INDIANA, Pa. - The IUP women's lacrosse team (12-5, 9-3 PSAC) opens the 2022 PSAC Championships Tuesday when they head to Erie to face Mercyhurst (13-4, 9-3 PSAC) Tuesday afternoon. Game time at Saxon Stadium is 5 p.m. 

These two teams tied in the Western Division standings with identical 9-3 records. Mercyhurst received the No. 2 seed and the Crimson Hawks the No. 3 seed due to a tiebreaker. 

The teams split their regular season series as IUP won in Erie 12-11 on April 2 and the Lakers won in Indiana 9-6 on April 27. 

LAST TIME
>> The Hawks won their regular season finale, rallying to defeat Slippery Rock 12-11 on Saturday.
>> IUP trailed 9-3 in the third quarter before scoring 9 of the game's final 11 goals.
>> Sarah Reustle had a career-high 5 goals, adding 5 ground balls and 3 caused turnovers.
>> Leah Hunter scored the go-ahead goal with 7:46 to play. 

REGIONAL RANKINGS 
>> The Crimson Hawks hold No. 4 in the Atlantic in the NCAA's second regional rankings of the spring.
>> These rankings determine the NCAA's field of 16, with four teams from each region making the Division II tournament.
>> IUP is looking to make its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance.

GALLAGHER ROAN NAMED TOP COACH
>> Brenna Gallagher Roan ('16) was named PSAC West Coach of the Year on Monday.
>> The fourth-year coach has a career-high for overall wins (12) and PSAC wins (9). Both win totals are the most for the program since 2016. 
>> Gallagher Roan has the Hawks in the PSAC tournament for the third time in four years, including the canceled 2020 season. 

LOADS OF PSAC AWARDS
>> The Crimson Hawks led the division and tied for first in the conference with seven All-PSAC selections.
>> The seven selections is a new program record. IUP had three first team picks and four on the second team.
>> First team selections included midfielder Sarah Reustle and defenders Hannah Sharkey and Maggie Marsteller.
>> Second team selections included attackers Chloe Borland and Jordan Kulp, midfielder Emme Mass, and defender Sami Shutt. 
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PLAYOFF HISTORY
>> The Hawks are making the program's ninth all-time PSAC tournament appearance.
>> The nine berths have come in the last 11 years, including the canceled 2020 season. 
>> The Hawks are 4-8 all-time in PSAC tournament games. They advanced to the semifinals in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. 

PLAYING "D"
>> The Hawks are 4th in the PSAC, 2nd in the division, with 11.65 caused turnovers per game. 
>> Opposing teams have turned the ball over 20+ times nine times this year, including four times in the last five games. 
>> IUP is also 3rd in the PSAC, 1st in the division, with 22.47 ground balls per game.
>> Eight Hawks have at least 20 ground ball pick ups, including Sarah Reustle with a team-best 43GBs (2.53/game).

REUSTLE MAKING PLAYS
>> Sophomore midfielder Sarah Reustle was named Team MVP and is one of the best all-around players in the PSAC.
>> She leads the team in caused turnovers (30) and ground balls (43), is 2nd in draws (59), 4th in goals (23) and 5th in points (53).
>> Reustle has been named PSAC West Athlete and Defensive Athlete of the Week this season.
>> Mainly a defensive midfielder for most of the season, she turned up the heat offensively with 20 goals and 4 assists in the last six games. 

SPREADING THE LOVE
>> Jordan Kulp ranks 10th in Division II (3rd PSAC) with 44 assists (2.59 per game).
>> She has 2+ assists in 12 of 17 games this season, including six games of 4+ assists.
>> Kulp had a season-high 6 assists in the win over Shippensburg.