The Basics
Final Score: #4-Mercer 18, #1-Detroit Mercy 17
Records: Detroit Mercy 10-8, Mercer 8-10
Location: Macon, Ga. (Five Star Stadium)

MACON, Ga. (5/3/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team staged a furious comeback late in Thursday's SoCon Championship semifinal contest, scoring four goals in a span of 1:36, but the rally came up just short with the top-seeded Titans falling 18-17 to #4-seeded Mercer.

The Titans trailed 18-13 with 3:07 left on the clock, but Detroit Mercy never quit. The Titans won four of the next five draw controls, however, securing possession and making a late run at tying the game.

The SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Kaitlyn Wandelt won a draw control with 3:00 left and just under one minute later, junior midfielder Morgan Girardi found the back of the net. Girardi then scored again just 31 seconds later to pull the Titans to within three, 18-15, with 1:37 left.

Wandelt won the next draw control and junior attacker Lexie Kinmond, who had eight points and 10 draw controls in the game, found classmate Emma Leszczak, who scored right in front of the goal as Detroit Mercy was within two goals, 18-16, with 1:08 on the clock.

Kinmond then secured the next draw control and after a couple of shots, senior Jessica Snyder found the back of the net with 32 seconds remaining. Mercer scooped up the next draw control, but the Titans forced a turnover. There was some question to time on the clock and after the referees added just three seconds back on, the Titans had to make something happen with just 14 seconds left and on the other side of the field.

The Titans threw a pass down the field that was knocked away and the buzzer sounded before Detroit Mercy could get a chance at netting the equalizer.

Just like their regular-season meeting that saw a double-overtime 17-16 finish, the semifinal contest between the two squads was back-and-forth, close for the majority of the contest. There were nine ties in the game, including five in the first half. Detroit Mercy scored seven of the first 10 goals to take a 7-3 lead with 7:04 left in the first half.

Mercer responded and tallied the next five goals to lead 8-7. Wandelt scored off an assist from Girardi just before the halftime buzzer and the two sides were even 8-8 at the halftime break. Freshman Meredith Moore scored three goals on three shots in the first half and Wandelt added two first-half goals.

It was more of the same in the second as the two teams were tied 9-9, 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12. Kinmond scored two of the first four goals for the Titans in the second half as the game was squared 12-12 with 12:32 remaining after Kinmond's side-armed rocket off a free-position opportunity. Mercer would go on a 6-1 run, however, to lead late in the game. It all set up the furious comeback effort that nearly saw the never-quit Titans push the game to overtime.

Kinmond had one of the top tournament games in Titan history, totaling eight points on three goals and five assists. She tied the single-game school record with 10 draw controls, adding four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Girardi had six points on a team-high four goals and two assists, while Wandelt had three goals to tie the Titan single-season points record with 83. Moore also had a hat trick and Snyder had two goals for the Titans.

Detroit Mercy had 12 caused turnovers in the game -- three each by Kinmond and Wandelt and two each by senior defenders Brittany Fenney and Lauren Webley. Wandelt added six draw controls and five ground balls, while Moore had three ground balls for Detroit Mercy. Junior goalkeeper Allison McDonough made eight saves in net, four in each half for the red, white and blue.

Kinmond also became the third Titan in school history to surpass 200 career points and with her eight in the game finished the season with 203. Wandelt's 83 points on the season tied the all-time single-season mark that she now shares with former Titans Emily Boissonneault (83 in 2010) and Anna Eidem (83 in 2012).

The Titans held the shot advantage in the game, 39-32, while Mercer had the edge in draw controls, 20-17. Detroit Mercy was 4-of-11 on free-position opportunities and also nabbed 24 ground balls to Mercer's 18.

The Titan senior class wrapped up a standout four-year span in which the team with 38-35 with three trips to a postseason tournament and two more appearances in title games.

It was the second one-goal game between the two squads in 2018 and evened the all-time series at 3-3. Detroit Mercy finished the season with several school records including 255 goals, 113 assists and 368 points in just 18 games. The 177 caused turnovers in 2018 was the second-best all-time. It was the third time in their 10-year program history that the Titans have reached double-figure wins and also the third time with a winning record.