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2025 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Regional Preview

By Nick Lewis
Audrey Harrington game-winning goal, 5-11-25

The Rundown

The 13th-ranked Salisbury University women's lacrosse team keeps the dance going this weekend, traveling to Medford, Mass. on the campus of Tufts University to face sixth-ranked and unbeaten St. John Fisher on Saturday, May 17th at 10:30 a.m. The winner of that game advances to Sunday's regional final, taking on the victor of Saturday's second contest between second-ranked Tufts and 10th-ranked Pomona-Pitzer at 4:30 p.m. with a spot in the national semifinal on the line. All tickets to this weekend's games are sold on-site at Bello Field only. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students and children ages 3-12, and free for children ages 2 and under.

Miranda Mears, 5-11-25 vs Haverford

How We Got Here 

Salisbury enters the weekend with a 15-4 overall record including wins in both Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) matchups against Christopher Newport and Mary Washington during the regular season. The Sea Gulls posted three triumphs over top 15 foes in 2025, including home wins over fifth-ranked William Smith and 12th-ranked TCNJ and a road victory at ninth-ranked York (Pa.). The Sea Gulls defended their nest well this season, finishing with an 11-1 record at home while adding four road wins. Salisbury has won 66 consecutive games against conference opponents, a streak that dates back to the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) era on April 12, 2017.

McDonnell Lockdown D, 5-11-25 vs Haverford

Second Round Recap

Audrey Harrington was Sunday's hero as the Sea Gulls emerged from a hard-fought battle with the Haverford College Fords in their debut to the '25 dance, earning a 9-8 win to reach the regional round. Tied 4-4 at halftime, SU fired four third-quarter goals to take an 8-4 lead before the Fords found a four-goal fourth-quarter rally of their own to tie the tilt at eight with just under two minutes left. Harrington answered the bell in a big way, backing down her defender before cutting back to the crease and dunking a bouncer into the onion bag to help her side advance.

Post-Game Winner Celly, 5-11-25 vs Haverford
Live Video (All Games)
Live Stats (All Games)
Tournament Webpage (Schedule, Parking Info)

Players to Watch

Miranda Mears vs. Haverford, 5-11-25
Miranda Mears | Jr. | A
Julianna Ott vs Haverford, 5-11-25
Julianna Ott | Jr. | M
Natalie Held vs Haverford, 5-11-25
Natalie Held | Sr. | D
  • Miranda Mears - Mears has tallied a team-high 44 goals this season and added two helpers, tying her career-high with five player-up finishes while setting a new career mark for points (46). SU's #9 was essential in Sunday's second-round classic, firing three of SU's nine goals to power the offense. The Parkside High School product netted her 100th career goal in the 2025 C2C Championship game, needing just 58 career games to accomplish the feat.
  • Audrey Harrington - The Ellicott City, Md. native added a postseason game-winner to her already-impressive 2025 resume last weekend. The junior attacker has blossomed into a star in her third season, piling up a team-high 69 points on 32 goals and 37 assists while adding 16 ground balls and securing the C2C's Offensive Player of the Year nod. She currently holds a tie for 32nd in goals per game across all dancing DIII student-athletes. The junior distributor was named an Honorable Mention All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine earlier this week.
  • Alexandra Parker  - A product of St. Mary's Annapolis, Parker touts a career-best 39 points heading into the postseason on 12 goals and 27 assists, more than doubling her prior career-high in helpers (10). Parker tallied her 12th career NCAA tournament point on Sunday with an assist of Miranda Mears against the Fords.
  • Avery Dunbar - Dunbar stepped up in a big moment once again on Sunday, aiding three Sea Gull strikes including the first two of SU's five-goal run against the Fords. Dunbar has posted 17 of her 22 points since the start of April including four points already in the month of May. The Medford, N.J. native netted a career-high four points against Christopher Newport on April 19th, highlighted by the eventual game-winner with less than five minutes to go in SU's comeback effort.
  • Julianna Ott - The Woodbine, Md. native has lapped her production as a sophomore in ‘25 to claim All-C2C honors, tallying 39 goals and three assists while securing a team and career-high 73 draw controls across 18 games. Ott matched Regan McDonnell with four draw controls while scoring twice and causing one turnover against the Fords on Sunday. For her efforts, Ott was tabbed a Second-Team All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine.
  • Regan McDonnell - McDonnell's role as a Sea Gull Swiss army knife in the midfield continued on Sunday as the sophomore matched Julianna Ott's four draw controls while causing two turnovers, scooping two ground balls and scoring one goal. The Severna Park product followed her announcement as an All-C2C honoree by earning the 2025 C2C Championship MVP nod, logging five goals on six shots, four draw controls and three ground balls while causing two turnovers across the two-game tournament.
  • Grace Doyle - Doyle ranks fourth on the '25 squad with 28 goals while slotting fourth in draw controls (25) and caused turnovers (16) in her junior campaign. The York, Pa. native and all-conference selection touts an eight-game scoring streak  and piled up three ground balls with a pair of caused turnovers against the Captains in the C2C Championship.
  • Carly Hoffman - Hoffman has been a key presence on both sides for the Sea Gulls, chipping in 15 goals and three assists while digging out 11 ground balls and causing 11 turnovers. The product of Worcester Prep has four multi-goal performances this season and also scored in the C2C semifinal game.
  • Natalie Held - The reigning IWLCA DIII Defender of the Year has been stellar since her return to the Sea Gull lineup, totaling 15 ground balls and 14 draw controls while swiping nine possessions in her seven outings to nab All-C2C praise. She also logged her first career point with an assist of Miranda Mears early in the C2C semifinal bout.
  • Abby Fleishell - The Sykesville, Md. native has turned an impressive sophomore season into a junior campaign worthy of Defensive Player of the Year praise, totaling 39 ground balls and causing 32 turnovers while trailing only Julianna Ott with 56 draw controls across her 19 starts. She secured a pair of draw controls while causing one turnover and adding one ground ball in Sunday's second round. Fleishell secured her first career All-America choice in 2025, landing on USA Lacrosse Magazine's First Team.
  • Reagan Davis - 2025 has been kind to the Finksburg native, who earned All-C2C First Team honors with career marks in ground balls (31) and caused turnovers (24) as a key member of the Sea Gull defense. She also logged her first career assist with a find of Julianna Ott against Neumann on April 2nd. Davis caused a key fourth-quarter turnover and snagged the ground ball against Haverford on Sunday.
  • Paige Ellis - SU's junior net-watcher was crowned the league's best in her first season as a full-time starter in goal, joining forces with her backline to tout an 8.53 GAA. Ellis has tallied a 13-4 record in goal, making 114 saves at a 44.9 percent clip. She tallied five stops in her first career NCAA start and winning decision over Haverford.

