DETROIT (3/15/2024) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team will open Mid-American Conference play against an in-state rival as the Titans trek up north to face Central Michigan on Sunday.

Game time is set for Noon at the CMU Lacrosse Complex and will be broadcast live on Chippewas All-Access. A live stats feed will also be available.

Detroit Mercy has had a week to prepare for the game as they are coming off a 22-12 setback at Lindenwood last Sunday. Senior Cat Kopchia tallied a career-best five goals and a season-high six points, while junior Meredith Leavell made 12 saves. 

Central Michigan has won the last two MAC Championships for two straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but is 0-9 on the year after falling to Lindenwood at home, 16-12. Earlier this season, the Chippewas also played another common opponent, dropping a 15-9 home decision to Canisius. 

Following the game, the Titans will return home for two games as they host Kennesaw State on Tuesday and Youngstown State next Sunday.

VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN

• It has been a history of streaks between these two teams as the Titans won the first four, but Central Michigan has taken the last six meetings.
• The Titans are 2-3 all-time on the road, dropping the last three trips to Mount Pleasant.
• The programs have always been conference rivals, first in the Atlantic Sun, then the Southern Conference before moving to the Mid-American Conference.

LAST YEAR'S RECAP

• Central Michigan took both games last year, winning 13-8 at home and 20-18 in the Motor City.
• Junior Meredith Leavell made 22 saves in the two games, while senior Cat Kopchia had three goals and an assist. In the first game, junior Leah Bodnar recorded her first career hat trick with three goals.

FROM ALL OVER

• The Titans have four homegrown student-athletes on the roster, but Detroit Mercy has done a great job hitting the national recruiting trails.
• Detroit Mercy has players from Illinois (5), Ohio (5), Florida (3), Arizona (1), California (1), Indiana (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (1), New York (1), North Carolina (1), Texas (1), Virginia (1) and Washington (1) along with one from Canada (1).  

VS. THE MAC

• The Titans are in their fourth year in the MAC and have comprised a 6-22 record in the first three years.
• UDM is 4-10 all-time on the road in the conference, with three wins at Akron and a victory at Youngstown State. 

OUT TO PROVE YOU WRONG

• Detroit Mercy was picked to finish seventh in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Kent State was tabbed first with 33 points and three first-place tallies, just ahead of Central Michigan's 32 points and three first-place nods.
• Robert Morris (28), Eastern Michigan (16), Youngstown State (13) and Akron (13) were all picked ahead of the Titans.

ABOUT THE ROSTER

• The Titans return 23 letterwinners and nine starters from last year's team that went 3-11 overall and 2-6 in the MAC, but they are under the direction of first-year head coach Madeline Dugan.
• On offense, UDM brings back 12 of its 15 goal scorers from a year ago, including three of its top four-point scorers.

TAKE IT AWAY

• UDM has posted 63 caused turnovers through the first seven games, with a season-high of 10 at Duquesne, at Pittsburgh, against Marquette, at Canisius and at Lindenwood.  
• In fact, the Titans saw Duquesne turn it over 24 times, Lindenwood 19, and Pittsburgh, Marquette and Xavier had 18.
• The Titans registered double-digit caused turnovers just four times last year. 
• Detroit Mercy leads the MAC and is 33rd in the nation with 9.29 caused turnovers per game.

HIGH RANKS

• Detroit Mercy is currently second in the MAC and 61st in DI with 15.7 ground balls per game and second in the league and 53rd in the country with a .429 save percentage.
• The Titans have also averaged 24.4 shots per game, second in the MAC.

NEED TO BE ROAD STRONG

• The Titans are 36-90 all-time on the road, including 5-24 in the last four years, with three of those wins at Akron.
• More than half of the Titans' 249 career games have been away from the Motor City, including the 126 road games and 24 neutral site battles. 

YES I CAMM CAMM

• Junior Maddy Camm showcased a great all-around game last season and has started off this year with the same play.
• She leads the team and is second in the MAC and 31st in the nation with 13 caused turnovers and 1.86 per game as well as tied for the team lead, fourth in the MAC and 40th in the nation with 19 ground balls and 2.71 per game.  
• She also leads the team with seven assists, is second with 16 draw controls and 15 points and third with seven goals.  
• Camm now has at least one caused turnover and two ground balls in every game this season and has 36 caused turnovers, 45 draw controls, 56 ground balls with 19 goals and 19 assists in her career.
• She is coming off a career-best four points, a career-best three assists, a career-tying five draw controls, two caused turnovers and a team-best three ground balls at Lindenwood. 
• Camm tied her career best for the second time with three caused turnovers to go with three ground balls, two draw controls, and two goals and an assist at Canisius. She tallied a team-high and tied her career-best with three caused turnovers, four draw controls, three ground balls, a goal and an assist at Pittsburgh and ended with a team-high and tied her career-high with four ground balls, and registered an assist, a draw control and a caused turnover at New Hampshire. 
• Last season, she topped the team with 16 caused turnovers, was second with 27 ground balls and tied for second with 27 draw controls to go with 11 points on five goals and six assists. 
• She had at least one caused turnover in 10 games and multiple in five, at least two ground balls in 10 contests and two draw controls on seven occasions.

