Women's Lacrosse 3/16/2021 9:04:00 AM

Game Preview: No. 14 Women's Lacrosse Hosts Caldwell on Wednesday

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 16, 2021) – The No. 14 Mercy College women's lacrosse team hosts Caldwell University on Wednesday, March 17th at 3 p.m.

Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 17th 3 p.m.
Records: Mercy (1-0), Caldwell (0-2)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
No spectators permitted due to COVID-19

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy is coming off an 18-6 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in their season opener last Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by junior Taylor Bishop who had a game-high five goals.
Mercy was picked to finish 1st in the ECC Preseason Poll and junior Micayla Brady was tabbed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Mavericks went 4-1 during the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season. Mercy went 15-5 during their last full season in 2019 and won their first ECC Championship, making the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance.
Mercy is currently ranked No. 14 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll and Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine Polls.
Mercy looks to start 2-0 for the sixth straight season.
Mercy has had five straight winning seasons and have made the ECC Tournament in each of the last four seasons the tournament was held.
The Mavericks are 3-0 all-time against Caldwell having won all three prior meetings by double-digit goals.
Mercy improved to 11-1 all-time in season openers with their win over STAC on Wednesday.
Sophomore Sydney Corley was named ECC Rookie of the Week after scoring a career-high two goals in the win over St. Thomas Aquinas. Bishop and graduate student Mary Mackie were named to the ECC Honor Roll after Bishop had a career-high five goals and Mackie added three goals and an assist in the win over STAC.
Juniors Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk and Erin Chalich both had strong games to open their 2021 seasons. Grzelaczyk had a career-high four points on two goals and two assists and Chalich had a career-high four assists. Senior Briana Corace also added two goals in the win.
Brady leads the defense for the Mavericks and helped lead a defense that allowed just six goals in the win over STAC. The junior had four ground balls and a game-high-tying three caused turnovers. Junior Jules Keenan also contributed three caused turnovers and won a team-high six draw controls. Senior Kellie Znaniecki also had a strong game with a game-high five ground balls to go with two caused turnovers.
Senior Emma Jacobsen made the start in goal and made five saves in the first half while allowing just three goals to earn the win. Junior Madeline Garvalosa played most of the second half and stopped two shots.
Mercy currently leads Division II in assists per game (12), is No. 3 in points per game (30) and No. 4 in scoring offense (18). Chalich leads the nation in assists per game (4), and Brady and Keenan are currently No. 5 nationally in caused turnovers per game (3).

Scouting the Cougars

The Cougars are coming off a 20-10 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on Monday.
Caldwell was picked fifth in the CACC Preseason Poll after going 0-4 last year.
During their last full season in 2019, the Cougars went 6-11 and qualified for the CACC Tournament.
The Cougars look to snap a seven-game losing streak dating back to 2019.
In the teams' last meeting on March 27, 2017, the Mavericks came away with an 18-2 win in Dobbs Ferry.
The Cougars look to win their first road game since defeating Chestnut Hill on April 25, 2019.
Leading the returners for the Cougars is graduate student Arden Kassaleh who became the program's first All-Region selection in 2019 and was the NCAA Division II statistical leader in goals per game with 5.53. She had 110 points on 94 goals in 2019 and has opened this season with four goals against Molloy and six goals against STAC. For her career she has 250 goals and 296 points.
Sophomore Kelsey Maxwell added a goal against Molloy and had six goals and one assist in four games during the 2020 season. Junior Jenna Steelman was second on the team in points in 2020 with 11 and in 2019 as a freshman she had 25 goals and nine assists.
Senior Samantha Murphy was named Second Team All-CACC in 2019 and last year led the Cougars in caused turnovers with eight. She also added four goals and five assists and this season has a team-high-tying two caused turnovers.
In goal, Caldwell is led by junior Mia Monacelli who made 11 saves in the season-opening loss to Molloy and made 13 saves against STAC on Monday. She posted 213 saves in 2019 and had 13 saves during the 2020 season.