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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (5/2/2015) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team is back in a familiar position once again. For the third straight year, the Titans (10-7) are in the title game of the Atlantic Sun Championships and face regular-season champions and top-seeded Jacksonville University at 1 p.m. Sunday at D.B. Milne Field on Jacksonville's campus.

Like all tournament, the game will be broadcasted live on ESPN3.com. Admission into the contest is $5.

Detroit is facing Jacksonville (16-2) for the third straight year in the championship game. The Dolphins won the previous two games in 2013 and 2014. The winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

For the second-straight year, the Titans upset the No. 2 seed to reach the title game. In 2014, Detroit topped Elon 15-11 in the semifinals. On Friday, the Titans scored six straight goals and never trailed en route to a 14-11 victory over No. 2 Old Dominion, which had defeated UDM during the regular season.

The Titans improved to 4-2 all-time in Altantic Sun postseason play following its two victories this season. All three championship games have featured Detroit and Jacksonville in the A-Sun's history of women's lacrosse.

Team Effort Leads Titans Past Monarchs
Detroit scored the first six goals of the game and held Old Dominion without a goal for two, 17-minute stretches during the contest as the Titans earned a victory over the No. 2 seed, 15-11.

Annie Mendoza again led the Titans with four goals. Tessa Keuler had one goal and five assists for her sixth six-point game of the year, while Kylie Birney and Michaela Schwartz each had two goals. Julie Castner added two goals for UDM.

Goalkeeper Lexie McCormick made eight saves in net. Detroit led 9-5 at halftime and after ODU trimmed the lead down to one goal at 9-8 and then 10-9, Detroit scored four straight goals to take a 14-11 lead with 6:35 left in the game.

The Titans converted on 14 of their 22 shots in the contest for a season-high 63.6 shooting percentage. Detroit scored on 14 of their 17 shots on goal (82.3 percent). Detroit was 11-for-12 on clears, while holding ODU to 5-of-10 on clear attempts.

Mendoza Heats Up in Postseason
For the second straight season, senior attack Annie Mendoza is leading the Titans in goals during the postseason. Mendoza has eight goals through two games in the 2015 Atlantic Sun Championships, tallying four goals in each game. She has 10 points overall through two tournament games.

Mendoza, a two-year starter at Detroit, was also Detroit's top scorer during the 2014 Atlantic Sun Championships. Mendoza scored five goals in the 15-11 victory over Elon in the semifinals before recording two more goals in the championship game against Jacksonville. She was named to the A-Sun All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of the tournament.

For her career, the senior from Lansing, Mich. has 15 goals in four Atlantic Sun tournament contests.

School-Record 10 Wins
The Titans (10-7) have reached 10 victories in a season for the first time in school history. Detroit's previous best for wins in a season was eight in 2012, which was Laura Maness' first year as leader of the red, white and blue. Maness, in her fourth season at the helm of Detroit, has a 4-2 coaching record with three appearances in the A-Sun Championship game.

Along with assistant coach Laurie Merian, who was the head coach at Division III Alma College in Michigan prior to being named an assistant prior to the 2014-15 season, the pair have each made their conference championship game for the past three seasons. The coaching duo have never won a conference championship game as coaches.

All-Time Series
Detroit dropped its regular season meeting, 18-7, with the Dolphins in Jacksonville earlier this season. The Titans are winless in 10 meetings with Jacksonville dating back to 2010. Jacksonville won the 2014 A-Sun Championship over Detroit, 18-4.

Five Titans Named to Atlantic Sun All-Conference Teams
Four University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse student-athletes were named to the 2015 Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team and five Titans were honored overall as the league handed out year-end awards on Tuesday.

Senior attack Tessa Keuler (Oregon City, Ore.), senior defender Morgan Lear (San Ramon, Calif. / Dougherty Valley), senior goalkeeper Lexie McCormick (Peterborough, Ont. / St. Peters) and junior midfielder Kylie Birney (Plymouth, Mich. / Ladywood) were each voted to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team.

