Thursday, March 7
7:00 p.m. – Kennesaw State (1-3) vs St. Bonaventure (1-3)
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Notes: KSU 

The Opening Draw
» The Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team opens a three-game homestand Thursday night, hosting St. Bonaventure at 7 p.m.

» Both the Owls and Bonnies are coming off their first wins of the season. KSU downed Winthrop this past Saturday with a season-high 16 goals, while SBU defeated ASUN rival Kent State 18-10.

» Siena Gore heads into this week's games after being named the ASUN's Player of the Week Tuesday. Gore netted six goals at Winthrop to mark her third straight game with five or more goals. She currently leads the league and ranks 15th in the NCAA with 19 goals on the year.

» After logging a career-high six draw controls at Winthrop, Marissa Gore moved into a tie for fourth in the conference with 16 draw controls on the year. She is second only to her sister Siena who has recorded 18 draw controls to rank third in the league. Marissa Gore also ranks tied for sixth in the conference with seven caused turnovers this season.

» The Owls are the top free position shooting team in the nation, going 17-of-23 from the hash for a 73.9 shooting percentage. KSU is the only team in the NCAA currently shooting over 70 percent on the year, one of two shooting over 60 percent. Siena Gore has netted nine of KSU's 17 goals from the spot, ranking third in the NCAA averaging 2.25 free position goals per game.

» Alex Bunn logged her fourth straight game with double-digit saves at Winthrop. On the year, Bunn has totaled 48 saves to rank third in the conference. Her 12 saves per game average ranks sixth in the NCAA.

» KSU is among the nation's top shooting teams with a 49.5 shooting percentage. That mark is good enough for second in the conference and ninth in the NCAA, trailing only Coastal Carolina who leads the country with a 58.8 shooting percentage. 

Scouting The Bonnies
St. Bonaventure heads to KSU in the midst of a five-game road trip, having won its first game of the year over Kent State in its last game.

Thursday's game marks the first ever meeting between KSU and St. Bonaventure.

The Bonnies are led by a midfield core of Rylee Arnold, Ashley Easterday and Destinee Johnson who have combined for 15 of SBU's 29 goals on the year. Johnson is one of the NCAA's top distributors with 10 assists on the year. Her 2.5 assists per game average ranks 15th in the nation.

A Tale Of Two Sisters
Sophomore twins Siena and Marissa Gore have been a force to be reckoned with since joining KSU, and have continued to elevate their game this season.

Siena Gore picked up right where she left off from a phenomenal freshman season with 19 goals so far this year, logging five goals in the last three games. She currently leads the league for total goals, 16th in the NCAA, while ranking fifth in the country with a 4.75 goals per game average.

Gore was named the ASUN's Player of the Week this Tuesday after logging six goals, five draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers against the Eagles. She is only 11 goals away from becoming the fourth Owl in KSU history to record 100 career goals.

Siena is also the team leader in draw controls, ranking third in the conference with 18 on the year. Although just a sophomore, Siena Gore is already second on the KSU all-time career draw controls list with 137, one of three Owls with over 100 draw controls.

Meanwhile, Marissa Gore has been a huge presence in the midfield for KSU, leading the team in caused turnovers while second for both draw controls and ground balls. She set a single-game career-high with four ground balls in KSU's season-opener at Arizona State, following it up with a career-high four caused turnovers at Vanderbilt, a mark that is tied for third in KSU single-game history.

Marissa Gore's seven caused turnovers is tied for sixth in the conference. Gore also ranks among the league's top-10 for draw controls (T-4th) having logged at least five in three straight games including a career-high six at Winthrop.

Marissa has also recorded two goals and one assist so far this season.

Eight-Meters Out
The Owls have been deadly from the eight-meter arc this season, converting 17-of-23 free position attempts. KSU's 17 free position goals is tied for 20th in the NCAA, while the Owls' 73.9 free position shooting percentage leads the nation. The Owls are the only team in the NCAA shooting over 70 percent on free position attempts with only one other team in the country shooting over 60 percent.

Against Marquette, KSU recorded eight free position goals, finishing 8-of-10, which is tied for third all-time in a single-game.

Siena Gore has netted nine of her 19 goals this season off free position attempts which ranks first in the league. Her 2.25 free position goals per game average ranks third in the NCAA.

Gore currently holds the KSU career record for free-position goals with 42, 15 more than the next closest Owl.

Anna Giulitto, Izzy Palermo and Haley Swift have all been perfect from the hash so far this year netting three, two and one goals respectively.

With three goals scored, Giulitto has secured sole possession of eighth place on the all-time free position goals scored list with 15. Palermo is now tied with Connor Zophy for fifth following her two goals on the year.

Bullseye
The Owls are currently one of the most accurate shooting teams in the nation ranked second in the ASUN and ninth in the NCAA with a 49.5 shooting percentage.

KSU trails only Coastal Carolina who leads the country with a 58.8 shooting percentage.

Seven Owls are currently shooting 50 percent or better on the year, led by Emily Napierala who has scored five goals on six shots for an 83.3 shooting percentage. Napierala ranks second in the league and is one of three Owls to rank among the league's top-10. Izzy Palermo is fifth shooting 61.5 percent followed by Siena Gore in eighth with a 57.6 shooting percentage.

If the Owls can maintain their current shooting percentage it would mark the first time in program history KSU shot over 50 percent as a team in a single-season.

Bunn-believable
Senior Alex Bunn put the ASUN on notice in her first game back between the pipes, fending off a potent Arizona State offense to break the KSU single-game record with 17 saves. Since then she has yet to slow down recording double-digit saves in all four games this season.

Her 48 saves on the year ranks third in the league with at least one game in hand on both the No. 1 and No. 2 goalkeepers in the ASUN. That mark also ranks 27th in the NCAA. Bunn's 12 saves per game average is good enough for sixth in the nation.

The Roswell, Ga., native has jumped from fourth to second on the all-time career saves list with 188, just two saves shy of the overall record.

Don't Nap On Her
Junior Emily Napierala has been firing on all cylinders so far this season with five goals and five assists. She is one of two Owls, the other being Siena Gore, with at least 10 points on the year.

Napierala's five assists is currently tied for sixth in the ASUN. She is currently tied for sixth on the KSU career record list with 16 dimes so far in her career.

1...2...3...Draw!
KSU is currently averaging 13.25 draw controls per game to rank third in the ASUN.

Siena and Marissa Gore rank third and fourth, respectively, in the league with 18 and 16 draw controls each.

While Siena Gore is firmly locked in second on the all-time career draw controls record list for the time being, needing 76 draw controls to set a new career record, Squires has begun her climb towards the top. Squires entered the year in eighth with 53 career draw controls, moving up to sixth place during the opening portion of the season.

Next Up
The Owls remain at home, welcoming New Hampshire to Fifth Third Bank Stadium this Sunday at 1 p.m.
 

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