The Facts
The No. 8 ranked Denison women's lacrosse team will play No. 4 Salisbury University in the Semifinals of the 2021 NCAA Division III Championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 22 at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia. This marks Denison's first-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four in women's lacrosse.
Denison advanced to the national semifinals by defeating the University of Chicago, 10-7 in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Sunday, May 16 on the campus of Washington and Lee University. With the score tied 6-6 at halftime, Denison outscored the Maroons 4-1 in the second half to secure the win.
Salisbury advanced to the semifinal round after a 16-5 victory over No. 11 Ithaca on Sunday at W&L. The Seagulls have defeated Morrisville State, Washington and Jefferson, and the Ithaca Bombers on their way to the Final Four.
The other national semifinal will pit No. 9 St. Johns Fisher against No. 3 Tufts. That game will precede the Denison-Salisbury matchup, at 2 p.m.
How to Watch
The NCAA will provide a live video stream of the two semifinal games and the national championship game on NCAA.com. Ralph Bednarczyk will provide play-by-play commentary and Kara Lentz will provide color commentary for the games.
The Venue
The semifinals and championship for Division II and Division III women's lacrosse will take place at Kerr Stadium on the campus of Roanoke College. With seating for 1,400, Kerr Stadium opened in 2006 and is the home to Roanoke's men's and women's soccer, field hockey and men's and women's lacrosse teams. It has served as the host of the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Soccer Final Four's and the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Final Four. No pregame or post game tailgates will be permitted on the Roanoke campus.
Tickets
Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. The Kerr Stadium box office will open one hour prior to the game (4 p.m.). Tickets are for one single game only. The stadium will be cleared in-between contests.
The Match-Up
This will be the fourth meeting all-time between Denison and Salisbury in women's lacrosse. Denison is 1-2 against the Gulls with the lone victory coming in 1988. The other two meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament with Salisbury eliminating the Big Red from the postseason in 2000 and 2018.
The Coaches
Denison head coach Amanda Daniels is in her eighth season leading the Big Red. She has guided Denison to North Coast Athletic Conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in every season that a postseason has been contested (seven). She is Denison's career leader in wins and boasts a record of 99-34 (.750) with the Big Red. Prior to her arrival in Granville, Daniels spent five seasons as the head coach at Morrisville State (N.Y.) where she went 41-41. A 2003 graduate of Le Moyne College, Daniels was a four-time first-team all-conference player who left Le Moyne with 190 career points. She was also a four-year member of the women's soccer team at Le Moyne.
Salisbury is coached by Jim Nestor who is in his 27th year as a head coach and his 20th season guiding the Seagulls.  He boats a career record of 415-85-1 and ranks fourth among active Division III coaches in terms of winning percentage. Prior to returning to his alma mater in 2002, Nestor was the head women's lacrosse and women's soccer coach at Division II Gannon University. He has led Salisbury to national championships in 2010, 2013, and 2014 in addition to five national runner-up finishes.
Scouting the Big Red
Denison features three players with 30+ goals. Liza Farnham leads the way with 34 goals and 15 assists while Casey McTague (33g, 6a) and Molly Fischer (32g, 5a) follow. Senior attacker Jane Bailey leads DU in assists with 21.
Denison has outscored its opponents 221-76. The 11.15 scoring margin ranks eighth in NCAA Division III.
The Big Red offense shoots early and often as they rank fourth in Division III in shots per game (39.7) and sixth in shots on-goal per game (30.2).
Senior defender Charlotte Godfrey leads Denison with 38 ground balls, 24 caused turnovers and 59 draw controls. McTague follows from her midfield position with 52 draw controls and 18 ground balls.
Cross-Trainers: Denison features a pair of two-sport athletes in Charlotte Godfrey and Ashley Viglione who are both members of the field hockey team.
Seeing Double: Denison has played two goalies throughout the season in junior Maeve Caldwell and sophomore Caroline O'Dea. Caldwell boasts a 5-0 record while O'Dea is 7-1. O'Dea holds an edge in minutes played at 409 and save percentage (.465) while Caldwell checks in at 371 minutes played and a .444 save percentage.
The Butler Did It: The Big Red's only loss this season came against Division I Butler University, 12-9, on April 14. DU went 5-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference play and defeated the College of Wooster 14-13 on a Liza Farnham shot at the buzzer to clinch the conference title.
Level Up: This is Denison's 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The first came in 1985 and the first win on the field in the NCAA postseason came in 2018 with a 21-4 victory over Calvin. Since 2018, Denison is 5-2 in NCAA Tournament play.
Quite a Streak: Denison's last North Coast Athletic Conference loss came on April 8, 2015 against the College of Wooster resulting in a string of 43 consecutive regular season conference wins. The NCAC record for most consecutive conference wins is 49, set by the Denison teams from 1991-96.
Rising Senior: Charlotte Godfrey ranks fourth in career caused turnovers (81) and is 11th in career ground balls (127).
Commencement: With Denison University Commencement scheduled on the same day as the semifinals, the Denison women's lacrosse team will receive a "private" commencement on campus on Wednesday, May 19 at 5 p.m. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.
Projected Starters: Defense: Isabelle Brocato (Jr., Alexandria, Va.), Charlotte Godfrey (Sr., Denver, Colo.), Megan Cunningham (Sr., Alexandria, Va.), Brooksey Perrin Hee (So., Wayne, Pa.). Midfield: Casey McTague (Jr., Arlington, Va.), Lindsey Karsh (Sr., Glenview, Ill.), Molly Fischer, Ryann Yospa. Attack: Jane Bailey (So., Berwyn, Pa.), Liza Farnham (Sr., Barrington, R.I.), Emerson Younger (Sr., Hagerstown, Md.). GK: Caroline O'Dea (So., New Canaan, Conn.)
Scouting the Seagulls
Salisbury is led offensively by Lydia McNulty (58 goals) and Alexis Strobel (27g, 74a). Strobel leads the nation in assists per game and is fourth in points (101).
The Seagulls rank second in the nation in turnovers per game at 9.5 while boasting the 21st ranked scoring offense at 16.7 goals per game.
Salisbury enters with a perfect 18-0 record. Four of their 18 contests have been decided by four goals or less. They defeated Shenandoah 18-15 in their season opener. They handed Christopher Newport a 17-14 loss on April 3 and played two tight games against St. Mary's (Md.), prevailing 14-10 and 14-13. The one-goal victory came in overtime thanks to a goal from McNulty.
In three NCAA Tournament games, Salisbury has outscored its opponents 58-9.
Mary Claire Hisle has started all 18 games in goal for the Gulls. She has recorded 93 saves with a .465 save percentage in 813 minutes between the pipes. She is in her first season as a starting goalie.
This is Salisbury's 12th NCAA Final Four appearance in women's lacrosse and the program's 21st appearance overall.
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