Akron Battles Massachusetts for MAC Tournament Championship

Saturday, May 2

Moon Township, Pa.

12:00 PM

University of Akron

Massachusetts

Action Photo - Akron Lacrosse - 5-1-26

Akron Battles Massachusetts for MAC Tournament Championship

May 01 | Women's Lacrosse

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron lacrosse team will vie for the Mid-American Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament berth on Saturday (May 2) as the second-seeded Zips battle top-seeded Massachusetts at 12 p.m. in Moon Township, Pa.

FIVE ZIPS GARNER ALL-MAC ACCOLADES:
Akron garnered a program-record five All-Mid-American Conference selections when the league unveiled its 2026 award winners in a vote of the league coaches released on Wednesday (April 29).

Junior Sienna Hinchcliffe (Rochester, N.Y.) capped a brilliant regular season campaign with her selection as the league's Attacker of the Year. Senior Katie Baumer (Rochester, N.Y.) culminated her stellar season being honored as the MAC Midfielder of the Year.

The duo headlined the Zips' award winners as the pair was selected as First-Team All-MAC honorees. Pulling in Second-Team All-MAC laurels were seniors Sarah Baumer (Rochester, N.Y.) and Kellen Fletcher (Valencia, Pa.). Additionally, freshman Sienna Hinchcliffe (Rochester, N.Y.) was named to the MAC All-Freshman team.

POSTSEASON HISTORY:
The Zips are making their second straight championship game appearance when the squad battles Massachusetts on Saturday (May 2). Akron is 3-1 all-time in postseason play, including 3-0 in the MAC Tournament.

POSTSEASON STATISTICS:
Fifteen Zips have earned playing time in postseason during their Akron careers, including five making their tournament debuts versus Eastern Michigan (April 30). Sienna Hinchcliffe, Katie Baumer, Kellen Fletcher, senior Heather Carey (Williamsville, N.Y.), junior Kaitlyn Sikorski (Plymouth, Minn.) and sophomore Avery Wallace (Eden Prairie, Minn.) have recorded 10, nine, three, two, one and one goals, respectively, for the Zips. Additionally, redshirt freshman GK Adrianna Califano (Bellmore, N.Y.) has pulled in 10 saves for the Zips.

FIVE ZIPS HONORED ON SENIOR DAY:
Akron recognized five Zips on Senior Day prior to the squad's match with Youngstown State on April 18. The group of Katie Baumer, Sarah Baumer, Heather Carey, Dani Dahl (Fairfax, Va.) and Kellen Fletcher donned the Blue and White one final time at home when Akron hosted the Penguins.

ZIPS NAME TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2026:
The Akron senior duo of Katie Baumer and Sarah Baumer will serve as the Zips' captains for the 2026 campaign.

SCOUTING AKRON:
Sienna Hinchcliffe leads the Zips in goals (74), points (101), shots (154), shots on goal (109), while ranking third in ground balls (29), third in draw controls (50) and fifth in caused turnovers (13). Katie Baumer is second on the team in goals (41). Kellen Fletcher paces the squad in assists (33), while Kaitlyn Sikorski ranks fourth with 20. Heather Carey ranks third on the squad in goals netting 32. Goalkeeper Adrianna Califano has registered 95 saves, 32 ground balls and owns an 8.76 goals against average.

SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS:
Akron is meeting Massachusetts for the second time in program history. The Minutewomen are 15-2 on the campaign, including posting a 7-0 mark in the Mid-American Conference, following an 13-5 triumph over Robert Morris on Thursday (April 30). Redshirt senior Kassidy Morris owns team-high totals in goals (67), points (97), shots (140) and shots on goal (100), while ranking second in assists (30). Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Bayley Duffy has collected 120 saves and 46 ground balls, respectively, en route to posting 7.48 goals against average. Massachusetts is led by fourth-year head coach Jana Drummond, who owns an 59-14 ledger as a head coach for the Minutewomen.

