DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 6, 2025) – The No. 23 Mercy University women's lacrosse team plays at No. 18 Bentley University on Saturday, March 8th at 2 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, March 8th 2 p.m.
Records: #23 Mercy (3-1), #18 Bentley (1-2)
Location: Waltham, Mass.
Last Meeting vs. Bentley
Bentley earned a 16-9 win over Mercy on March 2, 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 15-4 win over #24 Assumption on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by senior Leah Hansen who had a game-high four goals and by junior Olivia LaMonica who made 10 saves. The Mavericks have been led by senior Leah Hansen who has a team-high 15 points on a team-high 13 goals with two assists. Sophomore Riley Wallace is second on the team with 11 goals and freshman Ashlinn Kelly is third with nine goals to go with one assist and seven caused turnovers. Freshman Marena Morales has eight goals and an assist and junior Maeghan Callow has five goals and three assists. Sophomore Juliana Talenti has a team-high five assists with six points. Freshman Kayden Meyer has six goals. Senior Lindsey Shimborske has a team-high 39 draw controls, 13 caused turnovers and 13 ground balls and junior Emily Marino has eight caused turnovers and 10 ground balls. Callow has 11 ground balls to go with five caused turnovers and junior Olivia LaMonica is 3-1 in goal with 35 saves in 225 minutes of action.
Shimborske was named IWLCA Division II Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday and ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time on Monday. Wallace, Kelly, Meyer and Morales were tabbed to the Honor Roll on Monday. Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week last week 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 3-3 all-time against the Falcons and are 2-0 at Bentley. Mercy looks to start 4-1 for the first time since 2021.
Scouting the Falcons
Bentley is coming off a 14-8 loss at West Chester on Sunday. The Falcons were picked fourth in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 11-8 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Bentley is currently ranked No. 18 nationally in the IWLCA Poll. The Falcons have been led by Maeve Johnson who has a team-high 15 points on 12 goals and three assists. Amanda Davis has eight goals and an assist and Caitlin Keenan has three goals and a team-high six assists. Natalia Dutkewych has a team-high five caused turnovers and 12 draw controls and Kathryn Slattery has a team-high 13 ground balls. Ashlee Wargo is 1-2 in goal with 37 saves, a .529 save percentage and 12.00 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Sunday, March 16th when they play at Tampa at 3 p.m.
