLDER
Slippery Rock head coach Taryn Burkholder picked up her 100th career win as a collegiate head coach Wednesday. She improved to 60-21 at SRU in her fifth season leading the program. Burkholder also went 40-38 combined in five seasons at the Division III level with Muskingum and SUNY Morrisville prior to taking over the SRU program in 2022. In just four and a half seasons, Burkholder has already climbed to No. 2 in SRU history in wins and her .741 winning percentage is comfortably the best in program history.
 
REGULAR SEASON WINNING STREAK
Slippery Rock has won 17 straight regular season games and is 22-1 in the regular season since the beginning of the 2025 season. The lone loss in that stretch is a 10-9 overtime loss at Lander on March 15, 2025. The only other two losses SRU has suffered since the opening of last season were in the PSAC title game last spring to No. 2 West Chester, which SRU avenged in the regional title game two weeks later, and in the national semifinals to No. 7 Adelphi. The Rock are 25-3 overall since the start of 2025.
 
WINNING AT HOME
Slippery Rock has won its last 15 straight home games and has not lost at home since March 23, 2024 against Seton Hill. The Rock are 17-1 at home since the beginning of the 2024 season.
 
WINS OVER THREE TOURNEY TEAMS
Slippery Rock opened the year with three straight games against defending conference champions and NCAA Tournament qualifiers from 2025. The Rock opened the year with an 18-9 win over GMAC champion Ashland, upset PSAC champion and No. 5 West Chester 13-12 on the road to snap the Golden Rams' 60-game regular season win streak and took down GLIAC champion Grand Valley State 10-6 in their first three games of the year.
 
SIX UNBEATENS LEFT
Slippery Rock enters the game Saturday as one of just six Division II teams that are still undefeated on the year. The Rock and East Stroudsburg (8-0) are the only two teams in the Atlantic Region that have yet to lose a game. The other undefeated teams across the nation include Flagler (11-0), Wilmington (7-0), Maryville (6-0) and Chestnut Hill (4-0).
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock outscored Newberry 5-1 over the final 17 minutes to pull away for a hard-fought 11-6 win on the road Wednesday in South Carolina. The Rock outshot the Wolves 42-14, but Newberry keeper Presley Green recorded 15 saves to keep her squad in the game for three quarters. Reagan Richeson led the attack with four goals and one assist. Shannon Von Kaenel pulled down a game-high eight draw controls and Paige Jenkins caused a game-high six turnovers. Lily Ventresca improved to 6-0 on the year with two saves, two caused turnovers and four ground balls.  
 
TOUGH TO SCORE ON
Slippery Rock has limited its last five opponents to six goals or fewer and has held opponents to single-digit scoring in six of seven games this year. The Rock are outscoring their opponents 102-44 through seven games, including 71-23 over the last five games. The only opponent to reach 10 goals this year was No. 5 West Chester back on Feb. 21.
 
NATIONAL OFFENSIVE RANKS
Slippery Rock has climbed the national rankings in terms of shots and shots on goal per game and now ranks fifth in the nation in total shots per game (34.29) and sixth in shots on goal per game (25.71). The Rock have run into a string of great goalkeeping and rank 18th in scoring offense at 14.57 goals per game, scoring on 57 percent of their shots on target. SRU also ranks 15th nationally in assists per game (7.71) and seventh in scoring margin at +8.29 goals per game.
 
DEFENSIVE RANKS
The Rock enter the game ranked third nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 6.29 goals per game. SRU ranks fourth nationally in caused turnovers per game (14.71) and 17th in ground balls per game (21.43). The Rock defense has limited opponents to just 65.9 percent on clear attempts (85-of-129).
 
TOP 10 IN THE DRAW CIRCLE
Slippery Rock enters this game ranked eighth in the nation in draw control percentage (62.8%) and 18th in the nation in draw controls per game (14.71). Shannon Von Kaenel and her 51 draw controls are the primary reason for that as she currently ranks eighth in the nation in draw controls per game at 7.29. She also takes nearly all the draws and has helped The Rock to post an 103-61 advantage over opponents through seven games. Paige Jenkins has 21 draw controls and Grace Rotter has 20 draw controls as that trio has 92 of the team's 103 draw wins.
 
SIX IN DOUBLE DIGITS
Slippery Rock has six players with at least 10 points through seven games, led by Reagan Richeson with team-highs of 27 goals and 31 points. Richeson has also been instrumental on the ride, causing nine turnovers in transition. Isabella Buono is second in scoring with 17 goals and five assists and Maddie Blazey is third with five goals and a team-high 16 assists. Grace Rotter, who sat out the game at Newberry, is fourth with 18 points on 10 goals and eight assists. Abby Fink has 12 goals and four assists and Caitlyn Kelly has nine goals and two assists. Rotter, Richeson and Fink are all coming off 50-goal seasons in 2025 when they became the first trio in program history to score 50+ goals in a season.
 
BALANCED SCORING
The Rock also have 10 more players with points on the year, including Cadyn Eismann (6g, 3a), Ava Dossier (6g, 2a), Ella Koslowski (2g, 2a), Claire Petty (1g, 3a), Lauren Petty (2g, 1a), Sydney Ulmer (1g, 2a), Shannon Von Kaenel (1g, 1a), Madi Leach (1g), Amara Langstaff (1g) and Erin Melcher (1g).
 
