(Lebanon, Ill., March 12) -- #23 nationally ranked McKendree women's lacrosse will head down to Florida for three games against ranked opponents this week. The Bearcats will play the #5 Florida Tech Panthers tomorrow in Melbourne, #1 Florida Southern College on Wednesday in Lakeland, and then close out their trip at Tampa University for a date with the #18 Spartans on Friday. McKendree opened Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play over the weekend, falling to the #10 Indianapolis Greyhound 18-9 on the road.

Through two games played on the season, the Bearcats (1-1 overall, 0-1 GLIAC) are averaging 15 goals per game with a .508 shooting percentage. Defensively, McKendree has caused 29 turnovers and picked up 44 ground balls against Oklahoma Baptist and Indianapolis.

Senior attacker Paige Salthouse (St. Louis, MO/Ursuline Academy) leads the Bearcats in goals, scoring 12 so far on the year, while Dana DiPasquale (St. Charles, MO/Barat Academy) has earned eight assists for 11 total points. Junior midfielder Hannah Sugarman (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) has caused seven turnovers and picked up eight ground balls, and sophomore Collin Patton (Wildwood, MO/Eureka) has been in net for McKendree, putting up a goals against average of 12.00 with a .467 save percentage.
 
Florida Institute of Technology Panthers (7-0, 0-0 SSC)
The Panthers have won their first eight games of 2018, including four in a row at home at the Florida Tech Panther Stadium. The Bearcats won the only previous meeting between the schools 10-9, which took place on 3/28/2016 in Lebanon.

Senior Caroline Dunleavy leads FIT in scoring, with 35 points (20 goals, 15 assists) and senior Sara Grenier has posted a team-high 29 goals. Sophomore Olivia Going and junior Sam Schiano have both picked up over 20 ground balls, with Schiano leading the Panthers in caused turnovers with 20 total. Senior Stephanie Stuart has started all seven games for Florida Tech in net, posting a .396 save percentage.
 
Florida Southern College Mocs (8-0, 0-0 SSC)
The Mocs are the defending Division II National Runner-up and are currently ranked #1 in the nation. They have won both previous meetings with the Bearcats, including an 18-14 win in Lebanon last season.

Senior Emily Santoli has chipped in a team-high 18 goals, while senior Meghan O'Brien leads the Mocs with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists). Sophomore Marina Jozokos has picked up 18 ground balls and junior Sam Keesey leads FSC with ten caused turnovers.
 
University of Tampa Trojans (5-2, 1-0 SSC)
The Trojans are on a four-game winning streak and are ranked eighteenth in the latest Division II women's lacrosse national poll. This will be the first ever meeting between Tampa and McKendree in program history.

Tampa boasts two 20+ point scorers in senior Amanda Rom and junior Rachel Crawford, while sophomore Claire Swanson has a team high 13 goals through seven games. Freshman goalie Bridget Sutter has picked up 13 ground balls and has a GAA under ten. Sophomore Alexa Scudillo leads Tampa with 13 caused turnovers to go with ten ground balls.