PHILADELPHIA – The Explorers return home to the friendly confines of McCarthy Stadium tomorrow evening, for an Atlantic 10 conference matchup against Big 5 rival St. Joseph's. This matchup is ripe with major implications, as both teams are tied in the middle of the A-10 pack through the first two weeks of conference play. The Blue & Gold hope that home field advantage will help them defeat the scrappy Hawks for the seventh straight season (6-0-0 since 2007). The Explorers own an impressive 17-1-1 mark at McCarthy Stadium over the last three seasons, including an undefeated 4-0-0 mark in 2013.

La Salle Explorers (9-3-2; 1-1-1 A-10) vs. St. Joseph's Hawks (5-5-3; 1-1-1 A-10)
Friday, October 18, 2013 | 7:00 PM | McCarthy Stadium – Philadelphia, Pa
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Scouting the Explorers
La Salle is coming of a difficult first road trip of the conference season. They traveled south last weekend for matchups at George Washington and VCU. The Explorers dropped a tight 1-0 battle against the Colonials on Friday afternoon, and found themselves down 2-0 at halftime Sunday afternoon against the Rams. Staring a weekend sweep directly in the face, the Blue & Gold battled back in the second half on two goals from junior forward Kelsey Haycook to earn a draw and salvage the weekend.
 
The Explorers offense has somewhat sputtered of late, notching only 3 goals in the team's last four matches overall. However, La Salle still boasts one of the most explosive offenses in the Atlantic 10. They rank tied for first in shots (246), second in points (71) and third in the A-10 rankings in goals (22).
 
The offense is paced by the dynamic attacking combination of junior forward Kelsey Haycook and senior attacking midfielder Renee Washington. Both have enjoyed spectacular seasons for the Blue & Gold.
 
Haycook leads the Explorers in both goals and points. Her 10 goals and 23 points are both the second highest marks in the Atlantic 10 Conference. She is also tied for first with 4 game-winning goals this season. Overall, she is third all-time in Explorer history in career goals (35), while ranking fifth all-time in career points (81).
 
Washington has been equally impressive in her senior season for the Blue & Gold. She ranks second on the team in goals, points and game-winning goals. Her 6 goals are the fifth highest mark in the A-10, while her 14 points are the sixth best mark in the conference. She is tied for fifth in the conference with 2 game-winning goals this season. She is the second all-time in school history with 37 career goals and 91 career points, while ranking seventh in all-time career assists with 17.
 
The attack has been created by a duo of talented midfielders who have provided excellent service to two-headed monster of Haycook and Washington. Junior Maryam Huseini has enjoyed a fine year as a primary creator in the Explorer offense. She has already matched her assist total from last season with 8 helpers in 2013. She is tied for second in the A-10 in assists and assists/game. Redshirt junior Anna Dolhansky has been solid as well. Her 5 assists are tied for fourth most in the conference, while she has also contributed 2 goals, including the game-winner against American earlier this season.
 
The Explorers also benefit from a solid backline defense and excellent goalkeeping. Senior defenders Ashley Chilcoat and Courtney Niemiec, along with redshirt-junior Kerri Aiken have done a splendid job of snuffing out opponent attacks before they can even prove threatening. The Blue & Gold defense have only allowed 68 shots on goal so far this season, an average of 4.86 per game.
 
When opponent shots have found their way to the net, they have more often than not found the hands of either of the Explorers capable duo of backstops. Redshirt sophomore Jessica Wiggins leads the A-10 with a 0.68 goals against average, while ranking second in the conference in save percentage .833 and tied for third in shutouts with 4. Junior Katie Getzinger ranks fifth in the A-10 with a .781 save percentage, while ranking in a tie for seventh with 3 clean sheets on the season.
 
Scouting the Hawks
St. Joseph's enjoyed a fast start to their season, holding a 4-1-2 record through the team's first seven matches. However, they hit a rough stretch after that torrid start, as they were outscored 6-1 en route to a four-match losing streak, which included their Atlantic 10 opener against Massachusetts. The Hawks seemed to have righted the ship on the road these last two weekends, as they earned a hard fought draw against Fordham and a 2-0 shutout of George Washington in Washington D.C. this past Sunday. St. Joseph's will look to continue their momentum against an Explorer team, which has beaten them each of the past six seasons.
 
The Hawks are not an offensive bunch, as they rank middle to bottom half of the Atlantic 10 in most offensive categories. Their attacking punch is spearheaded by a duo of attacking midfielders. Freshman Emily Gingrich leads the team in both goals and points. Her 5 goals on the season are tied for sixth most in the A-10, while her 12 points are tied for eighth best in the conference.
 
Senior Mo Hawkins supplements the St. Joseph's attack. Hawkins has notched 3 goals and 7 points on the season. She has shown a penchant for scoring in the clutch, as all three of her goals have been game-winners. She is tied for third in the Atlantic 10 in that category.
 
The Hawks play stingy defense, which is led by the end line play of senior goalkeeper Lauren Jancuska. She has played every minute of every match in net for St. Joseph's this season. She is second in the A-10 with 5 clean sheets posted in 2013. Jancuska ranks third in the conference in both goals against average (0.96) and save percentage (.814). She is tied for fourth with 57 saves made.
 
Up Next
After this match, the Explorers will hit the road for another two game conference road swing as they take on St. Bonaventure and Duquesne.