Tag: Clemson lacrosse

Clemson Lacrosse lands the No. 1 recruiting class in the country

Clemson signs the nation’s top recruiting class.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Head Coach Allison Kwolek and the Clemson Lacrosse program have signed Inside Lacrosse’s top-ranked 2025 class nationally with the addition of Tessa DeLuca, Aubrie Eisfeld, Marleigh O’Day, Kyla Orlando, Ella Pauley, Emma Penczek, Kiera Schwartz, Teagan Scott, Alexa Spallina and Ella Wilner. Clemson enters its third season of competition in 2025.

Per the Inside Lacrosse rankings, the historic class features five five-star recruits, including the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked players in the country, state champions and multiple multi-time All-Americans. The class is made up of four midfielders, four attackers, a defender and a goalie and hails from Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina.

“We are excited to officially welcome this exceptional class to the Clemson family” said Kwolek, “This historic group will have an immediate impact on our program, and we look forward to seeing them shine with their high school teams this spring. We can’t wait to welcome them to campus this summer!”

– Via Clemson Athletic Communications

Clemson lacrosse flips another 5-star recruit from Syracuse, midfielder Aubrie Eisfeld

Clemson lands the No. 6 recruit in the 2025 class.

After flipping the commitment of the No. 1 player in the 2025 class, Alexa Spallina, from Syracuse to Clemson, the Tigers have flipped another 5-star recruit from the Orange.

Eisfeld is currently the No. 6 overall player in the class, making this already stacked Clemson recruiting class that much more stacked. Head coach Allison Kwolek has been on fire lately recruiting, with the program trending in the right direction.

As reported by Inside Lacrosse, Eisfeld initially committed to Kayla Treanor and the Syracuse Orange on September 19. Hailing from Bayport-Blue Point High School in New York, Eisfeld is a talented midfielder. She plays club lacrosse for the Long Island Yellow Jackets 2025 Spallina team alongside fellow standout player Alexa Spallina.

Clemson women’s lacrosse lands commitment from No. 1 recruit in 2025 class

Clemson flips the top player in the 2025 class.

Alexa Spallina, the top women’s lacrosse recruit for 2025, has switched her commitment from Syracuse to Clemson. Spallina, a two-time USA Lacrosse high school All-American from Mount Sinai (N.Y.), made the announcement on Instagram, thanking her family and coaches for their support.

This move marks a significant win for Clemson, which is entering its third year as a Division I program. The Tigers now have commitments from the top two prospects, with Spallina and Emma Penczek of Manchester Valley (Md.).

Clemson’s recent recruiting efforts have been strong, with highly ranked classes and notable players, including five graduate transfers. The team is coming off an 11-7 season and had several players honored in the ACC. Head coach Allison Kwolek has rapidly developed the program into a competitive force in women’s lacrosse.

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No. 7 seed Clemson hosts No. 10 seed Pitt in ACC Tournament first round

Clemson hosts Pitt to start their ACC Tournament.

CLEMSON, S.C. – The seventh-seeded Clemson Lacrosse team opens the 2024 ACC Championship First Round against tenth-seeded Pitt on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Clemson Lacrosse Complex. Clemson (10-6, 3-6 ACC) and Pitt (5-12, 0-9 ACC) most recently met Thursday to close the regular season, a 12-11 overtime victory for the Tigers on Pitt’s home turf.

Live stats will be available at ClemsonTigers.com, and the game will air on ACC Network and stream via the ESPN App.

The winner will move on to the Quarterfinals against second-seeded Notre Dame on Wednesday, April 24 at 5 p.m. at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Tickets will be available at the ACC Championship home page. 

Clemson and Pitt are the conference’s newest additions, as the Tigers are presently in their second season, while the Panthers are playing in just their third season. Clemson ranks sixth nationally in average attendance within its new home.

The Tigers enter the contest ranked 22nd nationally and fourth in the ACC at 14.56 goals per game, 19th nationally in scoring margin (+4.25), and 14th in draw control percentage (.594). The Tigers are ranked second nationally in Clearing percentage at a remarkable .947 figure. Additionally, keeper Emily Lamparter leads the ACC and is 13th nationally in save percentage at .480, making 8.19 saves per game.

Clemson has been bolstered offensively with 119 of its 233 goals (51.1%) coming from its freshman class, led by Regan Byrne, who is sixth among freshmen nationally with 31 goals.

