ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's lacrosse team will hold its home opener on Wednesday, February 12 at 3:00 pm, at Casey Stadium, hosting Holy Cross for its home opener, before traveling to Harvard to battle the Crimson on Saturday, February 15 at 2:00 pm
 
Game Info vs. Holy Cross
February 12, 2025 | Casey Stadium / Albany, N.Y. | 3:00 pm 
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Int'l Stream
 
Game Info vs. Harvard
February 15, 2025 | Jordan Field / Boston, Mass.  | 2:00 pm 
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Int'l Stream

Leading the Pack 

• UAlbany openers its season at home with an overall 0-1; Holy Cross is currently 1-0
• Mikaela Mooney holds a team-best four points from one goal and three assists.
• Emma Weaver is next in line with three points from one goal and two assists.
• Haley Phalines and Courtney Rowe both lead UAlbany with two goals each.
• Mackenzie Salentre has recorded a total of four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
• Grace Cincebox spent the most time in net for the Great Danes with 49:32 minutes.

 
Scouting Holy Cross
The Crusaders are currently 1-0, defeating Fairfield 22-13 on Saturday, February 1. As a team, Holy Cross has scored 22 goals, 14 assists with 34 shots, and 30 shots on goal for a .882 shots-on-goal percentage. Five goals came off free positions, while four goals came a woman-up. The Crusaders went 5-6 on free position attempts. Holy Cross has also recorded 16 ground balls, 16 turnovers, and eight caused turnovers with 20 draw control wins and are 11-16 on clear attempts.
 
Sally Zinsner led Holy Cross with nine points from six goals and three assists while recording two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Both Kate Avitabile and Isabela Miller recorded five assists for the Crusaders. Defensively, Racheli Levy-Smith picked up the most ground balls with three, while Zinsner recorded two caused turnovers.
 
Previously vs. The Crusaders
UAlbany currently holds a 1-4 overall record vs. the Crusaders, with the two teams last facing off back on March 21, 2005, which saw Holy Cross win 13-8.
 
Scouting Harvard
Harvard will start its season on Saturday, taking on the Great Danes. Last season, Harvard averaged 16.00 goals and 32.4 shots per game, outscoring their opponents 240-148. In assists, the team tallied 131 while going 42-81 on free position attempts. Defensively, the team collected 302 ground balls and 214 draw controls, with 149 caused turnovers.
 
The Crimson returned Caroline Mullahy, who finished second on the team in points last season with 15 goals and 55 assists for 70 points. Also back is sophomore attack Callie Betchelder, who in her rookie season, recorded 28 points from 12 goals and 16 assists. Despina Giannakopoulos who was Harvard leader in ground balls last season with 41, is back for Harvard. Annabel Child returns for her senior season, leading the Crimson with 25 caused turnovers. Harvard's second goalkeeper Rebecca Arpano looks for the starting job, having played in seven games with 80:01 minutes on the field, allowing nine goals with seven saves against 22 shots for 6.75 goals against average.438 save percentage
 
Previously vs. The Crimson
UAlbany and Harvard last faced off on March 25, 2009 which saw the Great Danes defeat the Crimson 19-15. Sophomore attack Jodi Battaglia scored a career-high six goals in leading UAlbany to a 19-15 non-league triumph over Harvard on Wednesday, March 25 at John Fallon Field.  The Great Danes, who were coming off their first-ever national top-20 victory four days ago, extended their win streak to three straight.
 
Last Time Out
The University at Albany women's lacrosse program traveled to Syracuse, New York, to take on the Orange as the Great Danes fell 21-9 in the season opener. Mikaela Mooney led UAlbany with four points from three assists and one goal. Emma Weaver tallied three points with one goal and assists. Both Haley Phalines and Courtney Rowe scored twice in the season opener. Emma Torkoff, Mackenzie Salentre, and Ravan Marsell all led UAlbany with two ground balls. Ravan Marsell was UAlbany's leading draw controller with five. As a team, Syracuse outshot UAlbany 34-17 and were 26-12 on shots on goal. UAlbany tallied 11 ground balls to Cuse's 21. The Great Danes went 16-17 on clear attempts, with the Oranges going 18-19.

Preseason Outlook
In a vote by the coaches around the America East, UAlbany was voted to finish the season second in the conference behind Binghamton. Click here for a full preseason preview. Gracie McCauley, Grace Cincebox, Mackenzie Salentre, and Haley Phalines were all selected to the 2025 America East Women's Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
Schedule Strength
Once again, the Great Danes will boast one of the toughest schedules in the country.  Highlighted by the presence of two of four 2024 Final Four teams, including both national champion Boston College and Opening the season against Semi-Finalist Syracuse, UAlbany's 2025 schedule features four teams that earned berths into the 2024 NCAA Tournament, three 2024 conference champions, and three teams ranked in the final media poll of 2024.  Four future opponents ranked in the top 25 of the 2025 Inside Lacrosse preseason poll. 
  
Free for Students 
UAlbany fans and students can attend UAlbany women's lacrosse home games at John Fallon Field all season long.
 
Social Central 
Stay up to date with UAlbany women's lacrosse by following the team on X (@UAlbanyWLax) and Instagram (UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.