WASHINGTON, Pa. – The three-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 an 11-9 win over Grove City in Saturday's regular season finale. W&J finished the regular season on a 10-game winning streak. The Presidents finished the conference slate with a perfect 9-0 record.
In Tuesday's quarterfinal round, Grove City (13-5) rolled to a 17-5 home triumph over No. 6 Westminster College (5-11). Chatham (10-7) broke an 8-8 tie on a goal with 4:04 to play and held on for a 9-8 victory over fifth-seeded Thiel College (9-7) in Pittsburgh. The victories send Grove City and Chatham into the PAC semifinals Thursday evening.
W&J (10-6) will host Chatham in Washington, Pa., in a semifinal match-up which will get underway at 7 pm. Grove City will make the trip to Meadville, Pa., to take on second-seeded Allegheny College (9-6) at 7 p.m.
The Red and Black used a big fourth quarter to pull away from the Cougars, 20-13, in the team's regular season meeting at Alexandre Stadium on April 10. Sophomore attack
Anna Kloehn (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) turned in a career-high six-goal effort in that victory.
W&J boasts an impressive balanced attack on both ends of the field. The Presidents have had six players who have recorded at least 20 goals this season.
The Presidents will once again be led by a strong senior class.
Aisa Uhler (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) scored a team-high and career-high 54 goals during her senior season. Uhler has scored three or more goals in 11 different games this spring. Her six goals last Tuesday versus Saint Vincent was a single-game career high.
Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School) leads the Presidents with 82 points this season. Her 46 assists broke her own single-season school record which she had established last season. Jenkins is also the program leader with 130 career assists. Additionally, Jenkins enters the tournament with 93 career goals.
Kaitlyn Brown (Charlotte Hall, Md./La Plata), the 2023 PAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, returns for her fourth and final PAC Championship Tournament. No one has more saves in program history than Brown, who enters the tournament with 541 saves after recently eclipsing the previous program high water mark by Julia McLellan '13.
Emily Heck (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) and
Paige Howe (Bowie, Md./St. Johns) round out the senior class. Heck and Howe are more than reliable pieces of the puzzle for the Presidents.
Heck has 26 goals and 25 goals this season. During her career, Heck has totaled 86 goals. Her 138 points rank as 12th most by a President.
Howe has 20 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers this season. Howe has started all 63 games during her career and has been a mainstay for the defensive unit.
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 claimed its third PAC title in a row last spring with a 14-10 triumph over Allegheny in the championship game.
The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. The field for this year's Division III Championship is scheduled to be announced Monday, May 6. First and second round games are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, May 11-13.
PLEASE NOTE: Ticket prices for Thursday are as follows - Adults - $5, Non-W&J Students - $2, and W&J Students w/ID - Free.
