Opening Draw
Loyola is set for their home opener on Tuesday evening, as they will host No. 10 Florida at noon at Ridley Athletic Complex.
Florida holds the series edge 8-4, but Loyola has won four of the last six meetings and are 3-2 in games at Ridley Athletic Complex.
The Greyhounds won the last matchup at home 18-10, as Loyola held Florida to two second half goals.
Senior
Elisa Faklaris returns for her fourth season at Loyola, coming off of a career year for the Greyhounds, scoring 51 goals on a .638 shooting percentage on the season, as she enters the season as Loyola's top returning goal scorer.
Kennedy Buntrock will take the reigns in goal for Loyola, replacing three-year starter
Lauren Spence in goal. Buntrock has seen action in 14 games in her career, tallying 12 saves on 41 shots faced.
Jen Adams is back for her 18th season at the helm of the Greyhounds, as they have compiled a 69-16 record since the beginning of the 2022 season, which includes five NCAA Tournament wins.
Patriot League Honors
Loyola notched three players on the Patriot League All-Preseason Team this season, as
Elisa Faklaris,
Cydney Lisk, and
Mim Suares-Jury were all named to the team.
Mae Murphy was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week following a week were she had 29 draw controls, as she leads Division I in draws per game.
Greyhounds In The NCAA Tournament
Last season was the seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament (excluding 2020) for the Greyhounds, as they have won at least one game in the tournament in six of those trips.
Loyola reached the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2022 and 2023, after they won their First and Second Round games at Loyola.
Last season, Loyola lost to Stony Brook in the First Round.
More on Suares-Jury
Mim Suares-Jury is coming off of a strong freshman campaign, as she scored 26 goals, 11 assists, 25 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers, and 17 draw controls.
Suares-Jury also found success at the international level, playing with the Austrailian National Team at the The 2025 World Games, winning a bronze medal.
Following the Wold Lacrosse Championship in 2024, Suares-Jury was named to the All-World Team.
2025 Captains
Seniors
Elisa Faklaris and
Cydney Lisk, Junior
Delaney Jackson, and Sophomore
Mim Suares-Jury will serve as the team captains for the 2025 season.
Scouting Florida
Florida comes into the matchup with a 0-1 record after losing their season opener to No. 17 Michigan on Friday afternoon.
The Gators opened the season as the No. 4 ranked team in the IWLCA Preseason Poll.
In their season opener, Frannie Hahn led the team with four points (1g, 3a). Clark Hamilton led the team with three goals, while Kaitlyn Davies and Boo DeWitt each had two goals.
Gabbi Koury led the team with four draw controls in the opener.
Three players saw minutes in goal for the Gators. Paige Crowther played 30 minutes in goal, allowing 3 goals and tallying 5 saves. Maya Soskin played 27 minutes, tallying one save while allowing six goals, while Susan Radebaugh allowed three goals.
Kaitlyn Davies was named Big12 Preseason Midfielder of the Year entering the season, while Theresa Bragg was named Co-Preseason Defender of the Year.
Frannie Hahn, Clark Hamilton, Gabby Greene, Gabbi Koury, and Ashley Dyer all joined Davies and Bragg on the Big12 Lacrosse Preseason All-Big12 team.
Record Tracking
Elisa Faklaris comes off of a career-best 2025 season. Entering the 2026 season, Faklaris is 32 goals and 23 points away from 100 career goals and points.
Entering the season, Faklaris has a .590 shooting percentage on 105 career shots.
Youth Movement
Entering the 2026 season, Loyola's roster boasts 20 underclassmen this season.
Of the 15 upperclassmen this year,
Cydney Lisk leads all returners with 41 career starts.
Several potential starters and key role players this year enter the season with no career starts in their career.
Dominance From The Circle
The Greyhounds are coming off of a 2025 season where they ranked first in draws per game (20.3) and first in draw control percentage (69.9%) in Division I.
Loyola's 69.9% on draw controls ranks as the best percentage in Division I since draw percentage was tracked starting in 2018-19, while their 20.6 draws per game was the most in a full season since draws became a stat in 1999 (excluding the 2020 shortened season).
The Greyhounds have finished with the best draw control percentage in two of the last three seasons ('25, '23), while ranking in the top three in each of the last four seasons.
Mae Murphy will look to follow in the footsteps of Taryn and Taylor VanThof, Livy Rosenzweig, Jillian Wilson, and
Chase Boyle, who have set a history of excellence at the draw since 2011.
Murphy set a freshman record with 17 draw controls in the Greyhounds win over Lehigh.
The Greyhounds have boasted one of the top draw units over the past 10 seasons, in large part due to assistant coach
Dana Dobbie, who coaches the draw and was one of the top players on the draw during her career.
