FAIRFIELD, Conn.—The Sacred Heart University women's lacrosse team is set to host the 2023 Northeast Conference women's lacrosse postseason tournament. The Pioneers make their return to the postseason as the top seed with an undefeated conference record at 8-0. SHU will host the fourth seed, Saint Francis University in a semifinal on Thursday, May 4th, at 1:00 PM on Campus Field.

Regular Season
Sacred Heart finished the regular season at 9-7 overall and 8-0 in the NEC, the first undefeated conference season record since the 2010 season. Saint Francis is 10-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play. During the regular season, the Pioneers beat the Red Flash 16-9 on the road in Loretto, Pa., on March 25 to open NEC play. Graduate student Lydia Werlau led SHU with five goals and one assist. Graduate student Grace Reinold and senior Emma Kittredge both tallied a hat trick in the win for SHU while, Claire McElhenny recorded a game-high seven draw controls to go with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Sophomore Lisa Martin made nine saves en route to her first win of the season.  

Postseason 
The Pioneers return to the postseason for the first time since 2017, where they met Bryant for a semifinal game as the fourth seed. This will be Sacred Heart's, 13th appearance in the NEC tournament, all under Head Coach Laura Korutz. The Pioneers won three consecutive NEC women's lacrosse championships under Korutz from 2008-10.

Series vs Saint Francis
This will be the 23rd overall meeting between the Pioneers and Red Flash. Sacred Heart holds an 18-4 record versus Saint Francis since its move to Division I. The first meeting between the two teams was during the 2002 season where SHU won 19-2 and would go on to win the next 15 games against SFU through the 2017 season. SFU collected its only wins over SHU from the 2018-2021 seasons. The Pioneers have won the last two meetings (2022, 2023).

SHU Leaders
Lydia Werlau leads the Pioneers in three categories, points (60), goals (47), and assists (13). Emma Kittredge is second on the team in points (42) and third in goals (32), while Grace Reinold is third in points (41) and second in goals (34). Claire McElhenny also leads the team in three categories; draw controls with 54, ground balls with 45, and 29 caused turnovers. Lisa Martin has backstopped the Pioneers and holds a 7-2 record. She has an 8.54 goals-against average with a .464 save percentage.

Accolades on Accolades
Werlau has collected two NEC Player of the Week awards this season. Emma Kittredge has one NEC Player of the Week award. Lisa Martin brought home an NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor once this season, and McElhenny collected an NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor, as well.

All-Time Milestones 
The Sacred Heart women's lacrosse program Division I record book was rewritten this season with outstanding performances.
Lydia Werlau is now the SHU Division I program leader in points with 221, a record she set during the Pioneers' 11-8 victory over Merrimack on Saturday. She is also the all-time SHU DI leader in goals with 175. Werlau set the record on March 1 against Iona.
Claire McElhenny claims the all-time SHU DI draw control record, as she has 208 total draw controls. She set the record during the Pioneers' 16-9 victory over Saint Francis on March 25th.

NEC Tournament
The Pioneers are hosting four teams in the NEC postseason tournament. The Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship will be held on May 4 & 6 at the home of the higher seed. The top four finishers, based on winning percentage during the Conference's regular season will compete in a two-day, single-elimination tournament.

Semifinals – Thursday, May 4 
No. 4 Saint Francis @ No. 1 Sacred Heart @ 1:00 PM (ESPN 3)
No. 3 LIU vs No. 2 Wagner @ 4:00 PM (ESPN 3)

Championship – Saturday, May 6 
Winner of SFU/SHU vs Winner of LIU/Wagner @ 1:00 PM (ESPN 3) hosted by Sacred Heart