Elon, N.C. – Now on a two-game win streak, the Elon women's lacrosse team welcomes No. 17 Notre Dame to Rudd Field Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Notre Dame continues its two-game Triad swing after playing at No. 21 Duke Friday afternoon.
 
Elon enters the game at 2-2 on the season following back-to-back home victories, outscoring VCU and East Carolina 29-13. Notre Dame is just 2-3 on the season but all three losses have come against ranked foes. Most recently, the Fighting Irish lost 12-11 against Clemson and then 11-9 at Duke.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE
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• The broadcast is also available on FloCollege by CLICKING HERE
• Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
  • Twitter - @ElonWLax
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SCOUTING NOTRE DAME

• Notre Dame enters Sunday's contest ranked No. 17 in the country despite a record of just 2-3. The Fighting Irish have lost by three goals or less to three ranked teams – Northwestern, Clemson and Duke. Notre Dame rolled in wins over Central Michigan (20-7) and Eastern Michigan (17-7).
• Notre Dame is among the nation's best teams in causing turnovers at 12.2 per game and the Fighting Irish are generating offensive opportunities at a rate of 23.6 shots on goal per game.
• Individually, Notre Dame has three players with at least 10 goals this year, led by Madison Rassas with 15 and a team-best 18 points. Goalie Isabel Pithie has been the primary netminder and is allowing 9.20 goals against with a .464 save percentage.
• Senior defender Grace Weigand was named USA Lacrosse Magazine Women's Preseason All-America Honorable Mention.
• Head Coach Christine Halfpenny is in her 14^th season at Notre Dame with a record of 155-87. She has a career mark of 198-131 in 19 seasons as a head coach.
• First year assistant coach Ellie Masera is a 2024 graduate of Stony Brook and no stranger to facing Elon. She had three goals and five assists in last year's CAA Tournament semifinal game between the two programs. She had 13 goals and six assists in three career games against the Phoenix.

 
SERIES HISTORY VS. NOTRE DAME

• Notre Dame is 2-0 all-time against Elon as the two programs played back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
• Notre Dame posted a 16-7 win in 2017 on Rudd Field and an 11-9 victory in 2018 in South Bend.
• In the 2018 contest, Elon led 7-3 at the half but Notre Dame, ranked No. 18 at the time, outscored the Phoenix 8-2 in the second half for the come-from-behind victory.
• Notre Dame is a member of the ACC and this will be Elon's third game this year against an ACC school. The Phoenix lost to Duke 16-7 and to Virginia Tech 16-4.

 
THE TURNOVER BATTLE

• Turnovers could play a critical role in Sunday's contest as both Notre Dame and Elon force a lot of turnovers
• Notre Dame is averaging 12.2 caused turnovers per game, ninth in the country. Elon ranks No. 22 nationally with 10.5 caused turnovers per game.
• On the flip side, Elon is only committing 13.0 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 26 nationally and Notre Dame is committing just 12.8 turnovers per contest.
• Notre Dame's Meghan O'Hare and Abigail Lyons each have nine caused turnovers through five games for the Fighting Irish, while Jessie Penner has eight caused turnovers for Elon in four games (No. 30 nationally at 2.00 per game). Reagan Kuehn and Brooke Scheuermann are just behind with six caused turnovers apiece.

 
LOOKING BACK TO LOOK AHEAD

• Elon went 9-8 in 2024 and posted a 5-3 record in the CAA, qualifying for the CAA Tournament semifinals. That record was a five-win improvement over 2023 both overall and in conference.
• The Phoenix returns seven of its eight leading scorers from a year ago, including Sammy Fisher, who paced Elon with 37 goals and 44 points. She was a preseason All-CAA pick.
• Sophomore Reagan Kuehn is the headliner on defense, earning All-CAA honorable mention status in the preseason. She had 36 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers a year ago.
• MJ Santa Barbara, one of the best in the country in the draw circle, is just a sophomore and earned preseason All-American status by USA Lacrosse. She broke Elon's single-game and single-season draw control record last year, as well as the CAA's single-season draw control mark. Her 8.88 draw controls per game were most in the country for a freshman and ranked No. 7 nationally.