Detroit tied regular season champion Jacksonville with the most honorees on the 13-member first team with four representatives each.

Freshman Jessica Snyder (Northville, Mich. / Ladywood) was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team.

Birney Named Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Three Named Academic All-Conference
Junior Kylie Birney (Plymouth, Mich. / Ladywood) was named the Atlantic Sun Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and three Titans received Academic All-Conference honors as the team was announced on Monday by the league office.

Birney and seniors Tessa Keuler (Oregon City, Ore.) and Morgan Lear (San Ramon, Calif. / Dougherty Valley), all co-captains, were each voted to the 12-member Atlantic Sun Academic All-Conference Team. The Titans tied Jacksonville with the most representatives on the academic squad.

Birney was one of two unanimous selections on the team after recording a 4.00 GPA in Business. Birney is enrolled in the five-year MBA program at Detroit and is a three-time member of the UDM Athletic Director's Honor Roll. She was also selected Academic All-Conference last year.

Keuler has a 3.97 GPA in Business and Economics. The accolade marks the third-straight season that Keuler has made the Academic All-Conference team. Lear, who has a 3.84 GPA in Business Administration, was recently announced as the President's Award winner, the second women's lacrosse player in Titan history to earn that. The President's Award is given to the most outstanding male and female seniors who best typify the image of the complete student-athlete.

Assist Queen
Senior attack Tessa Keuler entered the 2014 season as the all-time assist leader in Detroit women's lacrosse history. She has continued adding assists in her final season in a red, white and blue uniform and leads the Atlantic Sun lead in assists with 32 -- 14 more than her previous career high. Keuler has four of the top five assist totals for a single season in school history.

Keuler has seven games this season with three assists or better. She has 83 career assists -- 42 more than anyone else in Detroit women's lacrosse history. She ranks 15th in the nation in assists and 18th in assists per game (1.82).

She broke her own school record for assists in a season with a pair of helpers at Stetson earlier this year. Keuler also became the first player in the conference this season to reach the 20-goal, 20-assist plateau. She has tallied six points in a game six different times this season and set a single-game school record with six assists against Cincinnati on Feb. 20. Keuler is also the third Titan in school history to reach the 150-point plateau. Entering Sunday's game, Keuler has 174 career points. Her 61-point season is tied for sixth with former teammate Zaynib Hamze in school history for one season.

McCormick Leaves Historic Mark in Net
Senior goalkeeper Lexie McCormick, the NCAA Division I active career saves leader, ranks inside the top 20 in the national rankings in both total saves and saves per game. McCormick has 152 total saves, which is 11th in the country. She ranks seventh in the nation with 9.50 saves per game. McCormick, the 2013 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, is 20th in the nation with a 46.8 save percentage, a career-best. She also has a career-low 11.46 goals against average.

McCormick entered the season with an even 500 saves and sits at 652 total saves. She has 41 more career saves than Manhattan's Christina Fiorinell, who is in second on the career saves list and McCormick is third on the active career list in ground balls with 187, just two behind Monmouth's Katie Donohoe.

Birney Reaches Milestone
Junior midfielder Kylie Birney reached a career high in goals with her sixth hat trick of the season against Stetson. Birney has 38 goals on the season, surpassing her career-high of 26, which she set in 2014 as a sophomore. She has 82 career goals, which is seventh all-time in the record books. Her 38 goals this year is tied for ninth for a single-season in school history.

She has scored at least one goal in 13 straight contests and has scored five goals in a game twice this season, to go along with seven hat tricks. Birney has the most goals for a Detroit player since 2013 when Zaynib Hamze tallied 45 goals and Erin Campbell scored 39 goals.

Milestone Watch
Senior goalkeeper Lexie McCormick already holds school records for wins (27) and saves (652) in UDM history. McCormick is also in third place in ground balls in school history with 187 and needs 11 more this season to reach the top of the history books. Zaynib Hamze has the all-time mark with 198 ground balls during her Detroit career.