Graduate transfer Claire Bockstie, who is 10th among all active players with 202 career goals leads the team this season with 39, just one shy of her fourth career 40-goal season. Of the 11 players in NCAA Division I with 200 or more career goals, Bockstie has played the fewest games (65).

The Tigers freshman look to continue to impress on offense, as Natalie Shurtleff notched a hat trick, including the game tying and game winning goal against Pitt on Thursday, and Regan Byrne led in scoring with four goals on Thursday.

For complete coverage of the Clemson Lacrosse team, follow @ClemsonWLax on Instagram and Twitter and @ClemsonWLacrosse on Facebook.

-Via Clemson Athletic Communications 

No. 18 Clemson drops their first game of the season to No. 14 Virginia

Clemson was dealt their first loss of the season on Saturday.

Clemson, S.C. – After pulling within one in the third quarter at a score of 10-9, Virginia (5-1, 1-1 ACC) scored four straight goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter to run away with the game against Clemson (4-1, 1-1 ACC) and win 18-12 on Saturday, March 2 at Clemson’s Lacrosse Complex.

Shannon Brazier registered her first hat trick of the season, joining Claire Bockstie to lead Clemson in goals scored. JMU transfer Caitlin McElwee registered her first goals in a Tiger uniform with two critical goals in the third quarter that built momentum as Clemson began to come back from their 10-6 deficit at the half.

Clemson won the draw control battle, winning 17 to Virginia’s 14. On the defensive end,  the Tigers came up with seven caused turnovers and goalie Emily Lamparter saved nine of the 27 shots on goal. Additionally Clemson won the majority of the 50-50 balls as they picked up 23 of the 42 ground balls.

Virginia started the scoring with three goals in the first four minutes. Emma Tilson then notched the first goal of the day for Clemson with 5:04 left in the first quarter. Three more goals from Virginia and one from Clemson’s freshman Alex Scialdone made the score 6-2 going into the second quarter.

Clemson’s momentum then began to pick up as Claire Bockstie scored in the first 15 seconds of the second quarter. The Tigers would tie the second quarter with the Cavaliers as each scored four points.

11 seconds into the second half,  Caitlin McElwee scored her first goal of the season. Clemson went on to outscore Virginia 4-2 in the third quarter, entering the final 15 minutes of the game down 12-10. Four consecutive goals from the Cavaliers gave them a more comfortable 16-10 lead in the final 6:35 minutes of the game. Two more goals from both Clemson and Virginia would make the final score 18-12.

Up Next: Clemson will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Macon, Ga. to play Mercer on Tuesday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m.

For complete coverage of the Clemson women’s lacrosse team, follow @ClemsonWlax on Instagram and Twitter and @ClemsonWLacrosse on Facebook.

– Via Clemson Athletic Communication 

No.23 Clemson takes down Davidson in season opener in front of sellout crowd

Clemson lacrosse opened their season on a high note.

Clemson, S.C. – The No. 23 Clemson Lacrosse program started its 2024 season with a decisive 19-10 win over the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 10 in front of a sellout crowd of 1,246 people in the inaugural game at the lakeside Clemson Lacrosse Complex. Clemson’s newcomers put on a show as they made up seven of the eight goal-scorers. Eighteen of Clemson’s 19 goals were scored by players wearing the Clemson uniform for the first time.

“It was just really fantastic and really great energy,” said Head Coach Allison Kwolek. “I love the fans here, the community here and I appreciate them coming out and supporting us. I’m proud of how the team came out today. Their effort was phenomenal all over the field and I love how we distributed the ball on the offensive end. It was a great way to start the season”

Regan Byrne, showed why she was the 13th-ranked freshman in the country by Inside Lacrosse, scoring the first goal of the game and going on to finish with a team-high six goals, while also adding two assists on the day. The six goals tied for the second-most in a single game in Clemson’s young program. Graduate transfer Claire Bockstie claimed Clemson’s school record with nine total points, coming on four goals and five assists.

Clemson outshot the Wildcats, 37-23, putting 33 of those attempts on goal. The Tigers also successfully cleared 19 of their 20 chances. In cage, Emily Lamparter totaled six saves in the 51 minutes she played.

While Davidson would score first early in the first quarter, Clemson responded with 11 of the next 12 goals, taking an 11-2 lead 19 minutes into the game. The Tigers continued to set the tone, and would stretch the lead to 11 when Bockstie scored her fourth of the game with 9:21 to play.

