SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo announced the 2021 women's lacrosse schedule set to begin on Saturday March 20 at 7:30 p.m. The season opener features a backyard brawl under the lights at Tampa. The 13-week schedule inks 10 games, five home, five away contests, and three bye weeks. The schedule, contains six Sunshine State Conference (SSC) opponents, handing four non-conference games against SSC teams. Saint Leo will face Tampa, Florida Southern, Florida Tech, Rollins, Palm Beach Atlantic, and Lynn.
 
Game times were altered due to no overnight travel, and there will be no fans inside the arenas at any of the regular season games.
 
How to Watch
Lions fans are able to watch the game and follow live stats via the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network where the Green and Gold's eight games will be streamed and carry live statistics. For viewing any of the Green and Gold's contests against conference opponents, go to sunshinestateconference.tv or directly to the Lions' portal HERE. For following along with the live stats, fans can view them HERE. For more coverage of the Saint Leo men's lacrosse program or any of the University's intercollegiate events, go to saintleolions.com/coverage.
 
2021: Returners, New Faces, and More Historic Happenings
Saint Leo enters the shortened season under the direction of fourth year head coach Caitlin Hansen. Hansen readies a 29-man roster comprised of two graduate students, standouts Ashley Salvett and Delaney Chrisco, five seniors, nine juniors, seven sophomores, and six freshmen. The pair of graduate students have each secured draw controls for the Lions, in addition to their position responsibilities where Salvett led the defense while Chrisco took charge of the midfield.
 
Three of last season's top five goal scorers return in 2021: sophomore attacker Ashlee Wilsynski, junior attacker Kaci Archer, and junior midfielder Meghan Bomleny. In the cage, Saint Leo boasts three goalkeepers. Emma Crafton prepares for her senior campaign, Rachel Smythe will enter her sophomore season, and freshman Liz Clark joins the Green and Gold goalkeeper squad.
 
In early February, the program hauled in the highest Preseason Ranking received by IWLCA organization. The Lions will take their first draw control ranked 19^th in the nation by the IWLCA.

Looking Back
The abrupt end of the 2020 season handed the Lions a 4-3 overall record, finishing 19^th nationally, according to the Intercollege Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll. Despite the pandemic, Saint Leo celebrated the program's first All-American, Ashley Salvett. Salvett was named Inside Lacrosse Women's Maverik Division II Media All-America Honorable Mention selection in May 2020. Salvett and attacker Ashlee Wilsynski also earned the attention of the Sunshine State Conference as each were named SSC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week in their respective positions.
 
Saint Leo entered 2020 ranked 23^rd by the IWLCA Preseason Division II Coaches Poll. Moreover, the US Lacrosse Magazine's Nike/US Division II poll ranked the Lions 17^th nationally. Closer to home, the SSC Preseason Poll predicted Saint Leo to finish fourth among the eight conference programs.
 
The trio of highly rated rankings followed an exciting 2019 season when the Lions went 13-4, 2-4 in the SSC. During the last full season, the Green and Gold went on a historic 13-0 opening start, setting the team's best season start. The record book was overhauled with career, season, and single-game performances by Leslie Ferguson, Kaylah Walstad, Delaney Chrisco, and Ashley Salvett. Ferguson and Salavett became the program's first-ever All-SSC First Team selections. Salvett went on to be honored as an IWLCA Second Team member.

Coach Hansen
Caitlin Hansen was named the second head coach in Saint Leo women's lacrosse history in June 2017. She enters the 2021 season with a 28-13 (.683) record at Saint Leo and a career coaching record of 78-36 (.684) in seven years at the helm. Prior to the Lions, Coach Hansen directed Johnson & Wales University Providence for four seasons. 

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women's lacrosse, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Keeping Our Lions Healthy & Safe
Saint Leo University Athletics is keeping our student-athletes healthy and safe by following a number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This includes having student-athletes tested or screened on a regular basis, traveling in smaller groups, holding competitions without fans in attendance, avoiding overnight trips, and wearing masks when not competing. These safety standards meet those set by the NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference President's Council. At Saint Leo University, the COVID-19 Incident Command Team also reviews the teams' safety protocol and monitors adherence on a regular basis.