The Basics
Final Score: Detroit 16, Howard 3
Records: Detroit 10-7 (5-3 A-Sun), Howard 0-14, (0-8 A-Sun)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Titan Field)
DETROIT (5/1/2016) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team honored four seniors on Sunday afternoon and then tied the school-record for wins in a season, earning its 10th triumph of the 2016 campaign in a 16-3 victory over visiting Howard from Titan Field.
The Titans matched the school record for wins in a season, tying last year's squad with their 10th win. Detroit scored the first nine goals of the game and cruised to an emphatic win in the season finale. Detroit improved to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in Atlantic Sun play. The Titans are locked in as the No. 4 seed in the upcoming A-Sun Championship, which begins on Thursday in Kennesaw, Ga.
Detroit senior
Kylie Birney got on the scoreboard just 51 seconds after the opening whistle and the Titans were off and running. Freshman standout
Kaitlyn Wandelt followed with her 52nd goal of the season off an assist from senior
Michaela Schwartz and Schwartz then followed with a goal of her own from Birney as Detroit led 3-0 just 2:38 into the game.
Detroit's fourth shot also found the back of the net when freshman
Morgan Girardi scored her 29th marker of the 2016 campaign. Detroit continued to find the back of the net, scoring five more before halftime to take a 9-0 lead at the break. Wandelt tallied her 10th hat trick of the season by halftime to lead the goal scorers.
After Howard opened the second half with a goal, Detroit responded to take a 10-goal advantage as junior
Julie Castner and freshman
Lexie Kinmond each scored. Kinmond finished the game with a career-high five assists and tallied a team-leading seven points during the contest.
The Titans finished the game the same way they started, scoring the final five goals. Schwartz scored two in that span to give her a season-high four for the day, while sophomore
Brittany Fenney, freshman
Emma Leszczak and Kinmond each burried home shots.
Schwartz had a career day, scoring a career-best four goals and totaling five total points. She also scooped up four ground balls and had three draw controls. Senior
Ally Shrader and Castner each finished with three caused turnovers, while Castner picked up a career-best six ground balls. Birney and sophomore
Lauren Webley also picked up three ground balls for the Titans.
Wandelt and sophomore
Emma Mucci also tallied three draw controls, while sophomore
Taylor Spray added two caused turnovers.
Ten Titans found the back of the net in all during the contest. Detroit had the shot advantage, 43-14, and collected 17 of the 21 draw controls. The Titans also totaled 26 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.
Freshman goalkeeper
Allison McDonough set a new school record with her 10th victory of the season, turning away four of the seven shots on goal she faced. In 14 minutes, sophomore
Jordyn Beam also made one save, making the third appearance in net this season. Beam hasn't allowed a goal in 49 minutes in net this season.
The victory marked the fourth time this season Detroit has allowed fewer than four goals, with three of those games coming at Titan Field. Detroit closed out the regular season with a 6-4 mark at home to improve to 11-4 in Detroit in the past two seasons.
The senior class of Birney,
Morgan Miller, Schwartz and Shrader picked up their 30th win in their careers on Sunday, 15 of them coming from Titan Field. The quartet has been a part of all three teams that have reached the A-Sun Championship game and the two squads that have earned back-to-back 10-win seasons.
Up Next
Detroit heads to Georgia next week for the Atlantic Sun Championships, which open Thursday, May 5 at Kennesaw State University. Detroit is the No. 4 seed and faces No. 5 Mercer to open the tournament at 1 p.m. Thursday from Fifth Third Bank Stadium. The game is streamed live on ESPN3.
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