DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 27, 2025) – The No. 23 Mercy University women's lacrosse team hosts ECC foe Daemen University on Saturday, March 29th at 11 a.m. for Senior Day.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Saturday, March 29th 11 a.m.

Records: #23 Mercy (4-4, 0-0 ECC), Daemen (3-5, 1-0 ECC)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. Daemen

Mercy earned an 18-5 win over Daemen on April 28, 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 13-11 win at Jefferson on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by freshman Ashlinn Kelly who had a career-high five points on four goals and an assist. The Mavericks have been led by senior Leah Hansen who has a team-high 25 points on a team-high 20 goals with five assists. Sophomore Riley Wallace is second on the team with 18 goals and 31 draw controls and freshman Ashlinn Kelly is third with 17 goals to go with four assists and 14 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 nine assists with 14 points. Freshman Kayden Meyer has 13 goals. Senior Lindsey Shimborske has a team-high 61 draw controls, 20 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls and junior Emily Marino has 12 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls. Callow has 17 ground balls to go with eight caused turnovers and junior Olivia LaMonica is 4-4 in goal with 64 saves, a .438 save percentage and 10.58 goals-against average in 465 minutes of action.

In a ceremony prior to the game, Mercy will honor seniors Lindsey Shimborske, Leah Hansen and Tatiana Moran for their contributions to the program.

Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time on Monday. 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 2-0 all-time against Daemen. Mercy looks to win their ECC opener for the eighth straight season.

Scouting the Wildcats

Daemen is coming off a 24-3 win at STAC on Saturday. The Wildcats were picked fifth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 5-12 last season. Daemen has been led by Shannen Calandra who has a team-high 25 points on nine goals and a team-high 16 assists. Ella Bouley has a team-high 15 goals with seven assists and Avery Castner has 14 goals and two assists. Cameron Briggs has 12 goals and two assists to go with a team-high 31 draw controls, 20 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Molly Evans is 2-5 in goal with 54 saves, a .372 save percentage and 13.18 goals-against average.

Next Game

Mercy resumes action on Saturday, April 5th when they play at Molloy at 11 a.m.