DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 3, 2025) – The No. 23 Mercy University women's lacrosse team plays at ECC foe Molloy University on Saturday, April 5th at 11 a.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, April 5th 11 a.m.
Records: #23 Mercy (5-4, 1-0 ECC), Molloy (3-8, 1-1 ECC)
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Molloy
Mercy earned a 17-13 win over Molloy on April 10, 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 21-6 win over Daemen on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by senior Leah Hansen and freshman Kayden Meyer who both had a game-high six points. The Mavericks have been led by senior Leah Hansen who has a team-high 31 points on a team-high 26 goals with five assists. Sophomore Riley Wallace is second on the team with 21 goals and 33 draw controls and freshman Ashlinn Kelly is third with 19 goals to go with six assists and 14 caused turnovers. Freshman Marena Morales has 12 goals and an assist and junior Maeghan Callow has nine goals and four assists. Sophomore Juliana Talenti has a team-high 10 assists with 16 points. Freshman Kayden Meyer has 17 goals and two assists. Senior Lindsey Shimborske has a team-high 69 draw controls, 22 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls and junior Emily Marino has 13 caused turnovers and 17 ground balls. Callow has 18 ground balls to go with eight caused turnovers and junior Olivia LaMonica is 5-4 in goal with 67 saves, a .447 save percentage and 10.06 goals-against average in 495 minutes of action.
Kelly was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the third time on Monday and Shimborske, LaMonica and Meyer were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time last week. 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 9-7 all-time against Molloy and have won nine of the last 10 meetings.
Scouting the Lions
Molloy is coming off an 18-1 win over UDC on Saturday for their second straight win. The Lions were picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 8-8 last season, qualifying for the ECC Championship. Molloy is led by Megan Rugolo who has a team-high 45 points on a team-high 32 goals, 13 assists and 51 draw controls. Brenna Signorelli has 31 points on 25 goals and six assists and Sofia Quitoni has 18 goals and two assists. Alexa Amorison has seven goals and a team-high-tying 13 assists. Signorelli has a team-high 24 ground balls and Carly Howell has a team-high 24 caused turnovers. Nicole Schaumloffel is 3-8 in goal with 77 saves, a .374 save percentage and 12.37 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, April 9th when they host STAC at 3 p.m.
