DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The #19 Mercy University Women's Lacrosse Team hosts ECC foe Molloy University on Wednesday, March 25th at 4 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 25th 4 p.m.

Records: #19 Mercy (7-1, 1-0 ECC), Molloy (3-5, 0-0 ECC)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. Molloy

Mercy dropped a 15-13 decision to Molloy in the ECC Championship Final on May 3, 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 17-16 win over No. 9 Saint Leo on Thursday. The Mavericks were led by sophomores Kayden Meyer and Ashlinn Kelly who both had four goals and one assist. Mercy has been led by freshman Jessica Grzelaczyk who has 26 points on 14 goals and 12 assists. Sophomore Ashlinn Kelly has a team-high 27 points on 20 goals and seven assists to go with 24 draw controls, 12 caused turnovers and a team-high 23 ground balls. Junior Juliana Talenti has a team-high 13 assists with four goals and sophomore Kayden Meyer has a team-high 22 goals with 25 points and 11 caused turnovers. Sophomore Angela Taddeo has nine goals and an assist and senior Andrea Mott has 14 goals and five assists. Freshman Ava Franco has 11 goals and six assists and junior Riley Wallace has 14 goals and three assists. Senior Emily Marino has a team-high 16 caused turnovers with 20 ground balls and senior Olivia LaMonica is 6-1 in goal with 50 saves, a .403 save percentage and 11.47  goals-against average.

Meyer was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Marino was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week, LaMonica was named Goalie of the Week and Grzelaczyk was named Rookie of the Week. Marino and Kelly were named to the ECC Honor Roll last week. Kelly was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on March 9th, Franco was named Rookie of the Week and Wallace was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Meyer was named ECC Player of the Week on March 2nd 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. 19 nationally in the latest IWLCA Top 25 Poll and No. 12 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll. The Mavericks look to start 8-1 for the first time since 2021. Mercy is 9-9 all-time against Molloy and have lost three of the last four meetings.

Scouting the Lions

Molloy is coming off a 12-6 loss to Southern Connecticut State on Saturday. The Lions were picked second in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 10-9 last season, winning the ECC Championship and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Molloy has been led by Sam Cossaro who has a team-high-tying 20 points on 16 goals and four assists. Cameron Thompson has a team-high nine assists to go with 11 goals and Ava Benasutti has nine goals and seven assists. Brooke Grossjung has a team-high 20 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers and Ryleigh Zamora has a team-high 45 draw controls. Samantha Heuer is 2-2 in goal with 38 saves, a .452 save percentage and 9.32 goals-against average. Nicole Schaumloffel is 1-3 with 20 saves, a .351 save percentage and 12.07 goals-against average.

Next Game

Mercy plays at STAC on Saturday, March 28th at 12 p.m.