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2025 NCAA Women's Lacrosse First & Second Round Preview

By Nick Lewis
25 WLAX C2C Championship

The Rundown

Fresh off a fifth consecutive and 23rd overall conference title, the seventh-ranked Salisbury University women's lacrosse team qualified for its 22nd consecutive NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse tournament and begins the quest for its fifth National Championship on Sunday, May 11, facing the winner of Saturday's noon battle between the 19th-ranked Haverford College Fords and St. Mary's College of Maryland Seahawks the following day at 1 p.m. inside Sea Gull Stadium.

How We Got Here 

Seventh-ranked Salisbury enters the tournament with a 14-4 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, finishing with a 10-1 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.

WLAX Celly after '25 C2C Title
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Parking Information

Conference Hardware

Players to Watch

Audrey Harrington for Preview
Audrey Harrington | Jr. | A
Regan McDonnell Cropped for Preview
Regan McDonnell | So. | M
Abby Fleishell for Preview
Abby Fleishell | Jr. | D
  • Audrey Harrington - The Ellicott City, Md. native has blossomed into a star in her third season, piling up a team-high 66 points on 29 goals and 37 assists while adding 15 ground balls to secure the C2C Offensive Player of the Year accolade. The junior distributor logged six points across SU's two-game conference tourney including a goal and two helpers against the Captains in the C2C title game. She led the C2C in total assists and assists per game (2.06), ranking 60th and 73rd in DIII in those categories.
  • Miranda Mears - The Parkside High School product netted her 100th career goal in the 2025 C2C Championship game, needing just 58 games to accomplish the feat. Mears has tallied a team-high 41 goals this season and added two helpers, tying her career-high with five player-up finishes while setting a new career mark for points (43) in the conference championship. SU's #9 ranked second in the C2C and near the top 100 nationally in shot percentage, burying 53.9 percent of her looks thus far to help cement her second career All-C2C selection.
  • Alexandra Parker  - A product of St. Mary's Annapolis, Parker touts a career-best 38 points heading into the postseason on 12 goals and 26 assists, more than doubling her prior career-high in helpers (10). Parker tallied three points on a goal and two assists in the C2C bracket.
  • Avery Dunbar - Dunbar has blossomed into an important player for the Sea Gulls down the stretch, posting 14 of her 19 points since the start of April. 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. She added a key goal in the third period of the second go-around against the Captains, a strike that tied the game at 8-8 in the midst of a seven-goal run that helped SU clinch the conference crown.
  • Regan McDonnell - McDonnell has done it all for Salisbury this season, posting 28 points with 24 goals and four helpers while causing the second-most turnovers on the team (24), slotting third on the squad in draw controls (33), and holding fourth in ground balls (27). 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.
  • Julianna Ott - The Woodbine, Md. native has lapped her production as a sophomore in ‘25 to claim All-C2C honors, tallying 37 goals and three assists while securing a team and career-high 69 draw controls across 16 games. Ott was essential for the Sea Gulls in last weekend’s tilt against the Captains, matching Regan McDonnell with a hat trick while securing three draw controls to help guide the Sea Gulls to their fifth straight win over CNU in the final game of the conference tourney.
  • 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 entering the Big Dance and piled up three ground balls with a pair of caused turnovers against the Captains last weekend.
  • 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.
  • Abby Fleishell - The Sykesville, Md. native turned an impressive sophomore season into a campaign worthy of Defensive Player of the Year praise, totaling 38 ground balls and causing 31 turnovers while trailing only Julianna Ott with 54 draw controls across her 16 starts. She also leads her team and ranked fifth in the C2C averaging 1.72 caused turnovers per game. 
  • Reagan Davis - 2025 has been kind to the Finksburg native, who earned All-C2C First Team honors after tallying career marks in ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (23) 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 disrupted a pair of CNU possessions in Saturday's title game while adding one ground ball and one draw control.
  • 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 to Miranda Mears early in the C2C semifinal bout.
  • 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 back line to tout an 8.56 GAA that ranks 30th in Division III and leads the C2C. Ellis has tallied a 12-4 record in goal, making 109 saves at a 45.2 percent clip.

Opposing Teams

  • 14-5 (6-2 Centennial) in 2025
    • Most wins in single seasons since 1986, tied for program record
  • Earned at-large bid after losing to #4 Gettysburg in Centennial Conference Semifinal
  • Seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in program history; third in last four seasons
  • Second consecutive First Round trip to Sea Gull Stadium
  • Last meeting with St. Mary's (Md.): 16-12 Haverford W in 2022; Senior Tiffany Mikulis scored twice as a freshman
  • Ranked Wins: No. 22 CNU (8-7, OT), No. 23 Messiah (16-10)
  • Signature Losses: #4/5 Gettysburg twice (13-12 on April 12; 13-10 in CC Semifinal on May 1), #5 F&M (13-10), #16 Amherst (16-11), #20 Stevens (15-7)
  • Offensive Player to Watch - #3 Brooke Epstein: The team's leader in points (80) and goals (57), Epstein powers the Haverford offense that ranked third in the Centennial in scoring offense (13.05). She also leads her team and ranks third in the conference securing 4.89 draw controls per game.
  • Defensive Player to Watch - #25 Eva Baumann: Baumann has taken a team-high 26 possessions from the opposition while adding 66 draw controls and 34 ground balls to rank second on the squad in both categories and lead the CC's third-ranked scoring defense (9.58).
  • Goalkeeper - #2 Annie Bravacos: Bravacos has been rock solid in goal for the Fords, earning all 19 decisions with a 9.78 GAA and 156 saves at a 47.3 percent clip. Haverford's senior net-minder ranks 39th in Division III with 154 saves while her GAA slots 56th in the nation.
  • 10-7 (4-0 UEC) in 2025
  • Won fourth straight United East Conference Championship; earned automatic bid to NCAA Tournament
    • 53 goals across two United East Tournament matchups; 24-5 win over Bryn Athyn to lift trophy
  • Fourth consecutive NCAA appearance; 11th in program history
    • 5-11 record all-time in NCAA Tournament
  • St. Mary's leads all-time series vs. Fords, 3-1
  • Ranked Wins: None
  • Ranked Losses: #7 Salisbury (18-11), #10 York (Pa.) (16-10), #12 Roanoke (18-9), #15 CNU (11-9), #25 Messiah (16-9), RV Shenandoah (15-14, OT)
  • Offensive Player to Watch - #14 Hailey Betch: The United East Offensive Player of the Year led the league in assists (34) and points (74), adding 40 goals to her stat line as well. Oddly enough, Betch ranks exactly 74th nationally in assists, assists per game (2.0) and shot percentage (57.1).
  • Defensive Player to Watch - #6 Carsyn Smith: Smith locked down UEC Defensive Player of the Year laurels after piling up 39 ground balls and 28 draw controls while causing 28 turnovers. 
  • Goalkeeper - #26 Isabel Gautreaux and #30 Allie Greeley have split time in goal this season with Gautreaux making 15 of 17 starts. She has made 72 saves at a 44.7 percent clip with an 8.77 GAA across 608:44 in goal, while Greeley has logged 44 saves at a 42.3 percent clip with an 8.71 GAA across 413:21 in the cage.
Division III Tournament Bracket

#GoGulls | #ChampionsWearGold

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