DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The #17 Mercy University Women's Lacrosse Team hosts #15 Pace University on Thursday, April 2nd at 4 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Thursday, April 2nd 4 p.m.

Records: #17 Mercy (9-1), #15 Pace (6-4)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. Pace

Mercy dropped a 16-12 decision at Pace on April 16, 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 24-0 win at STAC on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by Grzelaczyk who had a game-high seven points. Mercy has been led by freshman Jessica Grzelaczyk who has a team-high 39 points on 20 goals and 19 assists. Sophomore Ashlinn Kelly has 35 points on 27 goals and eight assists to go with 25 draw controls, 13 caused turnovers and 24 ground balls. Kelly recorded her 100th career point against STAC on March 28th. Junior Juliana Talenti has 16 assists with eight goals and sophomore Kayden Meyer has a team-high 30 goals with 34 points and 13 caused turnovers. Sophomore Angela Taddeo has nine goals and an assist and senior Andrea Mott has 19 goals and eight assists. Freshman Ava Franco has 15 goals and 12 assists and junior Riley Wallace has 16 goals and five assists. Senior Emily Marino has a team-high 19 caused turnovers with 26 ground balls and senior Olivia LaMonica is 7-1 in goal with 55 saves, a .417 save percentage and 10.90 goals-against average.

Grzelaczyk was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Synan was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week, Batter was named Goalie of the Week and Franco was named Rookie of the Week. Kelly and Meyer were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Meyer was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week on March 23rd, 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 on March 16th. 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. 17 nationally in the latest IWLCA Top 25 Poll and No. 11 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll. The Mavericks look to start 10-1 for the first time since 2021. Mercy looks to beat Pace for the first time.

Scouting the Setters

Pace is coming off a 15-8 win over Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday. The Setters were picked second in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 17-5 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Pace is ranked No. 15 nationally in the IWLCA Top 25 Poll. The Setters are led by Mackenzie Carita who has a team-high 29 points on 18 goals and 11 assists. Annie Sheehan has eight goals and 19 assists and Maddie Schubert has 21 goals and five assists. Marissa Doty has a team-high 23 caused turnovers and 22 ground balls and Sasha Kulo has a team-high 79 draw controls. Elsa Branco is 3-4 in goal with 38 saves, a .355 save percentage and 12.74 goals-against average. Camryn Smith is 3-0 in goal with 16 saves, a .308 save percentage and 8.23 goals-against average.

Next Game

Mercy hosts Jefferson on Wednesday, April 8th at 4 p.m.