Lacrosse Hits The Road To Face Holy Cross On Wednesday
4/6/2015 11:32:00 AM | Lacrosse
NEW YORK – The Columbia women's lacrosse team will begin its first of back-to-back road games on Wednesday, April 8, with a 4 p.m. contest at Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Lions (4-6) have won their last three non-conference matchups, including two straight on the road.
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LAST TIME OUT: Columbia hosted its final Ivy League opponent of the season at Robert K. Kraft Field on Wednesday, April 1 with a tall order in No.11 Penn. After a defensive clinic from both teams in the first half, the Quakers outscored the Lions 9-1 in the second half to take a 10-1 victory.
Goalkeeper Kelsey Gedin anchored the Columbia defense that held Penn to its lowest first-half tally of season, with six spectacular saves. The first-year held the Ivy League's top scoring team to 1-4 in free-position shot attempts and went on to record eight saves on the day.
SAVING THE DAY: Gedin's play in goal has continued to spark solid performances from the Columbia defense, highlighted by an average of just 6.25 goals per game during the Lions four-game win streak, the team's first since 2009. The Kinsale, Virginia, native leads the Ivy League in saves per game stopping an average of 9.60 shots per contest, for a season total of 96 saves.
HAT TRICKS: The offense is firing on all cylinders for the Lions and a number of standout players have recorded hat tricks this season. Taylor Quinn now has four hat tricks on the season after a strong outing against Wagner on Friday, March 27. The sophomore tallied a five-goal game at LIU Brooklyn and has put in four goals twice this year, including a first half hot-streak against Cornell on Saturday, March 14 and her first hat trick in the season opener against Drexel on Sunday, Feb. 22. Quinn is Columbia's top scorer with 26 points on 21 goals and five assists.
Caroline Joy notched her second hat trick of the season against Mount St. Mary's on Sunday, March 29 and has emerged as one of the Lions most consistent offensive threats. Against Cornell, Joy had three scores with two quick goals in the opening five minutes of the game and another in the second half to earn her first career hat trick.
Jessie Ambrose added her first hat trick of the year in the Lions win at LIU Brooklyn. Ambrose fired in four scores for her 10th overall goal of the season and has a season total 14 points on 11 goals and three assists.
Katie Angulo had a big day in the Lions' home opener against Marist on Wednesday, Feb. 25. In the first half, Angulo fired in three goals through 10 minutes of play to highlight a game-high four goals.
THE QUINN OF DRAW CONTROLS: Quinn has followed her program-record breaking inaugural season of 53 draw controls with another standout performance in the category this year. Through ten games, Quinn has tallied 32 draw controls for a current career total of 84. Her total stands seventh on the all-time Columbia list, surpassing former teammate, Paige Cuscovtich '14CC, with a career total of 80.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Columbia will face Holy Cross for the first-time since their inaugural meeting in 1997. The Crusaders took the first meeting 7-4 in New York City.
| COLUMBIA | Team Matchup | HOLY CROSS |
| 4-6 | Record | 3-10 |
| 3-3 | Non-Conference | 1-6 |
| 8.90 | Goals Per Game | 8.46 |
| .414 | Shot % | .423 |
| 25 | Assists | 42 |
| Taylor Quinn (26 pts.) | Leading Scorer | Laura Ryan (38 pts.) |
| Kelsey Gedin (.482, 96 saves) | Goalkeeper | Katie Boyle (.364, 72 saves) |
ABOUT HOLY CROSS: The Crusaders (3-10) will take on its second Ivy League opponent of the year in Columbia on Wednesday. Holy Cross earned its first win of the season with a 12-11 triple-overtime win at Brown on March 10. In their last outing, the Crusaders ended four-game skid on Saturday, April 4 with a 12-10 overtime victory over Bucknell. The offense boasts two 30-point scorers, led by Laura Ryan with 29 goals and nine assists for 38 points.
UP NEXT: The Lions will return to Ivy League competition with a trek to Brown on Saturday, April 11 at 1 p.m.
