SETTING THE STAGE: The Holy Cross women's lacrosse team will continue play in the 2024 Patriot League Tournament when it faces Navy in the semifinals on Thursday, May 2, at 7 p.m. The game between the No. 4 seed Crusaders and the No. 2 seed Midshipmen will be preceded by the first semifinal between No. 6 seed Lehigh and No. 1 seed Loyola at 3 p.m. The winners of the two semifinal contests will meet in the championship game on Saturday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m. All games will take place at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md.

HOLY CROSS IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: The Crusaders are making their 12th appearance in the Patriot League Tournament and have an all-time mark of 10-9 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 Navy in the postseason three times before, with the Midshipmen winning all three games (18-11 in the 2012 championship game, 14-4 in the 2013 championship game and 17-5 in the 2015 quarterfinals). Holy Cross also stands 0-3 against Lehigh and 0-1 against Loyola (Md.) in Patriot League Tournament games, while having an 0-1 mark in postseason contests at the Ridley Athletic Complex.

MILLER HAS RECORD-BREAKING SEASON: Junior Isabela Miller has been the leading scorer for the Crusaders this year with 90 points on 40 goals and 50 assists, and was named first team All-Patriot League. 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. In the Patriot League quarterfinals against Colgate, she led the team with three goals and two assists. Over the course of her collegiate career, Miller has now totaled 86 goals and 76 assists for 162 points, ranking second all-time at Holy Cross in assists and eighth in points.

DRILLOCK LEADS THE CRUSADERS: Senior Lauren Drillock has one again been among Holy Cross' top players this season. She was named first team All-Patriot League and Academic All-Patriot League this year, after being a second team all-conference selection in 2023. Drillock is currently tied for second on the team in scoring with 77 points on 42 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 165 points on 109 goals and 56 assists. She ranks sixth all-time at Holy Cross in assists, seventh in points and 12th in goals.

KITTREDGE PLAYS KEY ROLE IN MIDFIELD: Junior Ella Kittredge has been one of the Crusaders' top players in the midfield this season, and was named first team All-Patriot League. She currently ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 48 points on 38 goals and 10 assists, in addition to recording 47 draw controls, 32 ground balls and 14 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 92 points on 75 goals and 17 assists, to go along with 116 draw controls and 87 ground balls.

THE SERIES WITH NAVY: The Midshipmen hold a 16-2 lead in the all-time series between the schools, which began in 2008. Navy has won the last six games, since Holy Cross posted a 7-6 victory on March 26, 2016. The Midshipmen own a 3-0 advantage in Patriot League Tournament games. This will be the first meeting between the schools on a neutral site.

THE SERIES WITH LOYOLA: The Greyhounds hold a 10-0 lead in the all-time series between the schools, which began in 2014. In the only previous postseason meeting, Loyola downed Holy Cross 14-10 in the 2014 Patriot League semifinals.

THE SERIES WITH LEHIGH: The Mountain Hawks hold a 23-11 lead in the all-time series between the schools, which began in 1992. Lehigh had won nine consecutive meetings, before the Crusaders posted a 13-11 victory in Bethlehem earlier this season. The Mountain Hawks have won all three of the previous games in the Patriot League Tournament. This would be the first meeting between the schools on a neutral site.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Crusaders have been an outstanding team away from home this season, posting a 7-1 record in games played outside of Worcester. That includes a seven-game road winning streak from Feb. 24-April 13. Holy Cross' seven road victories this season are tied for the fourth-most in the nation, behind only Michigan (10), Maryland (nine) and Notre Dame (eight).

THE LAST MEETING WITH NAVY: Tori Cini tied her career-high with 17 saves, but the Crusaders were defeated by 19th-ranked Navy 13-9 at Kuzniewski Field on April 6, 2024. Isabela Miller led Holy Cross in scoring with five points on three goals and two assists. Sally Zinsner added two goals and two assists, while Lauren Drillock scored two goals. Emily Messinese led Navy with five goals. The Midshipmen finished the game with a 35-22 advantage in shots and a 23-3 edge in draw controls. The game was close throughout a first half in which neither team led by more than one goal.  The Crusaders were up by one on six different occasions, and the game was eventually tied at 7-7 heading into halftime. Navy scored the first two goals of the second half, before Drillock trimmed the margin to one (9-8) with 4:16 left in the third quarter. But the Midshipmen scored the next three goals to put the game away, and went on to win by four.