Up Next: The Tigers will play their first away game against Furman at Paladin Stadium next Wednesday on February 14 at 6:00 p.m. before returning home to play Coastal Carolina at 12 p.m. on Feb. 17. Tickets for that game are still available.

Clemson Lacrosse Complex Firsts:

Attendance: 1,246 (sellout)

First Shot: Hanna Hilcoff, Clemson (1Q, 14:56)

First Save: Paige Doyle, Davidson (1Q, 14:56)

First Goal: Payton Cheedle, Davidson (1Q, 13:05)

First Clemson Goal: Regan Byrne (1Q, 10:12)

First Assist: Emma Tilson, Clemson (1Q, 9:30)

Honorary Draw: Sandy Campbell, Army Corps of Engineers

– Via Clemson Athletic Communications

Clemson Lacrosse 2024 schedule released

Clemson Lacrosse’s 2024 schedule is now available.

CLEMSON, S.C. –  Clemson announced its full 2024 season schedule and ticket options as the Tigers open their lakefront state-of-the-art lacrosse stadium on Saturday, February 10 against Davidson at 2 p.m. Fans are now able to request season tickets starting at $50 for general admission and $100 for a reserved seat. To enhance the gameday experience by Lake Hartwell, Clemson is making available a unique tailgating experience as an add-on to season tickets.

LINK TO REQUESTS

“We’re excited for Clemson fans to have the opportunity to see some great lacrosse as we open our world-class facility this spring,” said Head Coach Allison Kwolek. “We look forward to this competitive slate, and building on what we accomplished last year.”

The deadline to request season tickets is January 16 at 11:59 p.m. Seat allocations will be based on 2023 IPTAY Giving Level and priority points within each level. Season ticket locations will be released on January 17. Donors can reach IPTAY and the ticket office at 1-800-CLEMSON with any questions.

Single-game tickets are set to go on sale on January 25 and will be available at the gate for every regular-season home game.

The new facilities, which feature a 1,000-seat stadium and a 9,000-square-foot operations building, make Clemson the only school in the country to have a stadium and facility solely designated to its women’s lacrosse program. Clemson will reveal its new facility via a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 12.

In addition to Head Coach Allison Kwolek, Clemson is led by Associate Head Coach Bill Olin and Assistant Coaches Madison Carter and Marina Miller. At the end of fall ball, the team voted in Ella Little, Bella D’Gracia, Shannon Brazier and Kerri Thornton as this year’s captains.

In its inaugural season last year, Clemson finished the regular season 12-5 with a 4-5 record against ACC opponents. The season was highlighted by an 11-10 upset over No. 13 Duke and a top 25 national ranking for nine straight weeks. Several Tigers earned postseason awards for their impressive seasons. After narrowly missing a bid to the NCAA Tournament last year, the Tigers head into the 2024 season eager to prove themselves worthy to go dancing in May.

Throughout the season, Clemson will play a total of 16 games, including seven non-conference opponents, nine ACC opponents, eight home games and eight away games. Clemson will play several opponents for the first time in school history, including Davidson, Coastal, Mercer, Queens, and ECU.

Clemson will open its season at home on Saturday, February 10 against Davidson at 2:00 p.m. The following week Clemson will travel down the road to Greenville, S.C. where they will play Furman at 6:00 p.m. Then after hosting another non-conference opponent in Coastal on Saturday, February 17 at noon, Clemson will travel to Durham, N.C. to face Duke, their first ACC opponent, on Saturday, February 24 at 1:00 p.m.

Then Clemson will come back home to host UVA on Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m. To break up ACC play, Clemson will go play at Mercer on Tuesday, March 5 at 12:00 p.m before coming back home to play UNC on Saturday, March 9 at 3:00 p.m. After that, Clemson has two back-to-back road games with Wofford on March 11 and then Louisville on March 17.

The Tigers will then return to Clemson for a three-game homestand, starting with Notre Dame on March 22, then Queens College on March 24, and then Virginia Tech on March 30. Up next, Clemson will travel to play ECU on Tuesday, April 2 at 5:00 p.m. Clemson’s slated to close out the regular season with three straight ACC opponents. First, Clemson is set to play at Boston College on Sunday, April 7 at 12:00 p.m., at home against Syracuse for their senior game on Saturday, April 13 at 12:00 p.m. and then finally at Pitt on Thursday, April 18 at 4:00 p.m.

