TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Two-time defending champion Washington & Jefferson College will be the top seed in this year's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament.
The Presidents earned the top spot and hosting rights throughout the tournament after posting a 13-3 overall record and a perfect 9-0 mark in PAC play this spring. W&J and No. 2 Allegheny College (13-4, 8-1 PAC) earned byes into the semifinals of the six-team tournament, which begins Tuesday, May 2.
W&J boasts an impressive balanced attack on both ends of the field. The Presidents have had six players record at least 20 goals this season.
Sarah Labovitz (Great Falls, Va./The Bullis School) has been a catalyst for the Presidents' success. The senior midfielder leads the team in draw controls (102), ground balls (69) and caused turnovers (34) while ranking second in goals (45) and points (66).
Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School) has registered 35 assists, which is two behind the single-season school record set by Caroline Kallos in 2016.
W&J has an experienced veteran group on the defensive end.
Ella Phillips (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) has recorded 50 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers to pace the efforts of the group.
Sam Casile (New Kensington, Pa./Plum),
Gabby Galla (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) and
Paige Howe (Bowie, Md./St. Johns) are all multi-year starters on the defensive end.
Kaitlyn Brown (Charlotte Hall, Md./La Plata) enters the tournament with a 13-3 record and a .471 save percentage and a 9.92 goals against average.
In Tuesday's opening round games, No. 3 Franciscan University (7-6, 6-3) will host No. 6 Saint Vincent College (11-6, 5-4 PAC) at 7 p.m. in Steubenville, Ohio. The other quarterfinal will pit #5 Grove City College (7-10, 5-4 PAC) traveling to fourth-seeded Chatham University (10-4, 6-3 PAC) for a 7 p.m. start in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The semifinal round will be on Thursday, May 4 and see the winner of Chatham/Grove City going to W&J for a 7 p.m. start in Washington, Pa. In the second semifinal, Allegheny will welcome the winner of the Franciscan/Saint Vincent fray to Meadville in a game schedule to start at 4 p.m.
Saturday's title game will be hosted by the highest-remaining seed following Thursday's semifinal games. Information regarding this year's championship game will be announced following the semifinal round.
W&J won its second consecutive PAC championship last spring with a 13-5 victory over Grove City College in the title game.
The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. The 46-team field for this year's Division III Championship is scheduled to be announced Monday, May 8. First and second round games are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, May 13-14.
| 2023 PAC Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament |
| Tuesday, May 2 |
|
| Quarterfinals |
| 7 p.m. |
[QF1] No. 6 Saint Vincent at No. 3 Franciscan |
Steubenville, Ohio |
| 7 p.m. |
[QF2] No. 5 Grove City at No. 4 Chatham |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Thursday, May 4 |
|
| Semifinals |
| 4 p.m. |
[SF1] QF1 Winner at No. 2 Allegheny |
Meadville, Pa. |
| 7 p.m. |
[SF2] QF2 Winner at No. 1 W&J |
Washington, Pa. |
| Saturday, May 6 |
| Championship game |
|
| TBD |
Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner |
Hosted by highest-remaining seed
|
