No. 2 Florida Southern women's lacrosse is primed for the 2024 season opener where the Moccasins will travel to No. 9 Flagler College on Wednesday, Feb. 14 for a 5:00 p.m. start before remaining on the road and heading to Alabama to face off against No. 12 Indianapolis (UIndy) and Alabama Huntsville over the weekend.
This will be the second meeting for the Moccasins (0-0) and No. 9 Flagler (2-0) after the first-ever meeting went to Florida Southern 19-15 in the NCAA DII Regionals a year ago. The Saints opened 2024 with a 12-9 win over Florida Tech before topping Palm Beach Atlantic 16-8 on Feb. 9.
In the ILWomen/IWLCA Division II Preseason Poll (Jan. 29), Florida Southern was one of five Sunshine State Conference teams among the top 25 ranked institutions, with the Moccasins leading the pack ahead of Tampa (fourth), Rollins (seventh), Embry-Riddle (15
th), Lynn (21
st), and Saint Leo (24
th).
The Moccasins are coming off of an impressive 2023 season that saw them advance to both the Sunshine State Conference Championship game as well as the NCAA Division II National Semifinals, finishing the year with an overall record of 18-4.
This year's schedule will be one of the most difficult in all of Division II, as eight of the team's 10 slated non-conference games come against an opponent ranked inside the top 20, including the preseason No. 1 Pace. In contrast, six of its seven conference opponents are either ranked or receiving votes in the national poll.
From the season opener on Feb. 14 until March 7 when FSC travels to Pace, the Mocs will face the first, sixth, ninth, 10
th, 11
th, and 12
th ranked teams in the preseason poll with the lone non-ranked opponent during the stretch being a road contest at UAH. Florida Southern's home opener is slated for Feb. 25 at 5:00 p.m. against No. 6 Adelphi at Berend Field.
Florida Southern will be captained by three players for the 2024 season, with two-year-old captains,
Jackie Stoller and
Olivia Manghisi, joined by junior and first-year captain
Reese Colwell. Stoller, the 2023 Sunshine State Conference Woman of the Year and Polk County Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year returns for her second year of duties as captain. The Wayland, Mass., native is joined by
Olivia Manghisi, a five-year player for the Moccasins and a native of Howell, N.J. for another year as a leader.
With 48 players on the roster, head coach
Kara Reber tabbed junior
Reese Colwell as the third peg in the team's leadership. Colwell, a native of Charlotte, N.C., helped guide the Moccasins to back-to-back NCAA postseason trips as a defender where she started 16 of 19 games her freshman campaign before getting 18 starts in 20 games last season, in which the Mocs finished in the national semifinals.
Florida Southern was tied for the lead in the nation with five preseason All-American selections by USA Lacrosse Magazine before the season. The Moccasins saw
Jackie Stoller, the 2023 Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year, and IWLCA and USA Lacrosse Magazine First Team All-American, selected as a First Team Preseason All-American. Stoller's first year as a Moc was a history-setting season, having played, and started all 22 games as a captain, she put her name into the record book with 107 points, second all-time for a single season, while she is third in free position goals with 21 falling just shy of the team lead of 22.
Madison Tare was tabbed to the second team while
Abby McFerren was joined by newcomers
Kristi Kada and
Lauryn Rygiel on the honorable mention team ahead of 2024.
Tare, a 2023 IWLCA and USA Lacrosse Magazine Third Team All-American, looks to add to her historic career in the Red and White where she has played 51 games thus far and has 165 total points on 118 goals and 47 assists. Tare has 44 free position goals where her 22 from the 2023 campaign ranks second all-time in program history.
McFerren, a First Team IWLCA All-South Region selection and First Team All-Sunshine State Conference honoree from 2023, returns for a third year of action having played 41 games with 32 starts. In her two years of on-field action, she has 136 points on 85 goals and 51 assists. McFerren redshirted her first full season at Florida Southern (2021) where in 2022, her first year of collegiate lacrosse, she led the team in points with 85 before following that with 53 last year. She has helped guide the Moccasins to the postseason in each of the last two seasons: the Regional Finals in 2022 and the National Semifinals in 2023.
Kada joins Florida Southern after stints at Seton Hill (2020 and 2021) and Millersville (2022 and 2023) where she was tabbed as the PSAC West Athlete of the Year (2021) as well as an IWLCA First Team All-American in the same season at Seton Hill.
Rygiel comes to the Moccasin family after four years at Northern Michigan University where she was a three-time All-GLIAC First Team honoree while earning Defender of the Year in 2023. Rygiel was also tabbed an IWLCA First Team All-Midwest Region, the first all-region player tabbed in the history of the Wildcat program.
Head Coach
Kara Reber will oversee the offense primarily with former Moc,
Lizzy Lynch, a five-year member of the program where she finished as a two-time IWLCA All-American (first team in 2023, second team in 2022) and a three-time All-SSC First Team selection at attack. Lynch finished her career with 206 points,118 goals, and 88 assists. The duo will look to control an offense that averaged 17.59 goals per game with 387 on the year with a .561 shooting clip. The offensive core placed 188 shots of 690 on the frame for a .814 shots-on-goal percentage.
On the defensive end,
Rachel Ortell returns for her third year of work for the Moccasins and will be assisted by
Brittney Embree, who returned for her second year at Florida Southern. The duo will combine with
Tim Pease to oversee the entire backfield. Pease, who joined the Moccasins this season, will directly work with the goalies in junior
Rylie Rittberg, graduate student
McKenzie Gaghan, and freshman
Jenelle Balchune.
Aside from assisting with the defense, Embree, a two-time All-SSC selection at Florida Tech, will team up with
Brenna O'Neill, who also returns for another year of service, to oversee the Moccasins' draw control group. O'Neill's fourth year of work for the Moccasins will also look over the sub-box.
Florida Southern, who was picked as the favorites to win the SSC for the seventh time in program history, looks to capture the team's 11
th overall SSC title (6 Regular Season, 4 Tournament) and advance to the program's third straight NCAA postseason appearance (2022 Regional Finals, 2023 National Semifinals).
The ball flies for the Moccasins for the first time at 5:00 p.m. in St. Augustine Wednesday against the ninth-ranked Saints of Flagler College. Fans not in attendance can watch the second-ranked Moccasins in action on the PBC Sports Network (
HERE ) or follow along with live stats provided by Flagler (
HERE ).
For more information on Florida Southern women's lacrosse, go to
www.fscmocs.com and click on women's lacrosse.
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