DETROIT (4/1/2023) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team scored nine second-half goals - six in a row at one point - as the Titans grounded the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 17-7, on Saturday afternoon.
Senior
Marina Butler and junior
Cat Kopchia each had five points on three goals and two assists - matching a career-high in points for Butler - while senior
Annie Gilbert had two goals and two helpers and sophomore
Leah Bodnar added two markers.
Sophomore
Maddy Camm had had a career-best three caused turnovers to go with two ground balls, a draw control, a goal and an assist. Junior
Sophie Davis registered a career-high two caused turnovers and sophomore
Meredith Leavell made eight saves, picked up four GB's and caused a turnover to earn the win in net.
The Titans (2-6, 1-1 MAC) led Eastern Michigan (1-8, 0-1 MAC) 8-5 at the half and took a 9-5 lead in the third as Butler beat the keeper with 8:43 left. EMU would score the only other goal of the third, but in the fourth, the Titans exploded with six-straight markers to put the game away.
Camm started it with a great play on defense to cause a turnover and that led to Gilbert finding Kopchia for a goal at the 13:11 mark. Camm then won the ensuing draw control and that eventually led to Butler finding the back of the net a little more than a minute later for an 11-6 lead.
A save by Leavell set up another offensive possession as Gilbert fed Bodnar and she beat the goalie for a 12-6 advantage with 10:37 remaining.
Gilbert scored her second of the contest off a pass from Butler with 8:14 left for a 13-6 lead and another save from Leavell put the Titans on the move again as Kopchia located redshirt freshman
Taylor Rocha and she found the back of the net for a 14-6 score with 3:43 on the clock. Rocha would later cause a turnover and on the Titans' possession, junior
Sarah Meek would fire one in to finish off the 6-0 run for a 15-6 margin at the 3:52 mark.
After an Eagles score, Detroit Mercy added two more to the scoreboard as junior
Abby Schillinger's draw control victory led to a goal off the crosse of freshman
Libby Cuckler with less than two minutes left, and Meek's draw control grab helped set up junior
Ella Brandt's strike with 48 ticks left.
The Titans outshot the Eagles, 36-20, and were 18-of-21 on clears, while forcing 16 EMU turnovers. Detroit Mercy also won the battle of ground balls, 18-15.
Redshirt freshman
Charlotte Dale ended the day with two goals and an assist. Freshman
Alyssa Jarvis recorded two draw controls and two ground balls and junior
Kiah Nuessgen had a caused turnover and two GB's. Meek also had a team-high three draw's in the triumph.
EMU netted the first goal of the game, but Dale tied it up almost two minutes later, taking a pass from Butler and firing it between the pipes. The Titans would take a 3-2 lead in the first as Camm scored off the free position and Bodnar hit the nets with 6:23 left. The game was tied at 3-3 when Dale scored her second off an assist from Camm early in the second period.
EMU would knot it at 4-4 when the red, white and blue netted four in a row, starting with Kopchia finding Gilbert for her first with 6:48 on the clock. Jarvis would then win the draw and Kopchia finished off that possession with a goal and off another draw by Meek, Dale set up Butler and it was a 7-4 game with 4:58 remaining. The Titans continued to win the draw control as freshman
Ysa Pakowski controlled the next one and Kopchia made the Eagles pay with an unassisted marker for an 8-4 advantage.
Detroit Mercy will be back in action next Saturday, April 8, as the red, white and blue host Robert Morris in a lacrosse doubleheader as the men will host Lindenwood at Noon, with the women's game set for 4:00 p.m.
Game Notes:
- The game was delayed over an hour due to weather and lightning
- Due to the pandemic and the Titans playing their home games last season off campus, it was the program's first win on Titan Field since April 14, 2019, a 17-8 victory over Wofford
- The 17 goals were the most since last season's 18-17 setback in overtime to St. Bonaventure
- The +16 advantage on shots was the most since outshooting Delaware State, 39-10, on April 7, 2019
- Butler has notched a goal in 18 of her last 29 games as she tied her career-high in points with the five assists she had last year at Akron
- Gilbert has now scored a goal in 16 of her last 22 games as she has now scored a goal in three-straight games
- The Titans had just three hat tricks on the season before recording two today
- Bodnar has posted multiple goals in five-straight games and six times in her career
- Dale has now scored a goal in five-straight games after not scoring in her first two games of the season
- Meek posted a career-high seven draw controls against Marquette and has 30 in her career
- Kopchia now has six hat tricks in her career and has 51 goals, 25 assists and 76 points in her career
- Brandt now has three goals in her career and today's was her first at home as she scored at Akron and at Central Michigan last year
