SCRANTON, Pa.-The Immaculata women's lacrosse team is finishing its preparations for its Atlantic East Tournament quarterfinal on the road at third-seeded Marywood on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Immaculata, who enters the Conference Tournament as the No. 6 six seed thanks to a Senior Day triumph over Wesley to open Atlantic East play will square off against the same Pacers team, which the Macs faced in their home finale on April 7.
 
Immaculata and Marywood are familiar with one another as the two squads faced off within the confines of Draper Walsh Stadium earlier in the month of April with Marywood prevailing by a final of 19-8 due in large part to an 11-4 advantage in free-position shots. Maura Murray and Kaitlyn Klitchko teamed to lead the Macs in points in the setback as Murray ended with one goal and three assists while Klitchko tied for the team lead in goals in the game with a pair of goals and one assist on the night. For Marywood, Kayla McCabe had a big game as she scored eight goals and added one assist for nine points on the evening while teammate Melanie Wittick won 13 draw controls to help Marywood control possession throughout the game.
 
On the year, Immaculata concluded its first regular season under the tutelage of first year head coach Nicole Barretta with a mark of 2-6 overall and 1-5 in Atlantic East play, which was good enough to allow Immaculata to make a return trip to the Atlantic East Tournament once again in 2021. This appearance extends the Macs streak of reaching the postseason to eight years in a row after the cancellation of the 2020 Atlantic East Tournament as a result of the onset of the pandemic.
 
Offensively, Immaculata has been led by freshman Kaitlyn Klitchko who had a strong rookie season scoring 17 goals while also adding four assists to lead the team in both goals and points at the conclusion of the regular season. Ashley Hankin and Maura Murray also registered impressive seasons as Hankin scored 13 goals along with one assist for a total of 14 points on the year while Murray contributed 14 points of her own with a balanced seven goal and seven assist season. Immaculata also got strong offensive contributions from another freshman in Tessa Liberatoscioli who scored 12 goals and added one assist for 13 points of her own in the shortened season. Liberatoscioli played a key role in the Macs returning to the postseason as she scored eight of the Macs 13 goals in their 13-7 victory over Wesley. This eight-goal effort ranked the freshman second in team history for goals in a single game.
 
On the defensive end, graduate student Molly Gallagher led the way for the Macs with team-highs in both ground balls (33) and caused turnovers (22). This 33 ground-ball performance moved her career total to 191, which is first in program history while her 22 caused turnovers on the year allowed her to eclipse the 100 caused turnover plateau with 103 on her career to rank second in program history. Gallagher also registered eight draw controls on the year to rank fourth on the team in this category while Maddy Terry has the team lead with 19 to this point in the season. In goal, junior Katie Mulvey took over goalkeeper duties for the Macs in 2021 playing to a record of 2-6 with a 14.25 goals against average with 49 saves on the season. Mulvey was named Atlantic East Defensive Player of the Week once following an 11-save performance in the Macs victory over Wesley earlier in the season.
 
Marywood enters the Atlantic Eat Tournament as the third seed with a mark of 4-2 overall and 4-2 in league play after a 17-6 victory over Neumann to conclude the regular season on a winning note. McCabe has been the Pacers offensive leader throughout the season as she has scored 25 goals while also adding nine assists for a team-best 34 points on the year. Brielle Peters, who the Macs were able to limit to just two goals in the earlier meeting has also been a force to be reckoned with for the Pacers this year as she ranks second on the team in scoring with 18 goals and four assists for a total of 22 points on the season. On the defensive end, Wittick has been a key piece for the Pacers throughout the year as she enters play with a team-best 44 draw controls while also leading the team in caused turnovers with eight and ranking second on the squad in ground balls with 15 on the year. Between the pipes, Emily Dyminski has been the Pacers primary goalkeeper throughout the year playing to a record of 4-2 with a 10.19 goals against average.
 
Should Immaculata prevail in Saturday afternoon's contest the Macs will travel to face top-seed Cabrini in the semifinals on Wednesday, April 28.