ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Many women's lacrosse coaches preach to their teams about playing a "full 60 minutes."

Roberts Wesleyan women's lacrosse coach Kristin Paolini credits the key to her 16^th-ranked team's success this season to boiling that message down even further.

"The biggest part of it for our team is taking things play by play and minute by minute," Paolini said. "If you get ahead of yourselves, it can be overwhelming."

The Redhawks (11-1, 4-1 East Coast Conference) have spent much of the season overwhelming their opponents and will host Molloy College (4-6, 3-2) in an ECC semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.

The contest marks the first home postseason game in program history and the third straight season Roberts has met the Lions in the conference tournament. The Redhawks defeated Molloy 16-9 on April 17 and each team is looking to reach the ECC Championship Game for the first time.

The winner of Thursday's game will play the winner of the other semifinal between top-seeded Mercy (11-1, 5-0) and No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas (4-4, 2-3) at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Mercy.

"This is huge for us," Paolini said of hosting a postseason game. "It was one of our goals this season."

But, it is not the ultimate goal.

The Redhawks used a prolific offense which ranks fourth in the country in goals per game (17.92) to win their first 11 games and would like nothing more than to earn a return trip to Dobbs Ferry, the site of their lone defeat, on Saturday.

Roberts boasts the top three scorers in the ECC in senior Lindsey Brinkel (28 goals, 46 assists, 74 points), junior Madison Bell (38-32-70) and senior Emily Tomei (40-12-52).

Brinkel and Bell key a low attack that can both finish and distribute.

"They are dynamic in the way that they can attack the cage," Paolini said. "And, if they get pressured they can feed it through to their teammates."

Tomei, a midfielder, led the ECC in goals and forms a formidable combination with graduate student Jessica Giancursio in the center circle on draw controls. Giancursio led the ECC with 66 draw controls this season.

"They have been huge for us because winning draw controls puts the ball in our sticks," Paolini said.

And possession leads to scoring. Junior Alexis Grant (27) and senior Taylor Nathan (25) gave Roberts five 25-goal scorers this spring. Bell scored five goals, Tomei had four and Nathan netted three in the regular-season win over Molloy.

But, the Redhawks are about more than just offense.

Graduate student Tiffany Melendez (24) and senior Madilynn Walsh (21) lead the team in turnovers caused and solid defense often translates to opportunities on offense.

"Our high defenders and our goalie are phenomenal," Paolini said. "They are the keys to our success on defense and they provide a big spark for us."

Junior goalie Natalie Arieno has played every second for the Redhawks this season and has a "strong lacrosse IQ," according to Paolini. Roberts enters the postseason allowing 8.12 goals per game.

Molloy's offense is led by sophomore Amanda Weber (21-5-26), who scored five goals in the previous meeting with Roberts.

"If we don't mark her up or concentrate on her, she can pile up some goals," Paolini said.

While Weber is sure to receive her fair share of attention, Paolini is hoping her team focuses more on itself.

"We need to play our own game and stay calm and collected while also staying aggressive," Paolini said.

All games during the championship will be broadcast live on the ECC Network website and the ECC Network app on Apple and Android mobile devices and also on OTT apps through Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku streaming devices.