DETROIT (3/13/2018) -- Following five road contests to open the 2018 season, the University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team opens its home schedule this weekend, hosting two teams in three days from Titan Field in Detroit starting Thursday.

The Titans (2-3 overall) host Saint Francis for a 2:30 p.m. game Thursday before welcoming Duquesne on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest in the backend of a doubleheader with the Titan men's lacrosse squad.

It's the start of a stretch where Detroit Mercy plays seven-straight inside the state of Michigan. Six of the next seven games are at home for the Titans, all of them being scheduled on Titan Field.
 

Games 6 & 7  |  Detroit Mercy (2-3) vs. Saint Francis (4-3) & Duquesne (1-4)
Date / Time	Thursday, March 15 // 2:30 p.m. ET
	Saturday, March 17 // 3 p.m. ET
Location / Tickets	Detroit, Mich. (Titan Field) // Ticket Info: FREE
Live Stats	DetroitTitans.com
Live Steam / TV	No stream or ESPN3
Social Media	Twitter (In-game Tweets): @DetroitWL  |  Facebook     Instagram  |  Tweet #DetroitsCollegeTeam
All-Time Series	Titans tied with Saint Francis, 1-1 // Titans trail Duquesne, 0-6

Quick Hits
• The Titans played Duquesne on the road last year, falling 11-10. Detroit Mercy and Saint Francis haven't met since 2011.
• Detroit Mercy has wins over American and Butler this season, scoring 16 goals in each games.
• Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Wandelt leads the Titans with 11 goals and 17 points; Her 11 goals is tied for second in the SoCon.
• Junior Morgan Girardi is just two points shy of 100 in her Titan career. Senior Jordyn Beam is just behind with 90 points.
• Wandelt has 20 draw controls in her past three contests, including 17 in her past two games.
• Senior defender Lauren Webley leads the SoCon in caused turnovers per game (1.60).
• Junior goalkeeper Allison McDonough ranks second in saves per game (10.60).
• Detroit Mercy has three of the top five players in the SoCon in ground balls per game -- McDonough (4.00), Wandelt (3.40) and Webley (2.60).
• Senior defenders Lauren Webley and Taylor Spray have each earned SoCon Defensive Players of the Week.
• The Titans return 10 of 12 starters from a season ago and also brings back 76 percent of its points from last season (206 out of 270).
• Detroit Mercy had a SoCon-best five players on the 14-member Preseason All-League Team. Senior defenders Emma Mucci and Lauren Webley, junior attacker Lexie Kinmond, junior midfielder Morgan Girardi and redshirt-sophomore Kaitlyn Wandelt were each voted to the preseason squad.
• Laurie Merian is in her second full season as head coach of the Titans. She has a 42-32 career record as a head coach.
• The Titans are in their 10th season of women's lacrosse and first as a member of the Southern Conference.

Wandelt Honored as SoCon Offensive Athlete of the Month
University of Detroit Mercy redshirt-sophomore Kaitlyn Wandelt (Sayville, N.Y.) was honored by the Southern Conference on Thursday, March 8 as she was named the SoCon Women's Lacrosse Offensive Athlete of the Month accolade for February.

Wandelt led the Titans in scoring during the month of February, tallying nine goals and two assists for a team-best 11 points in three games. She added eight ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers over the span. She earns the first SoCon women's lacrosse Offensive Athlete of the Month with the conference in the first season of women's lacrosse in 2018.

The midfielder scored all nine goals in the final two games of the month, scoring four of the five Titan goals at Ohio State and then notching a season-best five goals in a 16-8 victory at American on Feb. 25. She currently leads the Titans in goals (11), points (17), shots on goal (22) and draw controls (21). Wandelt also leads all Titan field players with 17 ground balls and has an 81.5 percent shot on goal percentage through the first five games of the season.

Wandelt Second-Fastest to 100
Midfielder Kaitlyn Wandelt (Sayville, N.Y.) became the second-fastest player to reach 100 career points in Titan history, tallying six points at American University to hit 100 points on the nose in career game No. 29. Only former Titan standout Emily Boissonneault reached 100 points faster, tallying 103 points in 25 games during the first two seasons of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse.

Wandelt, who missed much of last season due to an injury, has scored 85 goals and notched 15 assists in 100 games. Former Titan Anna Eidem surpassed 100 points in game No. 30, while current Titan attacker Lexie Kinmond went past 100 points last season in career game No. 31.

New Year, New League
The Titans are competing out of a new conference for the 2018 season with the Titans joining the Southern Conference (SoCon) for the inaugural season of women's lacrosse in the league. It's the third conference for Detroit Mercy after stints with the National Lacrosse Conference (NLC) from 2010-12 and the ASUN Conference (2013-17).

The Titans made four-straight ASUN Championship games from 2013-16 and was the first time in ASUN history to defeat Jacksonville, knocking them off in the semifinals of the ASUN Tournament in 2016.

The SoCon conference this season is comprised of Central Michigan, Delaware State, Furman, Mercer, Wofford and the Titans. Wofford is competing in its first season of women's lacrosse. Detroit Mercy is the elder statesmen in the league, entering its 10th season. The Titans were picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches poll, behind Furman, Mercer and Central Michigan.

Up Next
Following Saturday's game against Duquesne, Detroit Mercy hits the road, but doesn't have to travel far, visiting Big Ten foe Michigan on Sunday, March 25 in Ann Arbor. It'll be the third meeting for the Titans with an opponent from the Big Ten conference this season.