AKRON, Ohio – The 18^th season of Presbyterian College lacrosse gets underway tomorrow evening in the Midwest, as head coach Eric Clakeley's sixth season at the helm begins with a Thursday visit to Kent State and a Saturday tussle with Akron.

Due to snow concerns in Ohio as the Blue Hose make their way to Kent, tomorrow's clash with the Golden Flashes will now be held at Akron's indoor facility and will await a 6:00 PM start.

PC will open the 2025 campaign against two opponents who have already competed at least twice, facing Akron and Kent State in succession for the second time in three years.

Things went very well for the Scotsmen when they last faced those two opponents back-to-back, earning a one-goal victory over both of them in March of 2023.

Coach Clakeley's crew faces three MAC schools in a row to begin the new campaign, as their next feature on Tuesday will be at home versus Eastern Michigan.


 
GAMEDAY INFO – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Presbyterian (0-0) vs. Kent State (1-1)
WHERE / WHEN: Akron, Ohio | 6:00 PM
 
GAMEDAY INFO – SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22
Presbyterian (0-0) at Akron (2-1)
WHERE / WHEN: Akron, Ohio | 12:00 PM
LIVE STATS: SideArm


 
SCOUTING KENT STATE
 
- Unable to qualify for the Mid-American Conference Tournament last spring – with the MAC taking just four of its seven members to the postseason – Kent State settled for a 6-11 mark in 2024 and an even 3-3 record in divisional play.

- Fast forward one year, and the Golden Flashes have split their first two bouts of the new season. They took down George Mason in the '25 opener by four points, dropping their next affair to George Washington 13-6.

- Brianne Tierney has been the program's head coach since its creation in 2019, with the George Mason victory being her 30^th career win at Kent State.

- Presbyterian handed KSU a home loss during their most successful season in '23, as then-sophomore Willow Hammond scored the tiebreaking goal with just over four minutes remaining to defeat a Kent foe that went on to claim 10 overall wins.

- The Golden Flashes were projected to finish fourth in the MAC by the league's coaches, combining to score 19 goals so far while giving up 22.


 
SCOUTING AKRON
 
- A frequent opponent of the Blue Hose since 2020, Akron progressed through a productive season last spring but faltered in conference play (2-4) to ultimately miss out on the MAC semifinals.

- PC gained four goals in the first period when they last came to Akron in '23 and eventually held on to win a close call, although the Zips responded last season with a 14-2 victory at Bailey Memorial Stadium.

- Head coach Elaine Jones' group started this season with a disastrous defeat to Duquesne at home but has since rebounded to knock off Saint Francis by seven and Xavier by nine.

- Akron saw an 11-7 fourth-quarter lead dissipate against the Dukes, stunned with an overtime loss on an unassisted game-winner with 2:27 on the clock. However, they've won their last pair by a combined deficit of 26-10.

- The Zips seem to be surpassing early expectations, selected sixth in the conference on the preseason poll but already calculating 37 goals in three meetings.


 
BLUE HOSE OUTLOOK
 
- PC heads to the field tomorrow with seven new faces on the roster and a wealth of starters from last spring who return to the fray for another go.

- They'll aim to wipe the memory of a two-win trek in 2024 and compete for the Big South tourney in April, bringing back the services of All-Conference defender Avery West and Hammond (who sits just outside the school's all-time top five with 84 career goals).

- Sophomores Kaylie Rittmueller and Emma Claire Mills are next in line behind Hammond if judging by last season's statistics, combining for 41 points as rookies.

- West, meanwhile, placed fifth in the conference with 41 ground ball recoveries last time out (an increase by 30 compared to her freshman year). She also caused 31 turnovers in her second season, good enough to rank third in the division.