High Point Panthers women's lacrosse

The High Point Panthers women's lacrosse team is an NCAA Division I college lacrosse team representing High Point University as part of the Big South Conference. They play their home games at Vert Stadium in High Point, North Carolina.

High Point Panthers women's lacrosse
Founded	2011
University	High Point University
Head coach	Lyndsey Boswell (since 2011 season)
Stadium	Vert Stadium (capacity: 1100)
Location	High Point, North Carolina
Conference	Big South Conference
Nickname	Panthers
Colors	Purple and White[1]
NCAA Tournament appearances
2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
Conference Tournament championships
2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
Conference regular season championships
2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019

History

In September 2008, High Point athletics director Craig Keilitz announced the formation of a women's lacrosse team.[2] A nationwide search was conducted for its first head coach, and Lyndsey Boswell was hired the following summer. Boswell was a 2005 graduate of Pfeiffer, where she was a two-time IWLCA All-American and was the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference player of the year in 2004. Boswell also set program records in goals, assists, and points. She was an assistant coach at Pfeiffer from 2005-06, before landing her first head coaching job at St. Andrews in 2007. From 2007-09, she coached the Knights to an increasing number of wins each year, culminating in 11 in 2009. In June 2009, Boswell became head coach at High Point,[3] and after a year and a half of recruiting, the Panthers' first Division I season was in spring 2011. Through the 2018 season, Boswell has led the team to a 108-46 record, including a 39-4 mark in the Big South.[4]

The program has had a successful existence, having reached the conference tournament championship game in either the National Lacrosse Conference or the Big South Conference every year except for 2015. The team won a conference tournament in 2011 and a regular-season championship in 2012 in the National Lacrosse Conference before the league folded.

In 2013 the Big South Conference began sponsoring women's lacrosse and was also granted an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.[5][6] The Panthers joined the new league and have won the conference tournament in 2013, 2014, and 2017. In 2013, after an 8-8 regular season, High Point won the Big South tournament title, but lost 18-7 to Loyola (MD) in the NCAA tournament. In 2014, for the second straight year, the Panthers scheduled four eventual tournament teams. While they lost all four, the stiff competition prepared them well for the Big South, where they swept the rest of the teams en route to another NCAA tournament appearance, an 18-4 loss to Notre Dame.[7]

2015 was a rebuilding year for the Panthers, who won just one game on the road en route to an 8-10 record. The team finished fourth in the Big South Conference and lost to Winthrop in the conference tournament semifinal.[8] In 2016, the Panthers finished 13-6, with a quality 15-9 win over No. 21 James Madison, but again ran into Winthrop in the conference tournament championship, losing 10-7.[9]

2017 saw the Panthers get off to a rough start, falling to eventual NCAA Tournament teams North Carolina, Elon, and James Madison. However, the Panthers regained their footing by winning their last six nonconference games. Led by five players who scored 38+ goals,[10] the Panthers swept through the Big South regular season and captured the conference tournament championship, outscoring every opponent by 7+ goals.[11] The program garnered its first NCAA tournament win (and the first in High Point Panthers history) by defeating Towson, 21-15.[12] The team then faced top-seeded Maryland, where it lost 21-6, ending a team record 16-game win streak.[13]

In 2018, led by Tewaaraton Award Watch List nominee Erica Perrotta, and freshman Abby Hormes, who scored 59 goals, the Panthers returned to the NCAA tournament. After two early losses to eventual top-3 seeds UNC and James Madison, the Panthers rattled off sixteen straight wins, including triumphs over Notre Dame and Duke. The Panthers rose as high as #16 in the national rankings before a 19-10 first-round defeat to Denver in the NCAA tournament.

The team partners with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which is "an organization created to encourage NCAA athletic programs to sponsor pediatric brain tumor patients".[14] Each April since 2013, the team has held a charity 5K to raise money for the foundation.

