Charleston, W. Va – The University of Charleston lacrosse team travels to Tennessee to face the Pioneers of Tusculum University for their first matchup of the 2023 campaign. The Golden Eagles will be led by first-year head coach Melanie Rizzotti who served as a graduate assistant for the team just a year ago. Rizzotti played four years at Whittier College, a Division III school in Southern California, where she earned All-SCIAC Team Honors. 
 
Last year, the Golden Eagles posted a 6-9 record under former head coach Mike Tyrell, naming five players to All-MEC teams. They would go .500 in conference with a 4-4 record, beating Davis & Elkins and West Virginia Wesleyan in both matchups. Their four conference losses of the year came to Frostburg State and Notre Dame College, the 2022 MEC Champions. They would go on to lose in the semi-finals of the Mountain East Conference Tournament to Frostburg State 7-23. 
 
The team returns four All-MEC players: Gianni Blundell, Meghan Smith, Madison Sobolewski, and Destiny Jackson. The four combined for 46 goals, despite the fact that none of them are listed on the roster as attackers. Jackson, a midfielder, poses as a reliable weapon that seems to be everywhere that the ball goes. Blundell, another midfielder, will more than likely take every draw control of the season, considering the fact that she led the team with 69 total draw controls just a season ago. Sobolewski and Smith combined for a total of 45 groundballs and 33 caused turnovers, as they will hold down the defensive end in tomorrow's matchup with the Pioneers. 
 
In 2022, Tusculum finished 4-12 and 1-9 in SAC play. The Pioneers have already begun their 2023 season with a 16-6 loss to Lee University at home on February 4^th. Half of their goals came from Tia Daniel, the Senior from British Columbia. She will be an offensive threat to watch for the Pioneers. Defensively, Lucy Brewer leads the way after causing four turnovers just a week ago in their matchup and collecting four ground balls.