DETROIT (3/29/2016) -- The Titans will look for their fifth-straight victory on Wednesday when the University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team opens its 2016 Atlantic Sun schedule by hosting Central Michigan at 4 p.m. from Titan Field. The game is set to be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications.
Detroit (4-4) has won four-straight contests, which matches a school record set by the 2012 squad. The Titans most recently picked up a 5-4 home win over Robert Morris, the first win over the Colonials in program history.
The game against the Chippewas is also Detroit's Flint Charity Game with proceeds of the game going towards helping residents in Flint with the water crisis. Donations will be accepted at the game. Detroit and CMU are two of 13 women's lacrosse programs from around the state participating in the initiative to help.
Detroit Defense Leads to 5-4 Win Over Robert MorrisBehind a strong defensive effort highlighted by 12 saves from freshman
Allison McDonough, the University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team matched a school-record with its fourth consecutive victory in a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Robert Morris.
Detroit (4-4) trailed 3-2 at halftime from Titan Field, but scored three straight goals to begin the second half to flip the advantage for the game. McDonough was strong in net all day -- making six saves in each half -- and came up with several clutch stops late in the contest. Freshman
Lexie Kinmond scored two of the three goals in the second half to help highlight the offensive attack in the comeback.
Kinmond led the offense with two goals and one assist. Classmates
Morgan Girardi and
Kaitlyn Wandelt also scored goals in the first half for Detroit.
Kylie Birney finished with a team-high five ground balls, while
Ally Shrader, Wandelt and McDonough all finished with four ground balls. Wandelt had a team-best four caused turnovers with Birney,
Lauren Webley and
Taylor Spray each chipping in two caused turnovers.
McDonough Earns Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the WeekFor the second-straight week, a University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse student-athlete is being honored by the Atlantic Sun as freshman goalkeeper
Allison McDonough was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.
McDonough was instrumental in Detroit's 5-4 victory over Robert Morris on Friday, making a season-high 12 saves and turning away 75 percent of the shots that she faced in the contest. McDonough made six saves in the second half as Detroit came from behind for its first-ever win over the Colonials. It's her first career weekly honor from the Atlantic Sun.
The Titans have earned two weekly awards in the past two weeks as McDonough's classmate,
Kaitlyn Wandelt, was named the A-Sun Player of the Week on March 22.
Scouting Central MichiganThe Chippewas (3-4) are in their inaugural women's lacrosse season and enter their first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun. Central Michigan won three of its first five games of the season, defeating Gardner-Webb, Delaware State and VCU. CMU has most recently dropped games to Marquette and Robert Morris, two common opponents for the Titans. CMU is 1-3 on the road this year under head coach Sara Tisdale.
Jocelyne Lemay leads the Chippewas with 17 goals off 28 total shots in seven games. Abdalla Summer is second on the squad with 13 goals and four assists for 17 points. Anna Schoonover has 12 points (6g, 6a) and leads the Chippewas with 22 draw controls. Sydney Wright is tied for second on CMU with nine goals, while Logan Halvorson is tied for the team lead with 20 ground balls.
In net, Dominique Hamman has started all seven games and has a 43.1 save percentage and 11.48 goals against average, along with 53 total saves.
All-Time SeriesThis is the first meeting between Central Michigan and the Titans. The Chippewas added women's lacrosse on Aug. 6, 2013 and joined the Atlantic Sun in January 2014. CMU hired its first coach, Sara Tisdale, a CMU alum, in July 2014 before officially beginning its first season in 2015-16.
Win Streak Makes HistoryDetroit's four-game win streak matches the longest in the eight-year history of women's lacrosse. The Titans have out-scored their opponents by a 60-18 margin in that streak. Detroit opened the streak with a 12-10 win over VCU and then tied the school record for fewest goals allowed in a game in a 22-1 triumph over Delaware State. After a 21-3 win at Radford, Detroit used a comeback in a 5-4 victory over Robert Morris last week.
The win streak matches a four-game triumph stretch that the 2012 put together near the end of the season. Detroit won its final three games of the regular season in 2012 over Presbyterian, Howard and Cincinnati before winning its National Lacrosse Conference Tournament opener over Liberty.
It's just the fifth time Detroit has had a win streak of longer than three contests, one of which came late last season during Detroit's school-record 10 win season.
Birney Closes in on 100 Career GoalsSenior midfielder
Kylie Birney is tied for third on the squad with 15 goals this season and has 97 for her career. She just recently passed two former teammates -- Zaynib Hamze (95 career goals) and
Tessa Keuler (92 goals) -- on the all-time list and would become just the fourth Detroit women's lacrosse player to reach the century mark when she gets to 100 career markers and first since Corina Mahorn in 2012.
Mahorn is next on the list with 110 career goals. Emily Boissonneault holds the all-time school record for goals with 242.
Birney led the Titans in goals last season with 38 markers and is a two-time All-Atlantic Sun First Team honoree. The three-year co-captain and 2015 Atlantic Sun Scholar-Athlete of the Year has scored in every game this season and has 15 career hat tricks.
Freshman StandoutsThe Titans' leading goal scorer seven games into the season is freshman
Kaitlyn Wandelt, who has team-highs of 17 goals and 22 points. Classmates
Lexie Kinmond (16 goals, 21 points) and
Morgan Girardi (15 goals, 19 points) rank second and third on the team in points. Combined, the trio have 48 goals and 62 points, while all three have started eight games. Girardi has three hat tricks this season, totaling a season-high five points vs. Oregon. Kinmond has scored in every game and had her first career hat trick at Radford with five goals. Wandelt also leads the team in draw controls with 26.
Detroit freshmen have accounted for 51 of the 91 goals this season (56 percent). Five of the six freshman field players have scored goals this season for the Titans, with
Emma Leszczak and
Ali Magyaros each picking up their first markers against Delaware State.
Alex McCafferty has started the past four games on the defensive for Detroit and corralled two ground balls in her first collegiate start vs. VCU.
In goal, rookie netminder
Allison McDonough has started all eight games for the Titans and earned the A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week honor after turning away 12 shots vs. Robert Morris. She has 53 saves total this season and has stopped 38.7 percent of shots to go along with a 11.33 goals against average.
Beam Featured in Lacrosse MagazineSophomore attack
Jordyn Beam was featured in Lacrosse Magazine after becoming the first Titan women's lacrosse player to score a goal and also record a save in the same game in Detroit's 22-1 win over Delaware State. Beam tallied a goal in the first half and played the final 24 minutes in goal, making four saves while not allowing a goal. It was her first career appearance in net. Beam followed the performance up with three assists and a save in net in a road game at Radford.
Beam has recorded two goals and three assists in 2016 after totaling 21 points on 14 goals and seven assists as a freshman in 2015. Beam tied a single-game freshman record last season, tallying eight points in one game (five goals, three assists) against Howard.
Up NextDetroit returns to the road this week, traveling to Mount St. Mary's in Maryland for a Sunday afternoon contest at Noon in Emmitsburg. The game is set to be streamed live. Detroit's next two games are on the road as Detroit returns to conference play on Sunday, April 10 at Furman in Greenville, S.C.