Individual awards

Big South Offensive Player of the Year

• Mackenzie Carroll - 2014[15]
• Samantha Brown - 2017[16]

Big South Defensive Player of the Year

• Jasmine Jordan - 2013, 2014
• Christina Del Sesto - 2017
• Erica Perrotta - 2018

Big South Coach of the Year

• Lyndsey Boswell - 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018

Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year

• Jasmine Jordan - 2014

Big South Tournament MVP

• Jasmine Jordan - 2013
• Christina Del Sesto - 2017[17]
• Samantha Herman - 2018

Individual career records

Reference:[18]

Record	Amount	Player	Years
Goals	148	Erica Perrotta	2015-18
Assists	134	Mackenzie Carroll	2011-14
Points	263	Mackenzie Carroll	2011-14
Ground balls	193	Jasmine Jordan	2011-14
Draw controls	178	Samantha Herman	2016-
Caused turnovers	129	Erica Perrotta	2015-18
Saves	299	Julia Burns	2012-15
Save %	.445	Julia Burns	2012-15
GAA	7.96	Lauren Hayes	2011-12

Individual single-season records

Record	Amount	Player	Year
Goals	61	Samantha Brown	2017
Assists	50	Brooke Stevens	2018
Points	87	Samantha Brown Brooke Stevens	2017 2018
Ground balls	52	Jasmine Jordan	2013
Draw controls	79	Samantha Herman	2018
Caused turnovers	41	Erica Perrotta	2018
Saves	153	Julia Burns	2015
Save %	.469	Molly Andrews	2016
GAA	7.83	Julia Burns	2013

Seasons

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
NCAA Division I (National Lacrosse Conference) (2011–2012)
2011	Lyndsey Boswell	15-4	6-1	2nd
2012		15-4	7-0	1st
NCAA Division I (Big South Conference) (2013–present)
2013		10-9	6-1	2nd	NCAA First Round
2014		14-6	7-0	1st	NCAA First Round
2015		8-10	5-2	T-2nd
2016		13-6	7-1	2nd
2017		16-4	7-0	1st	NCAA Second Round
2018		17-3	7-0	1st	NCAA First Round
Total:		108-46 (.701)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Postseason results

The Panthers have appeared in four NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship tournaments. Their record is 1–4.[19]

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Score
2013	--	First Round	Loyola (MD)	L, 7-18
2014	--	First Round	#8 Notre Dame	L, 4-18
2017	--	First Round Second Round	Towson #1 Maryland	W, 21-15 L, 6-21
2018	--	First Round	Denver	L, 10-19

References

1. "High Point Colors". Retrieved March 31, 2016.
2. "Boswell named High Point Athletics to add women's lacrosse as a varsity sport". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
3. "Boswell named HPU's first varsity women's lacrosse coach". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
4. "2017 WLAX record book" (PDF). High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
5. "Big South to Begin Sponsoring Women's Lacrosse in 2012-13". Big South Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
6. "Big South Receives NCAA Automatic Bid in Women's Lacrosse". Big South Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
7. "2014 Women's Lacrosse Schedule". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
8. "2015 Women's Lacrosse Schedule". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
9. "2016 Women's Lacrosse Schedule". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
10. "2017 Women's Lacrosse Cumulative Statistics". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
11. "2017 Women's Lacrosse Schedule". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
12. "HPU Defeats Towson, 21-15, for First NCAA Tourney Win". High Point Panthers. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
13. "High Point Falls in NCAA Second Round to No. 1 Maryland". High Point Panthers. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
14. "About Friends of Jaclyn". Ilchue14.wixsite. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
15. "WLAX Record Book 2017" (PDF). Big South Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
16. "Big South Announces 2017 Women's Lacrosse Annual Awards". Big South Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
17. "HPU Wins Big South Title with 19-5 Win over Campbell". High Point Panthers. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
18. "2017 WLAX record book" (PDF). High Point Panthers. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
19. "Division I Women's Lacrosse Championships Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 1, 2018.