Senior attack Tessa Keuler ranks third all-time in points (174) and ranks sixth in goals (91). Keuler already holds the all-time mark in assists (83). She needs four goals to tie Hamze (95 goals) for fifth place on the all-time goal scoring list.

Senior defender Amanda Guthrie ranks third all-time with 70 caused turnovers. Guthrie is also fourth in ground balls (149) in the UDM record books.

Six Titans Reach 20-Goal Plateau
The Titans have six different players who have reached the 20-goal plateau in the 2015 season. Senior Tessa Keuler has reached the 15-goal plateau for the fourth time in her career. She is second on the team with 29 goals, setting a new career high in the category. She had 25 goals in 2013 as a sophomore.

Junior Kylie Birney has a career-high 38 goals to lead the squad. Senior Annie Mendoza has a career-best 30 markers, junior Michaela Schwartz has tallied 26 goals and sophomore Kelsi Pritchard has scored 22 goals. Freshman Jessica Snyder has tallied 21 goals in her rookie season.

Beam Sets Records Against Howard
Freshman Jordyn Beam tallied a Detroit season-high with eight points against Howard. The five goals and three assists by Beam were the most by a Detroit freshman since 2009, the inaugural year of Titan women's lacrosse. Beam scored five goals on six shots on goal.

Beam's eight points was the most by a Detroit player since Erin Campbell tallied nine points on April 26, 2014 against Kennesaw State. The record for points in a game is 11 by Anna Eidem in 2009.

Freshman Contributions
Five Detroit freshmen have earned considerable playing time in 2015. Freshman attack Jordyn Beam has started nine games for the Titans, scoring 14 goals and ranking second on the team with seven assists. Freshman attack Jessica Snyder has recorded four hat tricks in the past 13 games and is sixth on the squad in goals (21) and fifth in points (26). Snyder joined Beam with a five-goal game this year, tallying five markers vs. Furman.

Emma Mucci has made four starts for Detroit and has eight points and 14 draw controls, while defender Lauren Webley has played in all 17 games, making eight starts and has 22 ground balls, 14 draw controls and nine caused turnovers. She registered three caused turnovers against Cincinnati and posted four ground balls at Marquette earlier in the season. Fellow rookie defender Taylor Spray has played in 10 games for Detroit, making her first career start at Robert Morris.

McCormick Earns Atlantic Sun Honor
Lexie McCormick was selected as the Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Week on March 10 following a week in which Detroit went 1-1 against Saint Mary's and Robert Morris. McCormick made 26 saves total during the week and had a 59.0 percent save percentage. It was the fifth career weekly honor for the 2013 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year.

Senior defender Amanda Guthrie, a three-year starter, was named the inaugural Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Week for the 2015 season, as she was selected for the honor on Feb. 3. Guthrie led the Titans with three ground balls and two caused turnovers against Ohio State and helped limit the Buckeyes to six second-half goals.

2015 Preseason Poll
Detroit, the 2014 runner-up in the conference, was selected to finish third in the Atlantic Sun Preseason Coaches Poll. The Titans received 41 votes and finished behind defending champion Jacksonville (59 points) and newcomer Old Dominion (53 votes) in the league poll.

Six Titans were named to the 14-member Preseason Atlantic Sun All-Conference Team. Senior goalkeeper Lexie McCormick was named to the team and was also voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Senior defenders Amanda Guthrie, Morgan Lear and Taylor Marshall, junior midfielder Kylie Birney and senior attack Tessa Keuler were also named to the preseason squad. Detroit had the most selections of any other team in the Atlantic Sun.

Team Captains
Seniors Tessa Keuler and Morgan Lear and junior Kylie Birney were selected as the 2015 team captains. For Keuler and Birney, it's the second straight season that the pair have been team captains, while it's the first year as captain for fifth-year senior defender Lear.

Social Media
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