 
PRESEASON AWARDS

• Sophomore MJ Santa Barbara was named honorable mention preseason All-America by USA Lacrosse as a draw control specialist. She is the first Elon player to earn preseason All-America status since Stephanie Asher was named honorable mention All-America by Inside Lacrosse in 2018.
• Senior Sammy Fisher was named to the preseason All-CAA Team as one of five attackers recognized. She led Elon with 37 goals and 44 points, adding 14 ground balls, 16 draw controls and five caused turnovers.
• Sophomore Reagan Kuehn was named honorable mention preseason All-CAA after leading Elon with 36 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers. She added a program record 11 caused turnovers in conference play and had at least one caused turnover in 11 straight games to open her collegiate career.

 
ABOUT THE COACHING STAFF

• Josh Hexter enters his 12^th season at the helm of the Elon lacrosse program in 2025 as the only head coach in the program's history. He is 79-92 in the first 12 years of the program and has a career head coaching mark of 151-134, which includes a 72-42 record in seven seasons at Bridgewater State.
• Assistant Coach Kelly Dowd is in her first season at Elon after two seasons as an assistant at Connecticut. She is a 2017 graduate of Queens University of Charlotte.
• Assistant Coach Katie Brodsky is also in her first season at Elon and most recently served as the lacrosse program head at Seattle Preparatory School. She is a 2023 graduate of Arizona State.

 
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS

• Elon returns three of its top seven goal scorers in program history, along with a wealth of elite statistical talent elsewhere. Listed below are the current student-athletes among the Phoenix's all-time top 10 career leaderboards:

 
Points – 3. Cierra Hopson 113, 5. Sammy Fisher 106, t9. Anna Hackett 71
Goals – 3. Sammy Fisher 89, 4. Cierra Hopson 87, 7. Anna Hackett 64
Assists – 5. Cierra Hopson 26, t9. Mia Zebley 16
Shots – 2. Sammy Fisher 215, 4. Cierra Hopson 194, 9. Anna Hackett 139
Free Position Goals – 4. Anna Hackett 22, t9. Cierra Hopson 11
Draw Controls – 3. MJ Santa Barbara 151, 4. Sammy Fisher 105
Saves – 2. Caitlin Walsh 264, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 73
Save Percentage – 4. Caitlin Walsh .386, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu .324
GAA – 5. Caitlin Walsh 13.30, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu 14.72
Goalie Minutes – 2. Caitlin Walsh 1894:33, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 619:44
Goalie Wins – 3. Caitlin Walsh 13, t4. Chloe Herghelegiu 4
 
AMONG THE TEAM NATIONAL LEADERS

• Elon ranks among the national top 25 in the following team statistical categories:

 
Caused Turnovers/Game – 22. 10.50
 
AMONG THE INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL LEADERS

• Elon ranks among the national top 25 in the following individual statistical categories:

 
Free Position Percentage – t17. Lila Ceribelli .750
 
AMONG THE CAA LEADERS

• Elon ranks among the CAA top five in the following team stats and among the top 10 in the following individual stats:

 
Team Rankings
Shot Percentage – 4. .412
Woman-Down Goals/Game – t2. 0.25
Woman-Up Goals/Game – 5. 1.00
Caused Turnovers/Game – t2. 10.50
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 2. 13.00
 
Individual Rankings
Goals Against Average – 9. Caitlin Walsh 11.85
Saves/Game – 6. Caitlin Walsh 6.25
Save Percentage – 10. Caitlin Walsh .368
Ground Balls/Game – t4. Caitlin Walsh 2.75
Draw Controls/Game – 5. Sammy Fisher 4.50
Caused Turnovers/Game – t5. Jessie Penner 2.00