2024 Schedule

  • Saturday, February 10 vs. Davidson 2pm
  • Wednesday, February 14 at Furman 6pm
  • Saturday, February 17 vs. Coastal (Family fun day/Clinic) 12pm
  • Saturday, February 24 at Duke 1pm
  • Saturday, March 2 vs. UVA 1pm
  • Tuesday, March 5 at Mercer 12pm
  • Saturday, March 9 vs. UNC 3pm
  • Monday, March 11 at Wofford 4pm
  • Saturday, March 16 at Louisville 2pm
  • Friday, March 22 vs. ND (Orange Out & Clinic) 7pm
  • Sunday, March 24 vs. Queens (Bark at the Beach) 1pm
  • Saturday, March 30 vs. Virginia Tech (Pink Game) 12pm
  • Tuesday, April 2 at ECU 5pm
  • Sunday, April 7 at Boston College 12pm
  • Saturday, April 13 vs. Syracuse  (SR Day) 12pm
  • Thursday, April 18 at Pitt 4pm

All dates and times for the 2024 season are subject to change.

– Via Clemson Athletic Communications 

Clemson Lacrosse class of 2023 ranked No.4 overall

Clemson Lacrosse is recruiting at an elite level.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Inside Lacrosse announced Wednesday their Class of 2023 Power 100 Rankings which featured Clemson as the No. 4 overall class with four ranked in the top 50 and two on the watch list.

After being hired on August 2, 2021, Head Coach Allison Kwolek went on to recruit the No. 4 overall class in only a month. “It’s great to see our freshmen recognized both individually and as an entire class” said Kwolek. “They possess such strong work ethics, consistently come to practice ready to compete and have been a joy to coach these last few months. I’m looking forward to seeing them contribute on the field this spring.”

Midfielder Natalie Shurtleff leads the Clemson freshmen class with the No. 2 overall ranking. The five-star recruit hails from Cockeysville, Maryland where she played for the No. 1 high school in the country, St. Paul’s School for Girls. In addition, Shurtleff was the US Lacrosse Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year, played in the All-American game and was named to the All-Metro Team and the All-IAAM.

Twin sisters from Urbana, Maryland, Regan and Blair Byrne, also both made the top 50, with attacker Regan coming in at No. 13 and midfielder Blair coming in at No. 49. The two played together at one of the best high schools in the nation, Glenelg Country School. Both were All-Conference and All-Americans and Regan was a five-star recruit.

Attacker and five-start recruit Jazzy Stanton was ranked by inside lacrosse as the No. 26 overall player in her class. At Century High School, Stanton was a playmaker on her volleyball and indoor/outdoor track teams in addition to her lacrosse team. Stanton is a high school lacrosse state and regional champion and earned first team All-County three years in a row. Additionally, Stanton played on the Under Armour All-Star team and in the All-America Showcase.

Attacker Kayla Macleod and Midfielder Camryn Pfundstein were featured on Inside Lacrosse’s Watch Lists. Macleod is from Roswell, Georgia and Pfundstein is from Annapolis, Maryland. Macleod made First Team All-State and All-American twice in her high school career. Leading her team in goals and caused turnovers, Macleod was awarded Most Valuable Offensive player in 2021 and Player of the Year in 2022. Pfundstein is an All-American and was named second team All-County her sophomore and junior year, along with being named Notable High School Player of the Week and playing for the winning Baltimore team in the 2022 All America Showcase.

This year’s freshmen class arrived on campus in the summer of 2023 and competed in fall ball this season. They now look ahead to the 2023-24 spring season where they will play in their brand new stadium that is a part of the $37 million dollar women’s athletic facility expansion.

For complete coverage of the Clemson women’s lacrosse team, follow @ClemsonWlax on Instagram and Twitter and @ClemsonWLacrosse on Facebook.

– Via Clemson Athletic Communications 

Bill Olin Joins Women’s Lacrosse Staff

Clemson women’s lacrosse announces newest addition to first-year staff

Via Clemson Athletic Communications:

Clemson women’s lacrosse and Head Coach Allison Kwolek have announced the addition of Bill Olin to the staff as an assistant coach. Olin joins the Tigers following six years as an associate head coach at Cornell.

