The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 10, Central Michigan 9
Records: Detroit Mercy 8-9 (4-1 SoCon), Central Michigan 7-10 (2-3 SoCon)
Location: Mount Pleasant, Mich. (CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex)
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (4/27/2019) -- Champs once again!
For the second-straight season, the University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team has captured a share of the Southern Conference regular-season crown after the Titans (8-9 overall, 4-1 SoCon) defeated league rival Central Michigan on the road, 10-9, on Saturday. It was Detroit Mercy's fourth-straight victory over the Chippewas in as many seasons.
Detroit Mercy shared the SoCon regular-season crown with Mercer and Furman, which both won on Saturday and also finished 4-1 in league play. The Titans have also earned the No. 2 seed for the upcoming 2019 SoCon Championship and is slated to play third-seeded Furman on Thursday in Greenville, S.C. on the campus of Furman University.
"It has been a goal for us all season," first-year head coach
Megan Callahan '13 said of capturing a regular-season title. "But we also are not done yet and we are looking at coming away with more wins at the conference tournament next week. (Central Michigan) is always a good competitor. At Detroit Mercy, we started our run when they were becoming a program and there's always been competitive battles, we've had the experience on our side recently and we are happy to be coming away with wins."
"All four teams at the Southern Conference Championship are competitive, good teams so it should be a great conference tournament. We are looking forward to it," Callahan added.
The Titans used a great effort on both sides of the ball to defeat the Chippewas, earning a two-goal lead, 7-5, by the halftime break and then scoring the first two goals of the second half to go ahead 9-5. The Chippewas would trim the lead to 10-9 late in the contest, but the Detroit Mercy defense was stout down the stretch and CMU's last-second shot in the final seconds of the game was high of the target.
Detroit Mercy and Central Michigan traded goals for much of the first half, but the Titans scored two in the final minute of the first half to break a 5-5 tie. Senior attacker
Lexie Kinmond scored first, ripping a shot past the CMU goalkeeper and then after winning a draw control, Kinmond found freshman
Elise Harder in traffic and Harder beat the goalie just before the halftime break as Detroit Mercy led 7-5 after 30 minutes of play.
Harder scored four minutes into the second half and then sophomore attacker
Kristina Ellis scored her second goal of the contest just a minute later as Detroit Mercy completed a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. After two Central Michigan goals 21 second apart midway through the second half, senior midfielder
Morgan Girardi scored to again give Detroit Mercy a three-goal advantage, 10-7, with 15:40 left.
The Chippewas scored the final two goals, but Detroit Mercy didn't allow the game-tying goal, holding Central Michigan scoreless in the final six minutes of the game. CMU had three shots in the final six minutes, but the Titans defense didn't allow a CMU player to get a look on goal and Detroit Mercy was especially strong during the final possession as CMU didn't get a good look on net in the final minute of the game.
Four Titans scored multiple goals and six Detroit Mercy players found the back of the net overall. Kinmond had two goals and two assists for a team-high four points, while junior midfielder
Kaitlyn Wandelt, Ellis and Harder all added two goals. Girardi and sophomore attacker
Kamryn Corraro both added goals for Detroit Mercy.
On defense, senior goalkeeper
Allison McDonough was strong in net and turned away 10 shots on goal, while adding three ground balls. Junior defender
Tegan McManus had three ground balls, while freshman defender
Claire Conway had three ground balls and a team-high two caused turnovers. Harder, Ellis and Wandelt all each posted two ground balls in the contest.
Detroit Mercy held the shot advantage throughout the game, leading CMU in shots by a 36-29 margin, including 29 to 19 in shots on goal. The Titans were also dominate from the draw circle, doubling up the Chippewas by a 14-7 margin in the contest. Wandelt, the SoCon leader in draw controls, nabbed seven of the 14 DC for the Titans. Harded added three draw controls for the red, white and blue.
Both teams had 10 turnovers in the game, while CMU had the slight edge in ground balls (20-18). The Titans had just two failed clears, going 14-for-16 in the contest.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy prepares for the 2019 Southern Conference Championship and heads to Greenville, S.C. next week for the tournament which runs from Thursday, May 2 through Saturday, May 4. The Titans open up play as the No. 2 seed and plays No. 3 Furman on Thursday from Paladin Stadium on the campus of Furman University.
