Rested after a 2-1 week in Florida, the Clarkson University Women's Lacrosse team will enter league play this weekend when they visit Union College on Friday and William Smith College on Saturday in hopes of reaching the Liberty League playoffs for the first time in program history.
The Golden Knights are 3-3 through six games this season and are coming off only the second shutout in program history when the team defeated St. Joseph 17-0. Perennial conference powers Union and William Smith are off to slow starts overall, but both teams have played difficult schedules to begin the 2014 season.
Clarkson has outscored its opponents 32-7 in the last two games thanks to a strong defensive effort and equally impressive offensive showing. Freshman Paige Fayette (Theresa, NY), a two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week this season, leads the way with 26 points, having scored 20 goals to go along with six assists. Her 48 shots (8.0 per game) are the most in the conference and she has also grabbed 18 groundballs. Sophomore Christine Wright (Watertown, NY) has played in just four games this season, but still has produced 20 points on 11 goals and nine assists, and she had a solid showing against this weekend's opponents in 2013, scoring three goals with two assists. Leading the defensive charge for the Knights is sophomore Hanna Gleason (Massena, NY), who is tied with Fayette for the team lead in groundballs with 18, while also causing a team-high eight turnovers. In the Clarkson goal are senior Kara DiNatale (Auburn, NH) and sophomore Dani Tani (Heuvelton, NY), with each seeing time in five games this year. DiNatale is allowing 8.09 goals per game with a save percentage of 45.5, while Tani is allowing 10.03 goals per contest and making saves at a 42.5% clip.
Both the offense and defense will need to continue to shine against Union and William Smith, a pair of teams that the Knights have never beaten. Clarkson is 0-18 all-time against Union, but came within two (16-14) of the Dutchwomen in 2013. Union is 2-2 this season, but the two losses came to teams ranked inside the top 15 in the country this year. Maggie Comiskey leads the team in points with 13 (9-4) so far, while Emily McGrail has a team-best 12 goals while also recording 14 draw controls. Last season, McGrail had a big game against the Knights, scoring seven times and assisting on one other to account for half of the team's offense. Like Union, William Smith has played a challenging schedule to start the campaign and is winless as a result (0-5), but three losses are to teams ranked in the top 14 in the country. Clarkson is 0-13 all-time against the Herons. Kate Sipple leads the team in points with 10 (7-3) and Hannah Connolly is close behind with nine points on five goals and four assists. In last year's meeting, Connolly was a key part of the offense, contributing four goals and an assist. The team leader in goals thus far for William Smith is Geneva Calder, who had eight scores and no assists.