“We’re excited to welcome Bill to Clemson,” said Kwolek. “His passion for the sport of women’s lacrosse is impossible to ignore. Bill has had success as both a player and coach, including helping Cornell to an Ivy League title. He’s a tireless recruiter, and we’re looking forward to him getting started as we prepare to welcome our first team to campus.”

During his time at Cornell, Olin and Big Red won an Ivy league Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. His team qualified for the Ivy League Tournament in two of his four seasons on the sidelines, and he helped developed six All-Ivy League defensive players, including 2017 conference Defensive Player of the Year and two-time All-American Catie Smith.

Olin was a head coach at Capital University from 2014-16. His 2015 squad won the OAC regular season championship in just the second year of the program’s existence. The team finished with a regular season record of 14-3, including 6-0 in conference play, before finishing as league’s tournament runner-up. Capital had eight members named to the all-OAC teams, including Defensive Player of the Year, Tate Stover. Brennan O’Callaghan was the recipient of the OAC Freshman of the Year and OAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year awards. At year’s end, Olin was named the OAC Coach of the Year.

Prior to his tenure at Capital, he was an assistant coach at SUNY Potsdam men’s lacrosse immediately following his playing career.

As a player, he was a four-year starting goalkeeper for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, where he was a three-time ECAC Defensive Player of the Week, two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Week, and three-time All-ECAC Academic team member.

“I want to first thank Jenny Graap and my Cornell Lacrosse family for the past six years and their immense support,” stated Olin. “My family and I are incredibly grateful to Coach Kwolek and the Clemson athletic community for this opportunity. The tradition of Clemson athletics, the ability to work with Allison and Madison [Carter], and to help establish Clemson Lacrosse as a national contender is a dream come true.”

Bill and his wife Katelynn have three children: Findley, Brooks and Welles.

The Clemson women’s lacrosse program is set to play its inaugural season in the spring of 2023. For all the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson women’s lacrosse, visit ClemsonTigers.com and follow @ClemsonWLax on Twitter and Instagram.

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Recent startup program’s success helping with another at Clemson

Allison Kwolek is starting a sports program from scratch at Clemson, and she often mentions the success of one that recently did the same when trying to sell hers on the recruiting trail. “I talk about softball a lot in recruiting,” Clemson’s …

Allison Kwolek is starting a sports program from scratch at Clemson, and she often mentions the success of one that recently did the same when trying to sell hers on the recruiting trail.

“I talk about softball a lot in recruiting,” Clemson’s lacrosse coach recently told The Clemson Insider. “Not just as an example of them just starting out but winning and playing at the highest level.”

Kwolek was hired as the school’s first-ever lacrosse coach in August. The program won’t play its inaugural season until next spring. In the meantime, Kwolek, who came to Clemson from Richmond, has been busy hiring a coaching staff and trying to sell a vision to prospective student-athletes, which is where softball comes in.

Clemson softball is in just its third season of existence, though that hasn’t stopped John Rittman’s program from being among the ACC’s best almost immediately. The Tigers won a regular-season conference title last year, have played in back-to-back league tournament championship games and will host their first-ever regional this week as the No. 10 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

“For our recruits to see that, to see that with the funding and resources at Clemson, you can be very good very quickly,” Kwolek said.

As for those resources, the lacrosse program will have its own on-campus stadium as well as a 9,000-square foot operations complex that will house locker rooms, coaches offices and other amenities. A 10,000-square foot training and recovery center for lacrosse, rowing and gymnastics is also part of a $27.5-million facility expansion plan for women’s sports the school announced earlier this year.

Construction on those facilities will begin later this year and are projected to be completed late next year, according to the school.

“I think just the funding and resources that are being poured into the sports is incredible,” Kwolek said. “To have a facility that’s dedicated just to women’s lacrosse, from our ops building to our stadium, it’s one of a kind and really special.”

So what about recruiting?

Kwolek signed the program’s inaugural recruiting class late last year, which included seven players. She will get a chance to ink one more before the Tigers play their first-ever lacrosse game early next year.

So far, Kwolek doesn’t have any complaints when it comes to attracting talent to Clemson.

“Recruiting has gone really well,” she said. “People want to go to Clemson, and people want to play lacrosse at Clemson. My inbox is full, so it’s been really great. I’m excited to see some top classes that are coming to Clemson to play lacrosse.”

Photo courtesy of Clemson Athletics

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