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CLEMSON, S.C. – Coming off consecutive victories over ranked ACC opponents, the No. 7/6 Clemson Tigers (5-0, 2-0 ACC) are back at the Clemson Lacrosse Complex to take on the Queens Royals (2-3, 0-0 ASUN) on Tuesday, March 4 at 4 p.m.
The Tigers are headed into the matchup after back-to-back ranked road victories over then-No. 11 Notre Dame, 12–11, and then-No. 5 Syracuse, 9-8, with each being the highest-ranked victory in program history at the time. Clemson achieved its highest ever rankings, earning seventh from the ILWomen Kane’s Division I Media Poll, sixth from the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and seventh from USA Lacrosse Magazine. This is the highest ever ranking for the Clemson Lacrosse program and is the third time that an Allison Kwolek lead team has entered the top-ten rankings.
Offensively, the Tigers have a multifaceted attack with attackers Kayla MacLeod, Lexi Edmonds and Lindsey Marshall all having over 15 points through the first five games this season. MacLeod leads the way for Clemson in goals, the sophomore attacker has notched 17 in the cage so far this season, including a spectacular six goal effort against Stetson that tied the second most in a single game in Clemson Lacrosse history.
Edmonds has tallied 15 goals on the campaign on just 19 shots, including the game winning goal in Saturday’s victory at Syracuse. Her 78.9% shot percentage leads the ACC and is good for second nationally. Marshall put up three points Saturday, including two goals of her own against the Orange, upping her season total to 13. Natalie Shurtleff has lit up the scoreboard from the midfield. She leads her position group with 10 goals on the year, including one to give the Tigers an 8-7 lead in Saturday’s victory.
On the other end, a stout Tigers defense has given up fewer than nine goals per game and managed to hold three of five opponents to single digits. Summer Agostino anchored the defense with a conference-leading 15 caused turnovers and 16 ground balls on the year so far, including a team-high five in Saturday’s win, tying her own record for the second-most in a single game in Clemson history. Maggie Jordan has made her presence felt on the defensive end, scooping up nine ground balls and causing four turnovers on the season. In the cage, last week’s IWLCA and ACC Defensive Player of the Week Emily Lamparter has amassed 39 total saves with a 48.7% save rate.
After a heroic effort against then-No. 5/6 Syracuse where the Tigers outdrew the Orange, 17-4 and held them to the lowest draw total this season, the Clemson draw unit continues to separate themselves from the pack. Freshman Kira Balis is already climbing up the record book through the first five games. She currently holds the third-most draw controls in a single season and recorded the most draw controls in a single game in Clemson Lacrosse history with 18 against Stetson. Midfielders Jordan and Shurtleff join Balis with double digit draws on the year.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
This will be the second meeting between the two programs with the first coming last year that resulted in a 21-4 win at the Clemson Lacrosse Complex. Kayleen Favreau leads the Royals offense with 18 goals for 22 points with Elise Grissett also having double digit goals and Jordan Tandler with double digit points. Avery McMullin leads the defense after causing 12 turnovers this season while Devan Maready and McMullin both lead the team with 11 ground balls. In the cage, Maready has saved 41 goals for a 39.8% and has allowed 12.68 goals on average. The Royals are led by third-year Head Coach Kelly McQuilken with assistant coaches Jason Levesque, Aryss Lindsey and Grace Guglielmo.
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