WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's lacrosse team is set to take the field for its 17th season of competition and second under head coach Sarah Burkarth. The team finished 6-9 overall last season including 6-2 in its non-conference games.

"I'm excited about the continued growth of our program," Burkarth said. "This is a promising time for Wilkes women's lacrosse because we are on a journey to build a talented team that will be able to compete within the MAC Freedom. The culture is evolving and both the coaching staff and student-athletes are looking forward to this season to see what we can accomplish together."

Senior goalkeeper Sarah Carlini (Collegeville, PA/Pope John Paul II), senior defender Delaney Lukowski (Seneca Falls, NY/Mynderse Academy), junior attacker Ashley Burkhardt (Havre de Grace, MD/Havre de Grace), and sophomore midfielder Domenica Lerch (Northampton, PA/Northampton) will provide leadership as team captains for the 2020 season after producing in the Navy and Gold throughout their careers.

Carlini is poised to break the school record for saves as she enters the season with 502 saves, only 32 away from eclipsing Cassie Cronin's record of 533. Last season Carlini recorded a .499 save percentage, the single-season record for the team and the second-best mark among MAC Freedom goalkeepers in 2019. She made 208 total saves, the second most during a single-season in team history, and the most in the conference last year.

Lukowski ranked 11th among conference players with 1.73 caused turnovers per-game last season. She has 36 games of experience including 29 starts during her career.

Burkhardt has recorded 59 goals over her first two years including 34 last season. Her goal total ranked 16th among MAC Freedom goal scorers a year ago.

Lerch completed a standout freshman season ranking 17th in the conference with 41 total points on 30 goals and 11 assists. She also ranked fourth in ground balls per-game with 3.47, third in caused turnovers per-game with 2.53, and seventh in draw controls per-game with 3.87.

Returning to join Lerch in the midfield are sophomores Allyson Joly (Lincoln, RI/Tilton) and Laura Bayzick (Hazleton, PA/Hazleton Area). Joly recorded five goals and four assists during her freshman season and Bayzick produced nine goals, 25 ground balls, and 33 draw controls in seven games before an injury cut her season short. On attack junior Sierra Duman (Smyrna, DE/Smyrna) returns with 38 career goals along with sophomore Camryn Devitt (Northampton, PA/Northampton) who tallied 21 goals last year. Seniors Gracie Franko (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock) and Sophia Gavigan (East Hampton, NY/East Hampton) also return on attack.

On defense senior Paige Thomas (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff), junior Natalie Dowd (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville Area), and sophomores Alexa Rango (Hopewell Junction, NY/Hoosac) and Jessica White (Willow Grove, PA/Upper Moreland) return to along with Lukowski. Senior goalkeeper Melania Velasquez (Baltimore, MD/Patapsco) rounds out the returners with 25 games of experience under her belt.

"This season we have seven freshmen and one sophomore that are joining us for the first time," Burkarth said of the newcomers. "A philosophy of mine as a coach is to not look at age or class year; but more so overall talent, dedication and effort level. There are some newcomers that I expect to see making an immediate impact and I'm excited to watch them all grow this season."

Making up the group of seven freshmen are goalkeeper Erica Sheaffer (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), defenders Hadley Gilbert (Jermyn, PA/Lakeland) and Abby Miller (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas), midfielders Brooklyn Pedana (Yatesville, PA/Pittston Area) and Keara Dugey (Broadheadsville, PA/Pleasant Valley), and attackmen Lauren Delamater (Dallas, PA/Dallas) and Jaycee Young (Northampton, PA/Northampton). Laurel Hopfer (Monroe Twp., PA/Tunkhannock) joins the team in the midfield as a sophomore after two seasons on the Wilkes field hockey team.

Wilkes begins the 2020 season on Saturday, February 15 at Bryn Athyn College at 2:00 p.m. The Colonels will play their first-ever game on Bruggeworth Field for the second game of the year on Saturday, February 22 when they host Gwynedd Mercy University at 12:00 p.m.

"As we begin our out of conference games, we will be facing six new schools that were not on our schedule in years past," Burkarth commented. "I designed the season this way so that our athletes will be exposed to new talent which I believe will better prepare us for in-conference games."

Wilkes will play nine total non-conference contests before MAC Freedom play begins on Wednesday, April 1 at home against Eastern University. The Colonels were selected eighth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.

"The MAC Freedom is full of extremely skilled teams and it comes as no surprise that Wilkes is an underdog," Burkarth remarked. "All I ask is that our student-athletes give their all in each game we play, as the final score does not always reflect the effort and heart put into those 60 minutes."