SALEM, Va. - Coming off their defensive showcase in the 8-4 regional final win over Washington and Lee University last Sunday at Clark Field the Gettysburg women's lacrosse team continues their quest for their fourth national championship on Saturday afternoon when they battle the Panthers of Middlebury University in the first national semifinal at Kerr Stadium on the campus of Roanoke College. The opening draw is slated for high noon, with the second semifinal between Tufts University and the College of New Jersey set for 3 p.m.

Game Information
Opponent - Middlebury University Panthers
Date - Saturday, May 28th
Time - 12:00 p.m.
Location - Salem, Va. | Kerr Stadium
Media Links - Live Stats | Live Video

On The Battlefield (19-3, 9-0 Centennial)
Postseason Accolades
The Bullets have had numerous players recieve postseason honors starting with six members being named to the All-Centennial Conference Teams. Two individuals received special recognition as sophomore Jordan Basso was named the Attacker of the Year, while head coach Carol Cantele was chosen as the Coach of the Year. Katie Fullowan, Nora Janzer, Jenna King, Lily Macatee, and Caroline Sullivan joined them as All-Conference selections. Basso, Fullowan, Janzer, Macatee, and Sullivan also garnered All-American honors.   

Last Call for Cantele
Head coach Carol Cantele is looking to end her fantastic 34-year coaching career with her fourth national championship after securing her 13th Centennial Conference championship earlier this month with an 8-5 victory over rival Franklin & Marshall College.

Brutal Schedule 
The Orange and Blue have not had an easy go of it this season as they have already played 11 nationally-ranked opponents and get ready for their 12th on Saturday in the second-ranked Panthers. In those games the Bullets have gone 8-3 with wins over Denison, Franklin & Marshall (2x), Haverford, Messiah, Washington and Lee (2x), and York (Pa.).

Good Times in Salem
Gettysburg is no stranger to Kerr Stadium as the Orange and Blue have fond memories of their last two trips to Salem where they won the 2017 National Championship with a hard-fought 6-5 win over the College of New Jersey in a defensive battle, before taking a "rinse and repeat" approach in 2018 with an 11-9 National Title win against Middlebury. 

Basso is Dominant
The Conference Attacker of the Year and All-American became just the sixth player in Gettysburg history to rack up 100 points in a season notching 65 goals and 36 helpers, while adding 26 groundballs and causing 16 turnovers.

The Rest of the Attack
Offensively, five other Bullets have over 20 goals with Gabi Connor (37), Emily Crane (24), Maddi Seibel (26), Fullowan (59), and Sullivan (33) all adding to the strong attack unit. Jenna King and Sophie Smith land just outside of the 20-goal mark with 19 and 17 respectively.

Controllers of the Draw
At the circle Fullowan paces the side with 80 wins, while Regan Rightmire (56), Crane (40), Janzer (38), Macatee (33), Sullivan (25), and Essie Pasternak (20) have each contributed in a big way. 

The Defense is Strong as Well
The Bullets defense has been tough to break down all season as they have allowed less than ten goals to the opposition 17 times posting a flawless 17-0 mark in those contests. A big reason for that is the nine players that have forced ten or more turnovers led by 25 each from Janzer and Sullivan followed by Kaitlyn Bergen (15), Nora Belodeau (16), Annie Nikolic (13), Pasternak (12), Basso (16), Fullowan (10), and Macatee (15).

Keepers of the Cage
The postseason has belonged to Gill Cortese cage as she has gone 5-0 allowing 31 goals, while making 27 saves. For the season she posted an 11-1 mark with a 7.78 goals against average and a .460 save percentage turning away 75 shots. Shannon Twill has also seen substantial time between the pipes going 8-2 posting a .389 save percentage and 9.51 GAA.  

The Opposition 
Scouting Middlebury (20-1, 10-0 New England Small College)
The Panthers enter their semifinal showdown with the Orange and Blue holding a record of 20-1 with a unblemished 10-0 mark in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Their only setback so far this season coming in the NESCAC Tournament final to fellow national semifinalist Tufts University by a score of 9-8 on their home turf after earning the number one seed. That defeat snapped an impressive 42-game winning streak. So far in their three NCAA Tournament games the Panthers have not really been tested as they have outscored the combination of the SUNY Geneseo, University of Chicago, and Colby College by a combined 56-12. 

Four players were named All-Americans by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association earlier this week with Erica Barr, Jane Earley, and Erin Nicholas being named to the First Team, while Hope Shue picked up Third Team honors. 

