SETTING THE STAGE: The Holy Cross women's lacrosse team will open competition in the 2024 Patriot League Tournament when it plays host to Colgate in a quarterfinal round game on Sunday, April 28, at 1 p.m. The Crusaders are the No. 4 seed in the tournament, while the Raiders are seeded fifth. The winner of the Holy Cross-Colgate game will face either No. 1 seed Loyola (Md.) or No. 2 seed Navy in the semifinals on Thursday, May 2, in Baltimore, Md. The semifinal round games will take place at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., while the championship game will follow on Saturday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m.

HOLY CROSS IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: The Crusaders will be making their 12th appearance in the Patriot League Tournament and have an all-time mark of 9-9 in tournament play. Holy Cross won the Patriot League title in both 2006 and 2007 and has advanced to the championship game in six of its 11 previous tournament appearances. The Crusaders have faced the Raiders in the postseason five times before, and hold a 4-1 lead with four straight victories. After Colgate posted an 11-4 victory in the 2005 championship game, Holy Cross earned wins in the 2006 championship game (9-6), the 2007 semifinals (9-6), the 2012 semifinals (13-12) and the 2014 quarterfinals (10-8).

HOME SWEET HOME: Holy Cross owns a 5-0 all-time record in Patriot League Tournament games played in Worcester. The only previous postseason contest at Kuzniewski Field came in 2014, when the Crusaders defeated Colgate 10-8 in the quarterfinals. Prior games were played at the Hart Turf Field in 2006 and 2007. Holy Cross downed Bucknell in the 2006 semifinals (13-7), Colgate in the 2006 championship game (9-6), Colgate in the 2007 semifinals (9-6) and American in the 2007 championship game (12-8).

THE SERIES WITH COLGATE: The Raiders hold a 27-14 lead in the all-time series between the schools, which began in 1985. Holy Cross has defeated Colgate in each of the last two seasons, but prior to that the Raiders came out victorious in six straight meetings. For games played in Worcester, Colgate owns a 14-9 edge, but in the Patriot League Tournament the Crusaders lead 4-1. 

THE CAPTAINS: Senior Maria Comerford, senior Lauren Drillock and senior Kelsey Minister are serving as the Crusaders' captains this season.

DRILLOCK LEADS THE CRUSADERS:  Senior Lauren Drillock has one again been among Holy Cross' top players this season. She currently ranks second on the team in scoring with 75 points on 40 goals and 35 assists. She currently ranks second on the school single-season list for assists, while standing third in points. Drillock set a season high with eight points against both American (four goals, four assists) and Iona (two goals, six assists). She also scored a season-best five goals in the victory over UMass. Over the course of her Holy Cross career, Drillock has totaled 163 points on 107 goals and 56 assists. She ranks sixth all-time at Holy Cross in assists, seventh in points and 12th in goals.

MILLER HAS RECORD-BREAKING SEASON: Junior Isabela Miller has been the leading scorer for the Crusaders this year, totaling 85 points on 37 goal and 48 assists. She has set new school single-season record for both points and assists this year. Miller tallied a career-high nine points on three goals and six assists at Stonehill, while recording eight points on four goals and four assists against both Army and Iona. Over the course of her collegiate career, she has now totaled 83 goals and 74 assists for 157 points. Miller stands third all-time at Holy Cross in assists and ninth in points.

THE LAST MEETING WITH COLGATE: Isabela Miller totaled a game-high six points on two goals and four assists, as the Crusaders defeated Colgate 15-13 at Andy Kerr Stadium on March 9, 2024. Sally Zinsner scored a team-high four goals, while Annabel Brennan added three goals and Ella Kittredge tallied two goals and two assists. Colgate was led by Kyra Lucey with three goals and two assists. Holy Cross finished the game with a 31-26 advantage in shots, while the Raiders held a 19-12 edge in draw controls. The game was close early on, and the Crusaders held a 5-4 lead with 11:32 left in the second quarter. Colgate then ran off four straight goals to take an 8-5 halftime lead. Holy Cross responded with eight unanswered goals in the third quarter, and went on to take a 15-9 advantage with 8:40 remaining in the fourth quarter before eventually winning by two.

LEVY-SMITH BREAKS DRAW CONTROL RECORD: Sophomore Racheli Levy-Smith has been a force for Holy Cross on draws this year. She has recorded a school single-season record 102 draw controls this year, breaking the old mark of 93 which was set by Keely Connors in both 2018 and 2019. Levy-Smith tallied a career-best 11 draw controls at Army, while posting 10 draw controls against Boston University, Colgate and Iona.

ZINSNER KEEPS FINDING THE NET: Junior Sally Zinsner has been one of the Crusaders' top scorers this season, totaling 74 points on a team-high 53 goals and 21 assists. She currently stands in sixth place on the school single-season lists for both goals and points. Zinsner has recorded a career-high seven points on three occasions this year: against Fairfield (five goals, two assists), at Stonehill (four goals, three assists) and at Lafayette (three goals, four assists). Over the course of her Holy Cross career, she has now totaled 110 points on 79 goals and 31 assists. 

KITTREDGE PLAYS KEY ROLE IN MIDFIELD: Junior Ella Kittredge has been one of the Crusaders' top players in the midfield this season. She currently ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 45 points on 36 goals and nine assists, in addition to recording 45 draw controls, 31 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Kittredge posted a career-best six points on five goals and one assist at Stonehill, in addition to scoring five goals against Fairfield. During her collegiate career, she has now totaled 89 points on 73 goals and 16 assists, to go along with 114 draw controls and 86 ground balls.

CINI STANDS TALL IN GOAL: Senior Tori Cini has emerged as a standout in goal for the Crusaders this year. She currently owns a 9-5 record with 133 saves, a .442 save percentage and a 12.38 goals against average. Cini posted a career-high 17 saves in the victory over UMass, then matched that mark during the game with No. 19 Navy. Over the course of her Holy Cross career, she now stands 15-13 with 279 saves, a .427 save percentage and a 13.41 goals against average.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS: Colgate has an overall record of 3-13 on the season. The Raiders finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the Patriot League at 3-6, and earned the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. Senior Kyra Lucey leads the team in scoring with 47 points on 19 goals and 28 assists, while sophomore Caroline Panzirer has added 20 goals and 20 assist for 40 points..

'SADER SHORTS: The Crusaders' six Patriot League wins this year are tied for their most ever with the 2007 team which went 6-0 in the conference ...  Holy Cross' 11 overall victories are tied for the fifth-most in program history ... The Crusaders won eight straight games from Feb. 24-March 30, the second-longest winning streak in program history.

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