IN OUR LAST MEETING (APRIL 4, 2026 – AMHERST, MASS.):
Sienna Hinchcliffe turned a dominate individual six-goal performance, but Massachusetts garnered an all-round team effort to post an 18-10 triumph over the Zips in a battle of Mid-American Conference lacrosse unbeaten teams on April 4 in Amherst, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• One of the leading contenders for MAC Player of the Year honors, Hinchcliffe registered six goals on the strength of a career-high 12 shots, including nine on goal. She also contributed five draw controls, two caused turnovers and one ground ball for the Zips.
• Akron netted 10 goals in the match, a mark that equaled the combined total of the first three league opponents for Massachusetts.
• Katie Baumer added a pair of goals for Akron, while netting one tally apiece was Kellen Fletcher and Kaitlyn Sikorski.
• Baumer, Fletcher and Sikorski each collected an assist for the Zips.
• Goalkeeper Adrianna Califano recorded five saves in the match for Akron.
• Baumer paced the Zips with a team-best three ground balls and six draw controls.
• Junior Evelyn White (Dublin Ohio) tallied a game- and career-best four caused turnovers.
• Recording a game- and career-high 12 shots, including nine on goal was Hinchcliffe.

GOLDEN GOAL LIFTS AKRON PAST EASTERN MICHIGAN, 10-9:
Sienna Hinchcliffe delivered the golden goal in the second overtime to propel the Zips to the title game of the Mid-American Conference Championship with a 10-9 victory past Eastern Michigan on Thursday (April 30).

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Hinchcliffe and Katie Baumer led all scorers with a game-high four goals apiece.
• Heather Carey and Avery Wallace accounted for Akron's other two tallies netting a goal each.
• Kellen Fletcher led the Zips with a game-best two assists, while Kaitlyn Sikorski garnered an assist.
• Goalkeeper Adrianna Califano (Bellmore, N.Y.) recorded a career-high 10 saves in the match for Akron, while leading the Zips with a career- and game-best eight ground balls.
• Baumer, Hinchcliffe and sophomore Julia Mattingly (Leonardtown, Md.) paced Akron with a game-high four draw controls each, while Baumer and sophomore Kayla Murphy (Annapolis, Md.) registered a game-high three caused turnovers.
• Hinchcliffe posted a game-best 11 shots, with seven falling on net.

ZIPS CAPTURE MAC TOURNAMENT TITLE:
A golden goal from Jaelyn Clinkscales with 14 seconds remaining in overtime propelled the Akron lacrosse team to its first ever Mid-American Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth with a come-from-behind 11-10 victory over Robert Morris in the league's title match on May 3, 2025, in Moon Township, Pa.

Picked to finish last in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Zips overcame a five-goal second-half deficit to force and overtime and set the stage for Clinkscales' game-winning goal in overtime.

AKRON EARNS FIRST EVER MAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE:
With its 14-12 come-from-behind victory over Robert Morris on April 27, 2025, the Zips earned a share of their first-ever Mid-American Conference regular season title.

AKRON NOTES:
• Sienna Hinchcliffe has scored three or more goals in 15 of 16 games this season, including nine straight games. Additionally, she has posted three or more points in all 16 contests and registered double-figure shots in Akron's last seven games and nine tilts overall.
• Katie Baumer has netted a goal in all 16 games this season, including two or more 12 times. She has recorded four or more shots in 14 matches.
• Hinchcliffe is atop the career list at Akron in total goals (168), in total points (222), goals per game (3.29), shots (386), shots on goal (286), points per contest (4.35), assists per outing (1.06), shots per match (7.55), shots on goal per game (5.57) and woman-up goals, while rating second in total assists (54) and fourth in draw controls (146) and draw controls per tilt (2.86).
• Baumer is now atop Akron's career list in caused turnovers (80). Additionally, she is rated second at Akron in draw controls (205), third in draw controls per contest (3.11), fourth in goals (1.33) and points per game (1.97), total goals (88), total points (130), career assists (42), total shots (203), shots on goal (150), shots on goal per tilt (2.27), caused turnovers per match (1.21) and in ground balls (108), fifth shots per match (3.08) and assists per game (0.64) and ninth in ground balls per contest (1.64).
• Kellen Fletcher is third in total assists (53) and assists per game (0.82), fifth in total goals (69), total points (122), total shots (173), shots on goal (134) and in points per game (1.88) and seventh in goals per tilt (1.06), shots per match (2.66) and shots on goal (2.06).
• Heather Carey is sixth in total goals (63), sixth in total shots (163), seventh in total points (80), eighth in draw controls (44) and 10th in draw controls (0.66).
• Kaitlyn Sikorski is fourth in assists per contest (0.76) and fifth in total assists (37).
• Hinchcliffe has set single-season program records for goals (74), points (101), assists (27), shots (154) and in shots on goal (109).
• Sienna Hinchcliffe supplanted Alexis Kiefer as the single season record holder for goals in program history with a career-best six-goal effort last season against Robert Morris. She finished the campaign with 59 goals a year ago.
• Sienna Hinchcliffe set the then single-season record for points (73), shots (142) and shots on goal (106), while Noelle Boyd owns the top single-season mark for assists (26) and Hannah Sanders for saves (144) and wins (11).
• Noelle Boyd surpassed Alexis Kiefer atop the career list for shots versus Robert Morris (April 27) having amassed 331 shots, while moving atop the list for shots on goal with 254 shots on goal against Eastern Michigan (April 20). Additionally, she started a program record 69 games.