Earley the NESCAC Player of the Year leads a well-rounded Panthers attack that averaged a conference-best 15.9 goals per game after setting a school single-season record with 72 goals. She is joined on the attack by Kelcey Dion, Grace Getman, Lily Riseberg, Susan Rowley, Nicholas, and Shue who each tallied over 20 goals on the season. Riseberg will look to setup the offense after handing out a team-high 45 assists. At the other end of the field Middlebury will showcase one of the best defenses in the nation as the Blue and White allow just 5.90 goals to their opponents. Barr is the individual that heads up that unit posting team-highs in draw controls (68), groundballs (41), and caused turnovers (34). The trio of Madison Paylor, Kylie Wilson, and Nicholas will be ones to watch as well as they all have forced more than 20 turnovers. Annie Enrietto is top cat between the pipes going 14-0 on the season with a .544 save percentage and a 6.18 GAA. During the regional she gave up just three goals in 105-minutes making 16 stops.       

Head Coach Kate Livesay is 103-11 since taking at Middlebury in 2016 after spending eight seasons at Trinity (Conn.). 

Scouting The College of New Jersey (18-2, 6-0 New Jersey Athletic)
The Lions head to Salem with an overall record of 18-2, including a perfect 6-0 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Their last loss came on April 23rd when they dropped a 15-12 decision to then No. 3 Salisbury in Ewing, New Jersey. TCNJ won the NJAC Tournament after securing the number one seed and knocking off Kean University 18-3 in the semifinals, before coming back four days later to topple Rowan University by the same score on their home turf for their 11th straight conference title. The Lions strong season led to them hosting last week's regional where they played their way to Championship Weekend with triumphs over St. Mary's (Md.) (20-12), SUNY Cortland (13-6), and Salisbury (14-11).  

Three players were selected to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association All-American teams with senior attacker Jennifer LaRocca picking up First Team honors, while juniors Wayden Ay and Ally Tobler secured Third Team selections.

LaRocca the NJAC Player of the Year leads the Lions offense after recording a school-record 134 points thanks to 59 goals and an outstanding 75 assists. Fellow All-American Tobler was the top goal-scorer for the Blue and Yellow with 84. Four other players had 20-plus goals on the campaign with Natalie Berry (24), Anna Devlin (44), Jillian Westerby (31), and Anna Wright (55) all putting up big numbers for the team. Ay has been the quarterback for a  TCNJ defense that ranks 10th in Division III in goals against allowing just 7.00 per game. She herself totaled 45 groundballs which was a team-high, while forcing 19 turnovers. Madison Wernik chipped in 21 caused turnovers to lead a team that had ten players cause ten or more miscues from their opponents. In the draw circle Devlin leads the squad with 124 victories, followed by Sabrina Phillips at 118 and Westerby (81). Julia Charest is the Lions top keeper with a 17-2 record making 110 saves (26 in the NCAA Regional) for a .468 save percentage and allowing 7.35 goals.     

Sharon Pfluger is at the head of the Lions den for the 36th season and holds a 559-69-1 record for a an outstanding .890 win percentage.

Scouting Tufts (18-3, 7-3 New England Small College)
The Jumbos arrive in familiar territory making their third straight trip to the Final Four posting an 18-3 mark with a 7-3 record in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Tufts in currently riding an 11-game winning streak having not lost a game since a 9-8 overtime setback to Amherst on April 10th. The Jumbos earned the NESCAC automatic spot into the NCAA Tournament after taking down Middlebury 9-8 in the NESCAC Final on the Panthers home field. Tufts was another regional site this past week knocking off St. Lawrence (20-5), Pomona-Pitzer (18-10), and Franklin & Marshall (14-9) to earn their way to the Final Four.  

The Jumbos had four players chosen as All-Americans by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association with a pair of seniors Anna Clarke and Molly Laliberty being selected for the First Team, while Margie Carden and Madison Lehan picked up Third Team slots. 

Tufts ranked second in the NESCAC in scoring offense averaging 14.9 goals per game. The Jumbos had five players net 20-plus goals led by Carden with 61, followed by Clarke (40), Caroline Walter (36), Caroline Conaghan (33), and Ella Lesperance (22). The team did not rely on one person to hand out assists as the team leader was Mae Briody with just 21. Defensively, Madison Lehan paced the team with 33 caused turnovers, while Clarke was responsible for winning back possession for the Jumbos after winning an impressive 107 draw controls. The quintet of Kathryn Fernandopulle, Ananda Kao, Mary Grace Reynolds, Clarke, and Laliberty combined for 118 groundballs and forced 69 turnovers with each of them causing ten or more. Between the pipes will be the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year Laliberty who led the league in saves with 173 and save percentage .544. She has started and recorded the decision in all 21 games for Tufts going 18-3. In the three regional games last week she made 24 stops allowing 21 goals.        

Courtney Farrell is in her ninth season on the Jumbos bench posting a record of 104-38 for a .732 win percentage. 

Up Next - National Championship Game?
A Bullets win on Saturday would earn the Orange and Blue a trip to the National Championship game on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in Salem.