The Wilkes University women’s lacrosse team is starting off hotter than any other team in school history.
The Lady Colonels are undefeated half way through the season at 7-0.
With a high scoring offense led by Tori Kerr, Gabby Ford, Carly Smith and Madeleine Brownsey, the Lady Colonels average 18 goals per game compared to their opponents who only average six goals a game.
The Lady Colonels are loaded with sharpshooters who put shots on goal with a shot percentage of 52 percent taking 249 shots and putting 130 of those shots in goal.
Not only does the women’s team have an offense that puts goals on net but they also have the defense to go with it, only allowing 42 goals.
Leading scorers for Wilkes is sophomore midfielder Kerr with 30 goals followed by sophomore attacker Brownsey with 26 goals, senior midfielder Ford with 25 goals and junior midfielder Smith with 24 goals.
Leading the team in assists is Smith with 24 assists followed by Ford with 14 assists and finally Brownsey with six assists.
Total point leaders for the Lady Colonels are Smith with 48 points followed by Ford with 39 points, Kerr with 36 points and finally Brownsey with 32 points.
The Lady Colonels out hustle their opponents to ground balls, 194 ground balls compared to opponents 139 ground balls.
Part of Wilkes’ success is how well players clear the ball. Out of 83 clear attempts this season the lady colonels have successfully cleared the ball 68 times that is almost double the amount of their opponents.
“It’s definitely a good feeling to be undefeated,” Smith said. “We’ve put a lot of work in over the off season and preseason so it’s nice to see that our hard work is paying off.”
The Lady Colonels control their destiny as they head into the last half of their season and hoping to make it back to the Freedom Conference semifinals like last season.
“The goal is to keep our streak going, and to make it to the conference championship” Smith added.
The team now heads into Freedom Conference for the rest of the regular season. The Lady Colonels are back in action April 2 as they travel to Purchase, N.Y., to take on conference rival Manhattanville.
That will be followed by major rival King’s College, Fairleigh Dickson, powerhouse Arcadia University, The College at Old Westbury, Misericodia University and finally Eastern University.
Galluzzo earns Player of Week honors
The Lady Colonels are showing little mercy on their opponents. The closest game this team has played so far was against SUNY Canton where they won 18-11 at home.
The Lady Colonels have won by mercy rule in five of their seven games and are not planning to look back.
The team has yet to play a conference game, but freshman Morgan Galluzzo said the team’s goal is to “Do well during conference games and make it to playoffs.”
Galluzzo has sparked the team on the defensive side by playing her heart out at the goalie position. She was named Freedom Conference goalie of the week, posting 10 total saves, and averaging less than seven goals scored on per game. Most importantly, she is a key reason Wilkes remains undefeated.
“Our team is very talented across the board,” Galluzzo said. “From attack to mid to defense. We work great together that is something most teams do not get to experience.”
On the offensive side, the Lady Colonels have four women who have at least 24 goals. Senior Gabby Ford with 25, junior Carley Smith with 24, and sophomores Madeleine Brownsey, 26, and Tori Kerr, 30, account for another 56 goals.