IN THE LATEST MAC RANKINGS:
• Akron rates second in the Mid-American Conference in goals against average (8.76), in goals (12.88), assists (7.25), points (20.13), shots (28.63), shots on goal (20.56) per game and in draw controls (11.44).
• In league-only matches, Akron ranked second in the league in goals (14.57), assists (9.14), points (23.71), shots (30.14), shots on goal (22.71) and draw controls (12.86) and third in caused turnovers (10.71) and goals against average (7.29).
• Sienna Hinchcliffe is first in the conference in goals per game (4.63), in shots (9.63) per match and in points per outing (6.31), fifth in assists per tilt (1.69) and ninth in draw controls (3.19).
• Katie Baumer is second in draw controls (3.81), fifth in goals per game (2.56) and in points (3.88), seventh in shots (5.50* and in caused turnovers (1.38) and eighth in assists (1.31), while Kellen Fletcher is third in assists (2.06) and eighth in points (3.38).
• Adrianna Califano is second in goals against average (8.76), fifth in save percentage (.403) and eighth in saves (5.94).
• Additionally, Kaitlyn Sikorski is ninth in assists per match (1.25), Sarah Baumer is fourth in caused turnovers (1.69), Julia Mattingly is sixth in draw controls (3.31) and Heather Carey is eighth in goals per contest (2.00).
• In league-only action, Hinchcliffe was first in points per contest (8.29), goals per game (5.57) and shots per match (10.86), third in assists per tilt (2.71) and fifth in draw controls (4.00). Califano was third in the MAC in league-only goals against average (7.29), eighth in saves per game (4.71) and ninth in saves percentage (.393). Additionally, Baumer was fourth in draw controls (4.43) and caused turnovers (2.00), fifth in assists per match (1.71), sixth in goals per game (2.43), seventh in points per contest (4.14) and in shots per match (5.86) and ninth in ground balls (2.71), Carey was seventh in goals per game (2.29), Fletcher was fourth in assists per tilt (2.43) and fifth in points per contest (4.29) and Sarah Baumer was fifth in caused turnovers (1.86).

ZIPS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS:
• Katie Baumer is third in the NCAA in free position percentage (.733) and 29th in free position goals (0.69).
• Sienna Hinchcliffe rated second in the NCAA in goals per game (4.63), shots (9.63) per contest and in shots on goal (6.81), third in total goals (74) and points per match (6.31) and fifth in total points (101). Additionally, Kellen Fletcher is 33rd in total assists (33) and 38th in assists per game (2.06) and Adrianna Califano is 21st in goals against average (8.76).
• Akron ranks first in the NCAA in free position percentage (.615), 18th in winning percentage (.750), 21st in assists per game (7.25), 23rd in scoring defense (8.81), 24th in ground balls (17.38) and in scoring margin (4.06), 27th in points per match (20.13) and in shot percentage (.450), 30th in scoring offense (12.88), 45th in shots per contest (28.63), 46th in caused turnovers (9.19*) and in shots on goal (20.50) and 49th in clearing percentage (.889).
• Hinchcliffe ranks seventh among active NCAA D1 leaders in goals per outing (3.29), 10th in points per game (4.35), 16th in total goals (168) and 19th in total points (222), while Baumer is rated 35th in caused turnovers (1.21), 47th in ground balls (1.64) and in ground balls (108) and 49th in draw controls (3.11) and Califano is ranked 14th in goals against average (8.76).

UP NEXT:
The winner of Saturday's championship match will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the MAC.