DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 17, 2025) – The No. 25 Mercy University women's lacrosse team plays at University of the District of Columbia on Saturday, April 19th at 1 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, April 19th 1 p.m.
Records: #25 Mercy (7-6, 3-1 ECC), District of Columbia (1-7, 0-3 ECC)
Location: Washington, D.C.
Last Meeting vs. District of Columbia
Mercy earned an 18-0 win over UDC on March 22, 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 16-12 loss at No. 9 Pace on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by freshman Ashlinn Kelly who had a career-high five goals. The Mavericks have been led by senior Leah Hansen who has a team-high 52 points on a team-high 39 goals and 13 assists. Hansen recorded her 200th career point at Pace on April 16th. Sophomore Riley Wallace has 36 goals with 39 draw controls and freshman Ashlinn Kelly has 36 goals to go with 10 assists and 20 caused turnovers. Freshman Marena Morales has 19 goals and an assist and junior Maeghan Callow has 13 goals and five assists. Callow recorded her 100th career draw control in the win over D'Youville on April 13th. Sophomore Juliana Talenti has 10 assists with 17 points and freshman Kayden Meyer has 27 goals and six assists. Senior Lindsey Shimborske has a team-high 99 draw controls, 32 caused turnovers and 46 ground balls and junior Emily Marino has 17 caused turnovers and 23 ground balls. Shimborske recorded her 200th career ground ball at Pace on April 16th and set a school record with her 168th career caused turnover. Callow has 27 ground balls to go with 11 caused turnovers and 43 draw controls. Callow recorded her 100th career draw control at D'Youville on April 13th. Junior Olivia LaMonica is 7-6 in goal with 95 saves, a .434 save percentage and 11.00 goals-against average in 676 minutes of action.
Hansen was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week and Kelly was tabbed Rookie of the Week on Monday. Meyer and Wallace were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Shimborske, Wallace and Kelly were named to the ECC Honor Roll on last week. Kelly was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the third time on March 31st and Shimborske, LaMonica and Meyer were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time on March 24th. 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. 25 nationally in the IWLCA Poll. The Mavericks are 9-0 all-time against UDC.
Scouting the Firebirds
UDC is coming off a 19-15 win at Trinity on Wednesday. The Firebirds were picked seventh in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 1-13 last season. UDC is led by Michelle Mitchell who has a team-high 13 points on a team-high 11 goals with two assists. Jada Williams is second on the team with 12 points on eight goals and four assists and Grace Hall has seven goals and an assist. Najee Gunter has a team-high 24 ground balls and six caused turnovers. Williams has a team-high 21 draw controls and Natalia Perkins is 1-6 in goal with 75 saves, a .391 save percentage and 20.38 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Sunday, April 27th when they host Roberts Wesleyan at 11 a.m.
