DETROIT (4/26/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team honors its nine seniors prior to a pivotal regular-season finale against Southern Conference rival Central Michigan on Saturday at 4 p.m. from Titan Field. Admission into the contest is free.

The Titans (9-7 overall, 3-1 SoCon) and Central Michigan (11-5, 4-0 SoCon) are the two leaders in the conference and the winner of the matchup earns the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Championship, from May 3-5. With a win over CMU, the Titans would earn a share of the regular-season championship.

Detroit Mercy will honor a big senior class -- Jordyn Beam, Emma DeYoung, Brittany Fenney, Emma Mucci, Lauren Sharkey, Jessica Snyder, Taylor Spray and Lauren Webley -- prior to Saturday's contest. The game is also the second of a doubleheader from Titan Field with the Titan men's lacrosse team playing at 1 p.m. Saturday. The class has had numerous success over the past four seasons, going 37-34 and reaching two ASUN Conference title games.
 

Game 17  |  Detroit Mercy (9-7, 3-1 SoCon) vs. Central Michigan (11-5, 4-0 SoCon)
Date / Time	Saturday, April 28 // 4:00 p.m. ET
Location / Tickets	Detroit, Mich. (Titan Field)
Live Stats	DetroitTitans.com
Live Steam / TV	ESPN3.com / WatchESPN
Social Media	Twitter (In-game Tweets): @DetroitWL | Facebook Instagram | Tweet #DetroitsCollegeTeam
All-Time Series	Titans lead, 2-0 // Last Meeting: Titans 17, CMU 12 (4/29/17)

Titan News & Notes
• The Titans defeated CMU almost a year ago to the day, topping the Chippewas 17-12 in Mount Pleasant in 2017.
• Detroit Mercy will clinch a share of its first regular-season title with a win over Central Michigan. It would be the first in the 10-year history of the program.
• The game features the top-two scoring teams in the SoCon -- Detroit Mercy scores 13.81 goals per game, CMU tallied 13.00 goals per game.
• The two squads also give up the fewest goals per game and have the highest save percentages among the SoCon programs. CMU allows 10.90 goals per game, while Detroit Mercy allows 12.25 goals per game. Both teams have matching 44.5 save percentages in net.
• Junior attacker Lexie Kinmond is one assist away (33 assists in 2018, 84 in career) from the single-season (34) and career records (85) in helpers. Kinmond is currently tied with former Titan standout Tessa Keuler '15 in both categories.
• Midfielder Kaitlyn Wandelt leads the SoCon in goals (56), points (76), goals per game (3.5), points per game (4.75) and shots per game (7.12).
• Junior GK Allison McDonough ranks second in the league in save percentage (44.5) and ground balls per game (2.88).
• Wandelt is just eight draw controls away (65) from breaking her own single-season record in DC (73), which she set in 2016.
• Detroit Mercy has already broken school records for assists (100) and points (321) and is just 14 goals from tying the single-season mark in goals (235), which was set in both 2010 and 2016.
• The senior class was part of the first team in ASUN history to defeat perennial power Jacksonville, unseating the Dolphins, 9-8, in the ASUN semifinals in 2016.
• Wandelt has already established a new career-high for points (76), while Morgan Girardi is just three points (47) shy of her career-best of 50 set last year.
• Classmates Morgan Girardi, Kinmond and Wandelt all went past 100 career goals this season. Wandelt, Girardi and senior Jordyn Beam also surpassed 100 career points this season. Wandelt was the second-fastest in school history to reach 100 career points.
• Kaitlyn Wandelt has twice been the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, while senior defenders Taylor Spray and Lauren Webley and freshman midfielder Meredith Moore have all been selected SoCon Defensive Players of the Week in 2018.
• Laurie Merian is in her second full season as head coach of the Titans. She has a 49-36 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.

All-Time Series
Detroit Mercy has won both meetings with Central Michigan in the all-time series, winning 17-12 last season in the 2017 regular-season finale in Mount Pleasant. The Titans also earned a 13-8 victory over the Chippewas from Titan Field during CMU's inaugural season in 2016. Kaitlyn Wandelt scored five goals in the meeting in 2016, while Lexie Kinmond (5g) and Morgan Girardi (4g) combined for nine goals in last season's road triumph.

Scouting Central Michigan
The Chippewas are winners in nine of their past 10 contests, including six straight and have won all four Southern Conference games thus far in 2018. In its third season as a women's lacrosse program, Central Michigan is 11-5 overall and 5-3 in true road games. Central Michigan had seven-straight games at home during the season and are wrapping up the regular-season slate with five-straight on the road.

Central Michigan has seven players with 35 or more points and none of them more than 46 points. Three of those players have 30 or more goals in Anna Schoonover (35 goals), Jocelyne Lemay (33 goals) and Shannon Doyle (30 goals). Jessica Schuchardt leads the team with 29 assists and ranks third on the squad with 43 points. Natalie Karlen has 26 goals and 20 assists for a team-high 46 points. Schoonover leads the team with 77 draw controls, while Lemay adds 55 DC.

Dominique Hamman has started 12 of 15 games this season and has a 45.5 save percentage along with 97 total saves for the Chippewas. Hope Murray has started two games and played in 10, holding a 10.67 goals against average and 39.3 save percentage with 35 total saves.

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 ASUNTournament 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
Detroit Mercy gears up for the inaugural Southern Conference Championship, which will be held this season at Mercer University in Macon, Ga. The Titans have earned at least a No. 3 seed and can be seeded as high as No. 1 after the results of Saturday's regular-season games. The semifinals of the four-team tournament are set for 5 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday and the title game is Saturday at noon.