#4 Women's Lacrosse Opens the 2023 Campaign Friday

The fourth-ranked Florida Southern College Women's Lacrosse team opens the 2023 campaign this weekend in North Carolina for a pair of top-25 matchups with No. 23 Mount Olive on Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. followed by a matchup against No. 13 Wingate on Feb. 19 at 12 p.m.
 
The Moccasins enter the 2023 season ranked fourth in the country in the ILWomen/IWLCA Preseason Poll and were tabbed to finish first in the Sunshine State Conference Coaches Preseason Poll.
 
Season Tickets and Booster Club!
There is still time for you to support the Mocs on and off the field by joining the Women's Lacrosse Booster Club. Season tickets for the women's lacrosse program can be purchased for $50. The Club offers a variety of levels and benefits are available. For more information or questions about joining the booster club, please contact Kris Doorey, Director of Athletics Development at kdoorey@flsouthern.edu or 863-680-4109. [Download Club information here]
 
ILWomen/IWLCA Preseason Poll
The Mocs were one of seven Sunshine State Conference programs ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll. Florida Southern was the highest-ranked team at four followed by Tampa (seventh), Rollins (10^th), Lynn (15^th), Embry-Riddle (16^th), Saint Leo (25^th), and Florida Tech registering votes.

"We are really looking forward to playing this strong schedule," Head Coach Kara Reber stated. "We appreciate the top 25 teams that will put us on their schedule as we love the competitive games and it makes everyone on the field better."

Thirteen of the 17 regular season games are against opponents ranked in the top-25 in the preseason poll. Not only will the Mocs face the other six SSC programs in the initial preseason poll and the pair of games to open the season, Florida Southern will face No. 2 Adelphi on Feb. 24, No. 12 Pace on March 12, No. 11 Mercy on March 16, No. 21 Bentley on March 18, and No. 22 Colorado Mesa on March 25.
 
SSC Preseason Poll
Florida Southern tied for first with Tampa with 46 points while both programs earned four first-place votes. Rollins was third in the poll ahead of Lynn and Saint Leo in the top 5.
 
Preseason All-America Selections
Four student-athletes earned NIKE/USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-America honors in graduate students Lizzy Lynch, McKenzie Gaghan, and Hailey Daleo as well as sophomore Ellie Griffin.

On the four preseason All-America selections, Reber commented, "We love that 4 of our student-athletes were recognized with this honor but know that what we do as a team will be what truly matters. Each of these individuals as well as their teammates are working hard during the preseason so that we can reach a team goal of competing in the NCAA tournament in May."
 
Lynch, a native of Boca Raton, Fla., was one of four attackers selected and was one of 13 members to the first team. Gaghan, a North Massapequa, N.Y. native and transfer from East Stroudsburg University, was named the second-team goalie selection. Daleo, a Westhampton Beach, N.Y. native, was selected as a third-team attack honoree while Griffin, a Gainesville, Fla. native, was a midfield selection on the Honorable Mention team.
 
The Squad
Featuring 37 total players on the 2023 roster, the Florida Southern women's lacrosse team boasts 10 sophomores, 10 freshmen, seven seniors, five juniors, and five graduate students. The Moccasins added seven transfers to the squad; four are sophomore eligibility and three are graduate students.
 
Most notably on the transfer list is graduate student goalie McKenzie Gaghan, by the way of East Stroudsburg University the 2022 NCAA Division II National Runners-Up. Gaghan started in goal for the Warriors in the national championship game and registered a career-high 14 saves between the pipes. She comes to FSC in her final year of eligibility with 128 career saves and a 14-2 record in goal.
 
Key returners for the Moccasins are Lizzy Lynch, a graduate student out of Boca Raton, Fla., Hailey Daleo, a graduate student out of Westhampton Beach, N.Y., Madison Tare, a senior attack from Etters, Pa., a junior Abby McFerren, a midfielder from York, Pa., as well as sophomore Ellie Griffin, a midfielder from Gainesville, Fla.
 
The Mocs return 18 student-athletes from last year's NCAA qualifying team including Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-American Lizzy Lynch. Lynch is also joined by three IWLCA All-South Region selections, Madison Tare, Hailey Daleo, and Ellie Griffin, on the 2023 roster. Florida Southern returns six of its nine All-Sunshine State Conference selections from a year ago in Griffin, Tare, Daleo, Lynch, Abby McFerren, and Ryan Kelly.
 
Captains for the 2023 season are Jackie Stoller and Olivia Manghisi. Stoller, a graduate transfer from Lehigh University, is a 5-5 midfielder from Wayland, Mass. Manghisi is a 5-3 senior from Howell, N.J., and a four-year student-athlete for the Mocs.
 
The Coaching Staff
Head Coach Kara Reber, who was named the 2022 SSC Coach of the Year, is back at the helm for her 12^th coaching season at Florida Southern. Reber is 166-34 overall as the leader of the Mocs and owns a 32-5 record in league play. Under Reber's guidance, Florida Southern was crowned the 2016 NCAA DII Women's Lacrosse National Champions after defeating No. 1 Adelphi 8-7 in Denver, Colo. The Mocs have earned six regular season conference titles while winning four league tournament titles, including the 2022 game 20-10 over at Tampa.
 
Brenna O'Neill returns for her third year as a volunteer after helping guide the Mocs in 2022. O'Neill competed for four years at Lebanon Valley, having played in 70 total games with 29 goals, 14 assists for 43 career points. During her senior season, O'Neill helped the Dutchmen reach the conference title game for the first time in program history and helped finish with a 13-5 record, 7-1 in conference play. For the Mocs, O'Neill will work primarily with the draw control squad and substitutions.
 
Rachel Ortell returns for her second year on the sideline for FSC where she helped the Mocs advance to the NCAA DII National Championship tournament, going 1-1 in Charlotte, N.C. with a 19-6 win over then-no. 19 Wingate before falling to then-no. 1 Queens (NC) 16-13. Ortell played four years for Lindenwood, from 2015 to 2018, and was a standout goalie for the Lions, earning All-America honors in her junior and senior seasons, finishing as the program's all-time wins leader with a 59-6 record in goal. Ortell will focus on goalies, defense, and individual skill development.
 
A new face to FSC but a familiar foe with the SSC is former Florida Tech Panther defender, Brittney Embree. Embree played for the Panthers from 2016 to 2019 and finished her career with 66 games played and was a two-time all-conference player. Embree concluded her four-year career with 114 ground balls and 101 caused turnovers. Embree brings NCAA tournament experience with her as she helped the Panthers compete in two tournaments in 2017 and 2018. Embree will assist in helping Ortell with the Mocs' defense for the 2023 campaign.

"I am thrilled with our coaching staff this season," Reber said. "We all complement each other really well and all 3 of my assistants are tireless workers who are just as competitive as I am. I am really looking forward to what we can accomplish as a group and most importantly, what our team can accomplish this season."
 
2023 Florida Southern Women's Lacrosse Home Schedule
Feb. 24 – 6:00 pm – Adelphi University
March 9 – 11:00 am – Notre Dame College
March 12 – 1:00 pm – Pace University
March 16 – 7:00 pm – Mercy University
March 18 – 11:00 am – Bentley University*
March 25 – 12:00 pm – Colorado Mesa University
April 1 – 1:00 pm – Lynn University (SSC)
April 8 – 1:00 pm – Rollins College (SSC)
April 15 – 1:00 pm – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (SSC)
April 22 – 1:00 pm – Palm Beach Atlantic University (SSC)
Sunshine State Conference Tournament April 27 and 30, at the highest seed
*- senior day