Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team will host the NEC Women's Lacrosse Championship at Ted Grant Field and will open pursuit of its first NEC title on Thursday with a semifinal matchup against fourth-seeded FDU at 12:00 p.m.

The top-seeded Dolphins will take on the fourth-seeded Knights in the first semifinal matchup followed by second-seeded Stonehill College and third-seeded LIU at 3:00 p.m. The advancing teams will compete in the NEC Championship title game on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Ted Grant Field. Should the Dolphins prevail over the Knights, the winner of the Stonehill/LIU contest will earn the NEC's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship.

In the regular season meeting at Ted Grant Field on April 18, the Dolphins registered an 11-7 victory over the Knights. Le Moyne scored three times in the first four minutes and held a 5-1 lead after just nine minutes of action. The Dolphins extended their lead to a game-high eight, 11-3, with just over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter before the Knights scored the final four goals of the game. First-year graduate student attacker Francesca Tortora (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse/Stony Brook) led the Dolphins with five points, while junior midfielder Julia Blakeslee (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) and senior attacker Alexa Strelick (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) each tallied two goals. Junior goalkeeper Amanda Manfredi (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) turned away 11 shots.

The other semifinal is also a rematch of a game played on April 18. In that meeting, the teams were tied through the first 20 minutes before Stonehill used a pair of 4-0 spurts around an LIU goal to take control of the game en route to a 14-7 victory. The win kept the Skyhawks tied with the Dolphins in the standings and earned them the second seed and gave the Dolphins the ability to host the conference championship. Had the Sharks won, they would have been the top seed and host, the Dolphins would have been second and the Skyhawks third.

The Dolphins claimed a share of their first NEC regular season championship and their 10th overall regular season title (2 MAAC, 7 NE10, 1 NEC) by going 8-1 against NEC foes. The Dolphins' defense has allowed the fewest goals in the NEC overall and in conference play, while the offense is the second-best in the circuit overall and in league play.

Le Moyne is led on the field by a league-best eight all-NEC honorees, including a pair of major award winners, while also sporting the Coaching Staff of the Year. Senior defender Jane Austenfeld (Lisle, N.Y./Whitney Point) was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year and to the all-conference first team and Manfredi was tabbed the Goalkeeper of the Year and to the all-conference first team. Junior midfielder Maddi Barney (Lorraine, N.Y./South Jefferson) and Tortora and joined Austenfeld and Manfredi on the first team. Blakeslee, sophomore defender Kate Foster (Sweaburg, Ontario/St. Mary's Catholic) and redshirt junior attacker Olivia Lockwood (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee/Onondaga C.C.) earned placement on the second team. Freshman defender Katy Harbold (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) was selected to the all-rookie team.

Austenfeld anchors the NEC's top defense, which allows just 8.31 goals per game, which ranks 15th in Division I. She is tied for the team lead in caused turnovers amongst defenders with a career-high 14, while adding a career-best 22 ground balls, the third-most on the team.

Manfredi, who has started 33 straight games between the pipes for the Dolphins, leads the NEC and is ranked 11th nationally in both goals against average (8.02) and save percentage (.493), while posting 113 saves and ranking second on the team with 27 ground balls.

Barney is the team leader in ground balls (28) and caused turnovers (18), both of which are career highs. On the offensive end, she has a career-high 39 points (third on the team) on a career-best 33 goals (third on the team) and career high-tying six assists.

Tortora leads the Dolphins in total points (60) and assists (24) and ranks second on the squad in goals with 36. She is the sixth player in the program's Division I tenures (1999-2010, 2024-26) to record 60 points in a campaign and the fourth player in Le Moyne's Division I eras with at least 35 goals and at least 20 assists in a season.

Blakeslee has a career high 132 draw controls, a career-best 17 goals and one assist for 18 points to go with a career-high 20 ground balls. She is tied for first in the NEC in draw controls per game (8.25) and total draw controls. Her 8.25 draw controls per game are the most in the program's history by over 1.3 and she ranks third in the program's history in total draw controls in a season. She ranks 19th nationally in draw controls per game and is 20th in total draw controls.

Foster has a career-high 12 caused turnovers (tied with Tortora for the fourth-most on the team) and a career-best 19 ground balls, tied for the fifth-most on the team.

Lockwood leads the Dolphins in goals with 37, while adding seven assists for 44 points, the second-most on the team despite missing three of the last four games of the regular season.

Harbold is tied with Austenfeld for second on the team in caused turnovers with 14, while adding 10 ground balls.

FDU, which earned its first NEC Championship berth in its fourth year as a program, is led by four NEC Second Team selections. Junior attacker Karly Dillabough, junior midfielder Nora Codianni, senior midfielder Brielle McInaw and junior defender Kendal Hippert earned spots on the second team.

Dillabough, a Syracuse native, leads the Knights in points (41) and goals (35), while also dishing out six assists.

Codianni, a second team selection for the second straight year, is second on the team with 33 goals and third in points with 34 to go along with team highs of 56 draw controls and 36 ground balls, while also having 24 caused turnovers.

McInaw earned all-conference honors for the third time in her career and leads the NEC in caused turnovers with 28, while scoring 25 goals and posted 25 ground balls.

Hippert has caused 19 turnovers and collected 19 ground balls for a defense which ranks third in the NEC in goals allowed per game at just over 10.

Another key piece of the FDU offense is Riley Eaton, who is tied with Tortora for the fourth-most assists in the conference with 24, while she also has 16 goals for 40 points to go along with 30 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers.

In the matchup 11 days ago, Dillabough led the Knights with three goals, while Mia Devino had two goals and one assist. McInaw and Codianni were limited to just one goal each and Eaton had just one assist. FDU's primary goalkeepers (Riley Schildt and Skylar Goodman) combined for just two saves against 11 goals allowed over the first 35:43 before third-stringer Ashlee Stanley made four saves without allowing a goal over the last 24:17.