DETROIT (4/21/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse program opens a three-game home stand on Thursday when the Titans welcome Kent State to Titan Field in Detroit for a 1 p.m. ET contest. The Titans then host Akron for Senior Day on Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader with the Titan men's lacrosse squad, with the contest beginning at 2 p.m.

Thursday's game is slated to be streamed live on ESPN+ and Saturday's Senior Day contest with the Zips is set for an ESPN3.com broadcast.

Fans are urged to take notice of the updated fan policy as each member of the Titan team will be allowed to have two members on its "guest list". The fans are confined to the home team only and not for visiting teams/outside fans. For more info, click here.

It's the fifth contest of the season for the Titans (2-2, 2-2 Mid-American Conference), which sits in third place in the MAC standings. Detroit Mercy is playing Kent State for the first time this season and meets Akron for the second time in two weeks when they play on Saturday.

Last Week
The Titans went 2-0 last week with road wins at Akron and Youngstown State on Tuesday and Saturday, respectively. Annie Gilbert scored a game-winning goal 1:29 into double-overtime in Tuesday's thrilling 15-14 victory over the Zips for the program's first MAC victory. It highlighted a career-high six-point game for Gilbert. Detroit Mercy made 20 saves in the contest, with goalkeepers Hannah Shrader and Maddie Johnson each securing 10 saves in net.

Detroit Mercy then set a new school-record, scoring 24 goals and 16 of them in the first half en route to a 24-12 victory at Youngstown State on Saturday. Five Titans tallied hat tricks in the contest with Elise Harder scoring a career-high six goals and Kamryn Corraro tying her career-high with five goals. Both Harder and Corraro had seven points in the game. Taylor Cantelon secured a new single-game program recorded with 16 draw controls in the contest as the Titans racked up 24 total in the game, the most for the program since the 2012 season.

Cantelon Earns MAC Defensive Player of the Week Honors
Senior midfielder Taylor Cantelon earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Wednesday, April 21 following a record-setting performance for the red, white and blue this past week. Cantelon set a new school-record with 16 draw controls in Saturday's 24-12 road victory over Youngstown State and tallied 24 draw controls total last week, adding eight draw controls, one ground ball and one caused turnover in a 15-14 overtime victory on Tuesday at Akron. It was Cantelon's first career weekly honor and the Titans first honor from the league office this season.

Cantelon currently leads the MAC and ranks among the national leaders in draw controls per game (7.75), recording 31 DC through four games. The 16 draw controls against YSU was also sixth-most in an NCAA Division I contest this season. The Titans had 24 draw controls against the Penguins, tied for the second-most for the program all-time.

Mid-American Conference/National Rankings
Junior midfielder Elise Harder currently leads the nation in shot percentage (71.4%), scoring on 15 of 21 total shots through four games. Harder also leads the MAC and ranks 14th in the NCAA in goals per game (3.75). Senior midfielder Taylor Cantelon leads the MAC and ranks 11th nationally in draw controls per game (7.75), while junior midfielder Taryn McManus ranks fourth in the league in draw controls per game (4.0), second in the MAC in assists per game (2.0) and third in caused turnovers per game (1.75).

Junior defender Claire Conway is eighth in the conference with a team-high 2.5 ground balls per game. In net, sophomore GK Hannah Shrader is second in the MAC in save percentage (51.1%) and senior goalkeeper Maddie Johnson ranks fourth in the MAC in saves per game (6.5).

Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes enter Thursday's game 2-4 in Mid-American Conference action and 3-8 overall. Kent State is coming off a 17-6 road setback to Akron on Tuesday evening. KSU is 1-4 in road contests in 2021. Kent State has MAC victories this season over Akron (9-8) and Youngstown State (19-10).

Junior midfielders Abby Jones (22 goals, seven assists) and Madison Rapier (26 goals, three assists) share the team lead with 29 points each. Jones has team-highs with 55 shots and 44 shots on goal. Junior defender Graceyn Dean has a team-best 15 caused turnovers, which ranks third in the MAC. Rapier (29 DC) and Jones (21 DC) have combined for 50 draw controls. Freshman GK Taylor Monturo (66 saves, 41.5% save percentage) and sophomore Madison Flannigan (38 saves, 33.3% save percentage) have split time in net for the Golden Flashes this season.

Scouting Akron
The Zips are 3-5 in MAC play and 6-8 overall entering Saturday's contest with the Titans. Akron is coming off a 17-6 home win over Kent State, its biggest conference victory of the season following a pair of one-goal wins over Youngstown State. The Zips are 2-3 on the road this season.

Freshman attacker Alexis Kiefer leads the Mid-American Conference in total goals (42), entering this weekend's play. Kiefer also leads the squad in total shots (95) and shots on goal (76), as well as ground balls (33). Sophomore midfielder Kaylee Riggins has a team-best 65 draw controls for the Zips, while freshman midfielder Abby McMullen has a team-high 12 assists and ranks second on the team with 27 points. In net, freshman Ashley Lapp has started nine of 12 games and ranks second in the MAC in total saves (91), while ranking third in save percentage (49.7%).

All-Time Series
The Titans and KSU are meeting for the second time in women's lacrosse, with Detroit Mercy owning a 1-0 series advantage. The Titans earned a 16-12 home win over the Golden Flashes during KSU's inaugural season in 2019. Detroit Mercy is also 1-0 against Akron all-time with the two programs playing for the first time just last week on April 13, when the Titans earned a 15-14 road overtime win.

First Season of #MACtion Lacrosse
It's the first season of women's lacrosse in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), with three full members of the conference (Akron, Central Michigan and Kent State). The Titans, Robert Morris and Youngstown State are all affiliate members for MAC women's lacrosse and full members of the Horizon League in most sports. Eastern Michigan has announced women's lacrosse and will eventually be the seventh member of the league, starting play in 2022-23.

There will be no postseason conference tournament in 2021 following the conclusion of the 10-game league schedule. The regular-season champion receives the MAC's bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Up Next
Following Saturday's Senior Day contest against Akron, the Titans host Robert Morris on Wednesday, April 28 from Titan Field in Detroit. The Titans then head to Kent State for a Saturday, May 1 match with the Golden Flashes before welcoming Central Michigan to Detroit on Monday, May 1 for the home finale for the red, white and blue.