MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo women's lacrosse is set to head to the Sunshine State for a matchup with Saint Leo on Saturday, March 23.
 
So Far This Season…
The Falcons currently hold a 3-6 overall record and an 0-1 mark in Gulf South Conference play after the Falcons opened the season with a loss to No. 15 Embry-Riddle. Montevallo picked up its first win of the season with an 18-11 victory over North Greenville. The Falcons then went on a losing streak that started with a loss to No. 7 Rollins before falling to Belmont Abbey on the road on Feb. 16. Montevallo then headed to Limestone for a 17-6 loss before dropping a neutral-site matchup with SCAD-Savannah. The Falcons snapped the four-game skid with a dominant 21-6 win over Malone before dropping the first GSC game of the year to Lander on the road. In its most recent outing, Montevallo earned a 14-11 win over Tusculum on Wednesday, March 13.
 
Through nine games, Montevallo averages 10.78 goals per game on an average of 20.89 shots per game for a .516 shot percentage. The Falcons spread the ball with an average of 4.78 assists per game for a total of 15.56 points per outing. Defensively, Montevallo forces 9.00 turnovers per game while tallying an average of 14.67 ground balls per contest.
 
Individually, Montevallo is led by junior Kiley Shea who has tallied 24 goals on the season with an added quartet of assists for a total of 28 points. Shea also leads the quad with 25 draw controls and is second on the team with 11 caused turnovers. Freshman Ellery Shearer ranks second on the team with 19 goals and five assists for 24 total points. Defensively, Madison Sobolewski highlights the Falcons with 15 caused turnovers. In the net, Ashlei Piazza has proven to be one of the Falcons' top keepers with a 3-3 record on the season with a 15.41 goals against average.
 
Scouting Saint Leo: WATCH | LIVE STATS
Saint Leo enters the weekend contest with a 5-4 overall record and an 0-1 mark in conference play. The Lions fell to Alabama-Huntsville, 14-13, to open the season before taking a 19-7 road win over Shorter on Feb. 17. SLU fell in an 11-10 battle with No. 9 Flagler before adding its first ranked win of the season on March 4 with an 18-16 win over No. 22 Seton Hill. Saint Leo then dropped a meeting with No. 21 Assumption on March 6 before beginning a three-game win streak wit ha 23-8 win over Belmont Abbey. The Lions then took back-to-back wins over Molloy and No. 14 Bentley. Most recently, Saint Leo fell to No. 7 Florida Southern, 22-8, on March 20.
 
The Lions score an average of 14.44 goals per game while allowing just 13.56 goals per game for a scoring margin of 0.89. SLU averages 5.22 assists per game for a total of 19.67 points per game while the defense forces 6.56 turnovers from opponents. The Lions are strong on the draw with an average of 14.44 draw controls per game while the team averages 19.56 ground balls per game.
 
Offensively, Saint Leo is led by Jana Nuss with 25 goals on the season to go along with 17 assists for an impressive 42 points through nine games. Fiona McLaughlin follows closely behind with 23 goals and three assists for 26 points in 2024. Defensively, Mara Palomba leads the Lions with 11 caused turnovers with also tallying 47 draw controls and a team-high 21 ground balls.
 
Series History Against Saint Leo:
The two sides have met just twice in the history of Montevallo women's lacrosse with Saint Leo winning both contests. The series began with a 20-4 Montevallo loss on March 24, 2019. A season ago, Montevallo fell to Saint Leo 11-7 on March 11, 2023.