LAKEWOOD, NJ (Feb. 16, 2024) - Georgian Court Women's Lacrosse takes the field to begin their 2024 campaign this weekend in West Virginia.

Opponent (2023 record)
Shepherd Rams (5-12, 1-11 PSAC)

Where
Shepherdstown, WV - Ram Stadium

When
Saturday, February 18 - 2 p.m.

How to Watch
• Saturday's game is available to watch via a free-to-view broadcast on the Shepherd portal of the PSAC Digital Network powered by HUDL. Live stats are also available at gculions.com. 

Previously vs. Shepherd
• This will be the first ever meeting between these two teams. 

Last Time Out
• Georgian Court bowed out of the CACC Tournament in the quarterfinal round at No. 1 Dominican.
• Things were tight in the third with the score all even at 9 after Kasha Elzinga scored back-to-back goals 63 seconds apart.
• After that though, Dominican scored four straight, two in the third and two in the fourth and led the rest of the way to a 15-11 win.

2024 Preview
• Coming into 2024, Georgian Court was picked to finish third in the CACC Preseason Poll.
• The Lions are bringing back four of their top-five goal scorers from 2023. The lone exception is 100-point scorer Alyssa Wahl.
• Returning for GCU are veterans Riley O'Connor who scored 72 goals, along with Isabel Raimondi who totaled 50 goals and 84 points.
• Remi Reinhardt, who scored 39 times and led GCU with 101 draw controls also returns. As does Kasha Elzinga who scored 21 times and started all 19 games in the midfield.
• Defensively, GCU brings back All-Region performer Kelsey Naclerio who led the Lions with 44 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers. Madison Battle also started 17 games for the Lion defense.
• The Lions will be replacing stalwart Alexis Hahn in goal this season. Natalie Moradian played well in her 120 minutes of action last year across six games making 12 saves and posting a .545 save percentage. Cadence Gentile, a freshman, will also compete for time in net. 
• Georgian Court loaded up on freshman for 2024, bringing in nine of them, mostly on the offensive side of the ball. 
• The Lions start out on the road Saturday at Shepherd but return for their home opener next Sunday, Feb. 25 against another PSAC foe, Gannon. They'll then be back on the road for three more after that.
• The conference season gets underway at home Saturday, March 16 against Caldwell. There's one less CACC game this season due to the departure of Alliance, meaning the Lions will play nine league games in 2024.
• The CACC Tournament begins Monday, April 29 at campus sites with the finals hosted by Dominican in Orangeburg, NY Sunday, May 5. 

Individual Milestones
• Isabel Raimondi is two goals away from 75 and six points from 150.
• Riley O'Connor needs seven goals to get to 150.
• Kasha Elzinga will get to 30 ground balls with three more. 
• Remi Reinhardt will reach 175 draw controls with 11 more. 

About the Opponent
Shepherd Rams
• A year ago, Shepherd finished 5-12 and just 1-11 in the PSAC.
• In the East Division, Shepherd this season was picked to finish sixth out of seven teams.
• The Rams last year were led by Hailey Bennett in net who made 184 saves which was 12th in the country. They'll need to replace that production this year.
• While their last line of defense will be a fresh face, the team does have Paige Stoner to help in the midfield. She was eight in D2 picking up 3.71 ground balls per game and 20th with 1.94 caused turnovers.
• Scoring was a struggle for the Rams who finished with less than 10 goals per game.
• The good news for Shepherd, every player who scored at least 10 points returns for the 2024 season. All eight of them.
• Kaiya Edwards led the team with 42 points and 35 goals. Stoner followed her with 38 and 19.
• Holly Poe also hit the 30 goal mark totaling 32.
• Two things that really hurt the Rams last year, they were last in all of Division II winning just 10.24 draw controls and turning the ball over 21.29 times.