Opposing Teams

  • 19-0 (9-0 Empire 8) in 2025; final undefeated team in Division III
  • 13th consecutive Empire 8 title with win over SUNY Geneseo; 26 straight conference tournament wins
  • Have won Empire 8 and made NCAA Tournament every year under head coach Linda Michele (took over before the 2012 season)
  • Beat John Carroll in NCAA Second Round on Sunday, 21-5
  • Ranked Wins: #8 William Smith (8-5), #14 Ithaca (15-10)
  • Offensive Player to Watch - #31 Emma Biel: The Syracuse native has scored in every game and boasts a seven-game multi-goal streak heading into Saturday's showdown. Biel touts 70 points on 52 goals and 18 assists with an 18-of-29 free-position clip in 2025. She tallied six points against John Carroll on Sunday, firing four goals on four shots and dishing out two helpers.
  • Defensive Player to Watch - #32 Maddie Lowney: The Baldwin, Md. native boasts 16 draw controls, 10 ground balls and eight caused turnovers through three games in the month of May. Lowney has piled up 73 draw controls (2nd on team), 53 ground balls (1st on team) and 42 caused turnovers (1st on team) in 2025.
  • Goalkeeper - #0 Kaylee Gadol: SJF's sophomore net-watcher boasts a ridiculous 4.95 GAA, a figure that easily ranks first in the nation. She has tallied 57 saves at a 47.1 percent clip and boasts a 17-0 record between the pipes.
  • 18-1 (9-1 NESCAC) in 2025
  • Third NESCAC Championship in program history; first since 2022 with 13-7 win over Wesleyan (Conn.)
  • 10th appearance in NCAA Tournament; hunting first-ever national championship
  • Ranked Wins: #5 Colby (17-6), #6 Wesleyan (Conn.) twice (15-4, 13-7), #10 W&L (17-6), #13 Amherst (20-9), #15 Trinity (Conn.) (19-6), #22 CNU (15-5)
  • Ranked Losses: #1 Middlebury (16-15)
  • Offensive Player to Watch - #25 Allie Zorn: The Bedford, Mass. native has logged 75 points on 55 goals and 20 assists, shooting 20-of-31 from the eight-meter arc in 2025. Zorn has nine points in May including a pair of goals in Sunday's second-round win over Scranton.
  • Defensive Player to Watch - #20 Genna Gibbons: The Menlo Park, Calif. leads the NESCAC and ranks 29th nationally pulling down 6.74 draw controls per game, stacking 128 total while adding 27 grounders and 21 caused turnovers. She has also tacked on two goals in 2025. She has logged 10+ draw controls in four different outings this season.
  • Goalkeeper - #31 Pascale de Buren: The veteran goalkeeper boasts a 6.94 GAA across 19 starts, making 124 saves at a 52.1 percent clip with all 19 decisions in 2025. 
  • 18-2 (12-0 SCIAC) in 2025
  • Fourth consecutive SCIAC Championship with 15-12 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
  • Reached Elite Eight in 2024 NCAA Tournament
  • Offensive Player to Watch - #17 Sydney Landauer: Pomona-Pitzer's leading point-getter from Portland, Ore. boasts 113 points on 55 goals and 58 assists with eight makes from the eight-meter on 14 tries. Landauer scored twice and distributed four helpers to lead the Sagehens past Colorado College in Sunday's second round.
  • Defensive Player to Watch - #15 Scarlett Lang: Lang leads the Sagehens with 29 caused turnovers in 2025 while digging out 26 grounders and adding a pair of assists. She is one of five players on the roster with 20+ CT's and one of 11 Sagehens in double-digits in the category.
  • Goalkeeper - #30 Cailey Brousseau and #31 Ruby Loesch: The Sagehens have split time fairly evenly between their two net-minders despite Brousseau starting all 20 games for Pomona-Pitzer. She boasts a 6.95 GAA with 46 saves at a 38 percent clip across 647:55 in goal, while Loesch holds a 7.08 GAA with 46 saves as well at a 42.6 percent clip across 525:36 in goal. Brousseau has faced 23 more shots (172) than Loesch has (149) in 2025.
Division III Tournament Bracket

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