DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 7, 2025) – The No. 25 Mercy University women's lacrosse team hosts ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Wednesday, April 9th at 3 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 9th 3 p.m.

Records: #25 Mercy (5-5, 1-1 ECC), St. Thomas Aquinas (3-8, 0-3 ECC)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. STAC

Mercy earned a 23-3 win over STAC on March 27, 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 19-18 overtime loss at Molloy on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Riley Wallace who had a game-high and career-high nine points. The Mavericks have been led by senior Leah Hansen who has a team-high 34 points on a team-high-tying 28 goals with six assists. Sophomore Riley Wallace also has a team-high-tying 28 goals with 33 draw controls and freshman Ashlinn Kelly is third on the team with 23 goals to go with eight assists and 15 caused turnovers. Freshman Marena Morales has 13 goals and an assist and junior Maeghan Callow has 11 goals and four assists. Sophomore Juliana Talenti has a team-high 10 assists with 16 points. Freshman Kayden Meyer has 19 goals and two assists. Senior Lindsey Shimborske has a team-high 79 draw controls, 26 caused turnovers and 37 ground balls and junior Emily Marino has 15 caused turnovers and 18 ground balls. Callow has 19 ground balls to go with eight caused turnovers and junior Olivia LaMonica is 5-5 in goal with 81 saves, a .443 save percentage and 11.00 goals-against average in 556 minutes of action.

Shimborske, Wallace and Kelly were named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. Kelly was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the third time last week 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 12-4 all-time against the Spartans and have won the last nine meetings.

Scouting the Spartans

STAC is coming off a 17-5 loss at D'Youville on Saturday. The Spartans were picked sixth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 4-12 last season. STAC is led by Hailey Galison who has a team-high 56 points on a team-high 41 goals and 15 assists. Katelyn Cerrato has 42 points on 30 goals and 12 assists and Jada Garcia has 25 goals and five assists. Galison has a team-high 61 ground balls, 72 draw controls and 33 caused turnovers. Lilah Magenheimer is 3-5 in goal with 109 saves, a .456 save percentage and 17.33 goals-against average. Ailsa Ogilvie is 0-3 in goal with 15 saves, a .190 save percentage and 18.29 goals-against average.

Next Game

Mercy resumes action on Sunday, April 13th when they play at D'Youville at 11 a.m.