LET'S TALK DEFENSE
The Rock rank third nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 6.29 goals per game. All-American Paige Jenkins leads the defense with 22 caused turnovers and 17 ground balls. She ranks fourth in Division II in caused turnovers per game at 3.14  Freshman Violet Freebody has 13 caused turnovers and a team-high 18 ground balls, while fellow freshman Aleigha Dubroc has 12 caused turnovers and 12 ground balls. Attacker Reagan Richeson has nine caused turnovers and 13 ground balls and Gemma Sciarroni has six caused turnovers to round out the top defenders.
 
GOALIE PLAY
All-American goalie Lily Ventresca is 6-0 and has started all seven games in goal. She ranks third nationally in goals against average at 6.53. Ava Drath has played 80 minutes in relief and is 1-0. Ventresca owns a 6.53 goals against average and a .383 save percentage, while Drath is allowing 5.24 goals against average with a .417 save percentage. The pair have a combined 6.29 goals against average and .389 save percentage.
 
CENTURY MARKS THIS YEAR
Slippery Rock has already had three players hit different century milestones this year. Attacker Reagan Richeson tallied her 100th career goal and attacker Grace Rotter tallied her 100th career point at SRU (she also scored 33 points at Notre Dame before transferring to SRU). Draw specialist Shannon Von Kaenel surpassed 100 career draw controls. The Rock are likely to see that number increase. Isabella Buono is currently eight points away from reaching 100 career points and Abby Fink is currently 11 points away from hitting 100 career points.
 
SRU PLAYERS IN TOP 20 IN CAREER RECORD BOOK
• Paige Jenkins – 157 draw controls (No. 6 at SRU – needs 13 to move up to No. 5)
• Paige Jenkins – 86 caused turnovers (No. 6 at SRU – needs 4 to move up to No. 5)
• Reagan Richeson – 116 goals (No. 7 at SRU – needs 7 to move up to No. 6)
• Shannon Von Kaenel – 135 draw controls (No. 9 at SRU – needs 11 to move up to No. 8)
• Reagan Richeson – 135 points (No. 11 at SRU – needs 6 to move up to No. 10)
• Grace Rotter – 37 assists (No. 13 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 12)
• Maddie Blazey – 32 assists (No. 15 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 14)
• Isabella Buono – 26 assists (No. 21 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 20)
 
UPCOMING STAT MILESTONES FOR SRU
• Maddie Blazey: 15 points away from 75
• Isabella Buono: 9 goals away from 75
• Isabella Buono: 8 points away from 100
• Ava Dossier: 10 points away from 50
• Abby Fink: 11 points away from 100
• Abby Fink: 5 goals away from 75
• Abby Fink: 9 GB away from 50
• Paige Jenkins: 18 DC away from 175
• Paige Jenkins: 14 CT away from 100
• Paige Jenkins: 17 GB away from 100
• Erin Melcher: 11 points away from 50
• Reagan Richeson: 15 points away from 150
• Reagan Richeson: 9 goals away from 125
• Reagan Richeson: 21 GB away from 75
• Grace Rotter: 0 points away from 100 at SRU*
• Lily Ventresca: 24 GB away from 75
• Shannon Von Kaenel: 15 DC away from 150
* Rotter scored 33 points on 21 goals and 12 assists at Notre Dame College before transferring to SRU after the 2024 season
 
GANNON UNIVERSITY PRIMER
• Overall Record: 3-4
• PSAC Record: 0-0
• Home Record: 1-0
• Away Record: 2-4
• Streak: W1
• Last Five Games: 2-3
• Head Coach: Jennifer Pawlowski (7th season, Edinboro '14)  |  Record: 27-66
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon is 3-4 on the year and is coming off an 11-10 overtime win at home against D'Youville Wednesday. The Golden Knights have played three of the same opponents at SRU in Wheeling, Ashland and D'Youvile. SRU is 3-0 in those games with a total score of 59-15 in favor of The Rock. Gannon is 2-1 in those three games with a total score of 34-33 with a slight edge to the opponents.
 
The Knights are being outscored 95-73 and outshot 223-158 through seven games. Opponents also have a slim 91-89 edge in total draw controls. The majority of the scoring runs through three players with Isabella Veltre leading the way with 24 goals and six assists for 30 points. Charlie Hunter has 21 goals and six assists for 27 points and Rayla Smith has 11 goals and four assists for 15 points. No other players have more than six points on the year. Hunter also leads the team in draw controls (32), ground balls (19) and caused turnovers (13).
 
Riley Finnegan has started six games in goal and is 2-4 with a 13.36 goals against average and a .417 save percentage. Allison Lerch has started one game and played 139 total minutes in goal. She owns a 13.85 goals against average and a .385 save percentage. Combined, the Gannon goalies are allowing 13.52 goals per game with a .406 save percentage.
 
NEXT UP
Slippery Rock will hit the road for two games next week with a visit to Edinboro Wednesday for a 4 p.m. game and a trip to Indiana (Pa.) Saturday for a noon game.
 
 



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