DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The #25 Mercy University Women's Lacrosse Team plays at Roberts Wesleyan University in their ECC opener on Saturday, March 14th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, March 14th 12 p.m.
Records: #25 Mercy (5-1, 0-0 ECC), Roberts Wesleyan (1-4, 0-0 ECC)
Location: Rochester, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Roberts Wesleyan
Mercy earned a 10-8 win over Roberts Wesleyan on April 27, 2025.
Scouting the Mavericks
The Mavericks were picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 10-7 last season, falling in the ECC Championship Final. Mercy is receiving votes nationally in the IWLCA Top 25 poll. The Mavericks look to make the ECC Tournament for the 10th 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 five schools currently ranked in the IWLCA poll.
Sachs and the Mavericks return six ECC All-Conference selections from a year ago, highlighted by ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-American Honorable Mention selection sophomore Ashlinn Kelly. Kelly was named IWLCA Second Team All-Region, ECC Midfielder and Rookie of the Year and First Team All-ECC last season. The midfielder ended the 2025 season with 48 goals, 17 assists, 65 points, 29 caused turnovers, 23 ground balls and 15 draw controls. Senior Olivia LaMonica also returns after being named ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. LaMonica was named Second Team All-ECC last season after going 10-7 in goal with 120 saves, a .448 save percentage and 10.16 goals-against average.
Also returning for the Mavericks is senior Emily Marino who was named First Team All-ECC last season after recording 24 caused turnovers and 32 ground balls. Junior Riley Wallace returns after being named First Team All-ECC following a season in which she had 47 goals, 11 assists and 58 points. Senior Maeghan Callow is back after being named Second Team All-ECC in 2025. Callow had 17 goals, eight assists, 25 points and 67 draw controls. Sophomore Kayden Meyer was named Second Team All-ECC last year after recording 38 goals, 14 assists and 52 points. Senior Andrea Mott returns for the Mavericks after missing last season due to injury. Mott was named Second Team All-ECC in 2024 after posting 16 goals, 28 assists and 44 points, leading the team in assists.
Junior Juliana Talenti returns after recording 15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points and 27 ground balls. Sophomore Dakota Dieumegard is also back after posting four goals and five assists and junior Madison Traversa and sophomores Sofia Knudsen and Kiera Medina also return.
Seniors Kaci Bates and Rita-Marie Masi also return on defense for Mercy. Bates started 16 games last season and recorded three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Masi started 13 games and had 21 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Sophomore Leanna Kwarta is back after starting eight games in 2025 with four caused turnovers. Juniors Olivia Van Dyke and Ashley McQuade also return for the Mavericks.
Also returning in goal for the Mavericks are junior Olivia Bradley and sophomore Liz Byrne. The duo combined for 12 saves last season.
Joining the Mavericks as transfers are sophomore Angela Taddeo and graduate student Kate McNally. Taddeo joins the Mavericks from Division I Stony Brook University and McNally joins Mercy from Division III SUNY Oswego.
Sachs also brings in a strong freshmen recruiting class with Ava Franco, Brigid Burns, Brielle Bilello, Sophia Pittoni, Keira Laibach, Jessica Grzelaczyk, Emma Synan, Emma Batter, and Molly Solnick looking to contribute immediately.
Mercy is coming off a 15-14 win at Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by senior Andrea Mott who scored the game-winning goal off an assist from junior Juliana Talenti. Mercy has been led by freshman Jessica Grzelaczyk who has a team-high-tying 20 points on 10 goals and 10 assists. Sophomore Ashlinn Kelly has 14 goals and five assists to go with 22 draw controls, 11caused turnovers and a team-high 21 ground balls. Junior Juliana Talenti has a team-high 11 assists with two goals and sophomore Kayden Meyer has a team-high 18 goals and a team-high-tying 20 points with nine caused turnovers. Sophomore Angela Taddeo has nine goals and an assist and Mott has 10 goals and five assists. Freshman Ava Franco has eight goals and six assists and junior Riley Wallace has nine goals and three assists. Senior Emily Marino has a team-high 12 caused turnovers and senior Olivia LaMonica is 4-1 in goal with 37 saves, a .411 save percentage and 11.91 goals-against average.
Kelly was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Franco was named Rookie of the Week and Wallace was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Meyer was named ECC Player of the Week last week and Grzelaczyk was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Grzelaczyk was named ECC Player and Rookie of the Week on February 23rd and Kelly was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week. Mercy is ranked No. 25 nationally in the latest IWLCA Top 25 Poll and No. 18 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll. The Mavericks are 12-5 all-time against the Redhawks. Mercy looks to win at Roberts Wesleyan for the first time since 2022. The Mavericks look to start 6-1 for the first time since 2021 and look to win their ECC opener for the ninth straight season.
Scouting the Redhawks
Roberts Wesleyan is coming off an 11-10 loss at Assumption on Sunday. The Redhawks were picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 7-8 last season, falling in the ECC Championship Semifinals. Roberts Wesleyan has been led by Lia MacDougall who has a team-high 22 points on 21 goals and one assist. Ella Dossier is second on the team with 18 points on a team-high 15 assists to go with three goals. Kadie Tierney has 16 points on 12 goals and four assists and Allison Clahane has a team-high 16 caused turnovers. Josella Harrison is 1-4 with 23 saves, a .307 save percentage and 10.24 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy hosts Saint Leo on Thursday, March 19th at 3 p.m.
