DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 24, 2025) – The No. 23 Mercy University women's lacrosse team plays at Thomas Jefferson University on Wednesday, March 26th at 3 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 26th 3 p.m.

Records: #23 Mercy (3-4), Jefferson (4-5)

Location: Philadelphia, Pa.

Last Meeting vs. Jefferson

Mercy earned a 15-8 win over Jefferson on March 30, 2024.

Scouting the Mavericks

The Mavericks were picked second in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 9-10 last season, falling in the ECC Championship Final. Mercy looks to make the ECC Tournament for the ninth straight season and looks to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time since 2017. Head Coach Dawn Sachs and the Mavericks will face seven schools currently ranked in the IWLCA poll.

Sachs and the Mavericks return four All-ECC selections from a year ago, highlighted by ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Lindsey Shimborske. Shimborske was named USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason First Team All-American after being the reigning back-to-back ECC Defensive Player of the Year. Shimborske was also named IWLCA First Team All-American, USA Lacrosse Second Team All-American and IWLCA First Team All-Region last year. She led the ECC in caused turnovers (41) and ranked second in ground balls (48) and draw controls (114) last season, all of which ranked in the top 25 nationally.

Also returning is senior Leah Hansen who was named IWLCA Second Team All-Region and First Team All-ECC in 2024. The senior had 65 goals, eight assists and 73 points last season, leading the team in goals and points. Hansen led the ECC in goals and was fourth in points. Junior Andrea Mott returns after being named Second All-ECC last season. Mott had 16 goals, 28 assists and 44 points a year ago. She led the team in assists and was third in points. Mott ranked fourth in the ECC in assists. Junior Emily Marino is back after being named Second Team All-ECC last season. Marino recorded 23 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers in 2024.

Junior Maeghan Callow returns after posting 11 goals, eight assists, 19 points and 48 draw controls last season and sophomore Riley Wallace is back after recording 14 goals and three assists. Sophomore Juliana Talenti also returns after netting four goals, two assists, 21 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers last season. Senior Tatiana Moran, junior Rita-Marie Masi and sophomore Madison Preston also return after combining for six goals and one assist last season.

Junior Kaci Bates returns after starting all 19 games last season, finishing with nine ground balls and 14 caused turnovers. Sophomores Madison Traversa and Ashley McQuade and Olivia Van Dyke also return after combining for three ground balls in seven games last season.

Returning in goal for the Mavericks is junior Olivia LaMonica who went 2-3 in goal last season with 63 saves, a 10.39 goals-against average and .426 save percentage in 490 minutes of action. Also returning in goal is sophomore Olivia Bradley who appeared in four games in 2024 and made three saves.

Sachs will also look to a strong recruiting class in freshmen Liz Byrne, Sofia Knudsen, Kiera Medina, Kayden Meyer, Marena Morales, Leanna Kwarta and Ashlinn Kelly to help get Mercy back to the ECC Tournament. Knudsen was named All-County last season at Mattituck High School, Morales recorded 227 career goals at Tolland High School and over 300 career points in high school, Kwarta was tabbed All-County and All-Division at Lindenhurst High School and Kelly recorded 100 career points at Farmingdale High School and was named All-Conference and All-County.

Mercy is coming off a 12-8 loss at #2 Florida Southern on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by Wallace, Callow and Hansen who each had a team-high two goals. The Mavericks have been led by senior Leah Hansen who has a team-high 22 points on a team-high 18 goals with four assists. Sophomore Riley Wallace is second on the team with 15 goals and 30 draw controls and freshman Ashlinn Kelly is third with 13 goals to go with three assists and 11 caused turnovers. Freshman Marena Morales has nine goals and an assist and junior Maeghan Callow has eight goals and three assists. Sophomore Juliana Talenti has a team-high six assists with nine points. Freshman Kayden Meyer has 11 goals. Senior Lindsey Shimborske has a team-high 52 draw controls, 19 caused turnovers and 28 ground balls and junior Emily Marino has 11 caused turnovers and 13 ground balls. Callow has 15 ground balls to go with six caused turnovers and junior Olivia LaMonica is 3-4 in goal with 53 saves, a .427 save percentage and 10.52 goals-against average in 405 minutes of action.

Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for the third time this season. Kelly was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the second time on March 10th and Hansen and Wallace were named to the Honor Roll. Shimborske was named IWLCA Division II Defensive Player of the Week on March 4th and ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time on March 3rd. Wallace, Kelly, Meyer and Morales were tabbed to the Honor Roll on March 3rd. Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on February 24th and Kelly was tabbed Rookie of the Week. Hansen and Wallace were tabbed to the Honor Roll.

Mercy is ranked No. 23 nationally in the IWLCA Poll. The Mavericks are 8-3 all-time against Jefferson and have won the last eight meetings.

Scouting the Rams

Jefferson is coming off an 18-4 win over Bridgeport on Saturday for their second straight win. The Rams were picked fourth in the CACC Preseason Poll after going 7-8 last season, qualifying for the CACC Tournament. Jefferson is led by Lilly Lutz who has a team-high 26 points on 12 goals and a team-high 14 assists. Reagan Rogers has 15 goals and eight assists and Emily Ryder has a team-high 16 goals with four assists. Iris Gluck has 13 goals and six assists and Emma Baker has 12 goals and five assists. Gluck also has a team-high 18 caused turnovers, 51 draw controls and 38 ground balls. Kalyn Ammerlaan is 4-5 in goal with 88 saves, a .486 save percentage and 11.16 goals-against average.

Next Game

Mercy resumes action on Saturday, March 29th when they host Daemen at 11 a.m.