THE LAST MEETING WITH LOYOLA: Ella Kittredge scored three goals, but the Crusaders were defeated by fifth-ranked Loyola (Md.) 21-6 at Fitton Field on April 20, 2024. Isabela Miller tallied one goal and one assist on the day, while Annabel Brennan and Sally Zinsner also scored goals for Holy Cross. Chase Boyle led Loyola with six goals. The Greyhounds finished the game with a 42-24 advantage in shots and an 18-12 edge in draw controls. Loyola opened the game by jumping out to a 4-2 lead after the first quarter of play. The Greyhounds then used a 6-0 second quarter run to take a 10-2 halftime advantage. The Crusaders scored the first two goals of the second half, and later trailed by seven (13-6) with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter. But Holy Cross would not score again, as Loyola netted the final eight goals of the day to earn the win.

THE LAST MEETING WITH LEHIGH: Sally Zinsner tied her career high with five goals scored, as the Crusaders defeated Lehigh 13-11 at the Ulrich Sports Complex on April 13, 2024. Isabela Miller finished the day with a team-best six points on one goal and five assists. Lauren Drillock added four points on three goals and one assist, while Tori Cini made eight saves in goal. Lehigh was led by Gabby Schneider with four goals and three assists. Holy Cross finished the game with a 30-28 advantage in shots and a 16-12 edge in draw controls. The Mountain Hawks opened the game by jumping out to a 4-2 lead with 9:21 left in the second quarter.  The Crusaders scored the next three goals to take the lead, and the score was eventually tied 6-6 at halftime. After Lehigh pulled back in front 7-6, Holy Cross closed out the third quarter with a 6-1 spurt to take a 12-8 advantage. Zinsner put the Crusaders up by five (13-8) with 9:09 left in the fourth quarter, and Holy Cross held off the Mountain Hawks down the stretch to win by two.

ZINSNER KEEPS FINDING THE NET: Junior Sally Zinsner has been one of the Crusaders' top scorers this season, and has been named second team All-Patriot League and Academic All-Patriot League. She has totaled 77 points on a team-high 55 goals and 22 assists, and currently stands in third place on the school single-season list for points and fifth for goals. 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 113 points on 81 goals and 32 assists. 

LEVY-SMITH BREAKS DRAW CONTROL RECORD: Sophomore Racheli Levy-Smith has been a force for Holy Cross on draws this year, and was named second team All-Patriot League. She has recorded a school single-season record 109 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. In her career, she has totaled 112 draw controls, 32 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers.

CINI STANDS TALL IN GOAL: Senior Tori Cini has emerged as a standout in goal for the Crusaders this year. She currently owns a 10-5 record with 144 saves, a .449 save percentage and a 12.15 goals against average, and her 10 victories are tied for the fourth-highest single-season total in program history. 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 16-13 with 290 saves, a .430 save percentage and a 13.26 goals against average.

'SADER SHORTS: The Crusaders' six Patriot League regular season wins this year are tied for the most in school history with the 2007 team, which went 6-0 in the conference ...  Holy Cross' 12 overall victories in 2024 are tied for the fourth-most in program history ... The Crusaders won eight straight games from Feb. 24-March 30, the second-longest winning streak in program history ... Holy Cross' 14-9 win over Colgate in the Patriot League quarterfinals was its first in the postseason victory since April 22, 2014, when it downed Colgate 10-8 in the quarterfinals ... The Crusaders stand 6-0 all-time in Patriot League Tournament home games, following Sunday's victory over Colgate ... Junior Lindsay Hult leads the team with 27 caused turnovers on the season, and has now caused 51 turnovers during her collegiate career ... Junior Ella Kittredge and junior Riley Peters have both scored three game-winning goals this year, tied for third place on the school single-season list ... As a team, Holy Cross leads the Patriot League with 40 woman-up goals on the year ... Senior Maria Comerford, senior Lauren Drillock and senior Kelsey Minister are serving as the Crusaders' captains this season.

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