ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University women's lacrosse team begins its quest for the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) championship this Saturday at 1:00 PM when it hosts Keystone College in the first round of the CSAC playoffs.

The third seeded Knights have found a groove late in the season, winning their past four games and nine of their last ten contests to enter the playoffs on a high note. During the ten game streak, Neumann has outscored its opponents by a score of 152-82, averaging 15.2 goals per game while only allowing 8.2 per game.

Neumann will look to replicate their matchup versus sixth seeded Keystone earlier this season, when the Knights prevailed by a score of 17-8. The other conference first round matchup this weekend features fourth seeded Immaculata University versus fifth seeded Notre Dame of Maryland University.

The Knights have been led offensively all season by the dynamic duo of Kaitlyn Conrad and Shae Risley. Conrad leads the team in goals (52), assists (14), points (66) and draw controls (49), while Risley ranks second in goals (42), assists (11) and points (53). Taylor Klever (17 goals, 4 assists) and Diana Caicedo (26 goals, 9 assists) have also been excellent for Neumann, providing much needed scoring depth for the Knights.

Defensively, the team has been led by the group of Brittany Cassidy, Lydia Beckman, Megan Mckewen and Gabby Curry. Cassidy has scooped up 53 ground balls and caused 29 turnovers this season to lead the team, while Beckman (31 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers) and McKewen (37 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers) have played solid defense all year. Curry has been stellar between the pipes all season as well, winning nine games in goal and making 165 saves this season to average 9.71 saves per game.

A win over the Giants on Saturday would see Neumann through to the CSAC semifinals, where they would take on Marywood University on Wednesday, May 3^rd.