NINE LIVES

• Senior Cat Kopchia just registered her fourth-straight hat trick, her fifth of the season and 13th in her career, as she posted a career-high five goals and a season-best six points at Lindenwood. 
• She has scored at least two goals in every game this season and nine straight dating back to last year. 
• Kopchia recently became just the 13th Titan in school history to reach 100 career points and now has 113 points on 83 goals and 30 assists, ninth in school history with those helpers. 
• She currently tops the team with 25 points - fifth in the MAC - and 22 goals - second in the league and 39th in the nation.
• Kopchia had three goals at Xavier, five points on three goals and two assists with two ground balls, and two caused turnovers at Canisius and three goals against Marquette. She also recorded four goals in the season opener at New Hampshire en route to being named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week. 
• She was already one of the top goal scorers in the MAC as she led the team with a career-high 24 goals, second with 30 points and tied for third with eight assists last season. She also topped the team with five free-position goals.
• Kopchia recorded a goal in 11 of her 12 games, with nine multi-goal contests, including a season-high five points on three goals and two assists, along with a GB, a draw control and a caused turnover against Eastern Michigan. She tallied a season-high four goals at Akron and had three goals and an assist versus Kent State.

NOT IN MY NET

• Junior Meredith Leavell posted a season-high 15 saves against Marquette and just made 12 at Lindenwood, her 15th career double-digit save game.
• She is second in the MAC and fourth in DI with 79 saves, tops the league and is fifth in the nation with 11.2 saves per game, first in the league and 53rd in the country with a .425 save percentage and second in the MAC with a 15.95 goals against average.
• She was named the MAC's Defensive Player of the Week after a stellar season opener that saw her record 10 saves with two caused turnovers and a ground ball at New Hampshire and posted 14 at Xavier and 13 at Duquesne. 
• Leavell is currently fourth in school history with 279 saves, third with 8.72 saves per game and a .425 save percentage and fourth with a 14.82 goals-against average.
• Last year, she played in all 14 games with 13 starts and led the MAC and was ninth in the nation with 10.36 saves per game as well as leading the conference and 18th in the country with 2.86 ground balls per game. Her 145 total stops and 10.36 saves per game were third in the Titan record book, while her 40 total GB's and 145 saves were the third most in the league. She ended third in the league and 28th in DI with 145 saves, third in the MAC and 38th in the country with a .457 save percentage as well as fourth with a 14.40 goals-against average. 
• Leavell registered double-digit saves in eight games and tallied a career-best 17 saves against Butler at home earlier in the year, tied for 10th in school history, along with five ground balls. 

YOU RANG

• Graduate senior Marina Butler has scored a goal in five straight games, including two markers at Xavier. 
• She had a goal with two caused turnovers and two GB's against Marquette and a goal with another two takeaways at Lindenwood. 
• Last year, she led the team with 17 assists, was third with 30 points and tied for fourth with 13 goals. 
• She scored a goal in seven games and had multiple markers in five of them. 
• Butler tied her career-high with five points on three goals and two assists against Eastern Michigan. She also handed out a season-high three assists and scored a goal against Lindenwood and tied her season-high with three assists at Akron and at Eastern Michigan. 
• She now has 86 points on 45 goals and 41 assists - tied for fourth in school history - along with 36 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and nine draw controls.

OUR ALL-MAC IS BACK

• Junior Leah Bodnar got off to a quick start in the season opener at New Hampshire as she tallied a career-tying three-caused turnovers with three ground balls, two assists and a goal and is coming off a season-high three goals and four points at Lindenwood. 
• She is currently third on the team with 14 ground balls, seven caused turnovers and 10 points on six goals and four assists. 
• She had two caused turnovers, two GB's and a goal at Duquesne and a season-best four ground balls against Marquette. 
• Last year, she was named All-MAC Second Team after finishing third on the squad with 19 goals and tied for fourth with 21 points. She also led the team with 33 draw controls, had 12 ground balls, and caused six turnovers. 
• Bodnar scored a goal in seven games, all multi-goal contests, recording her first career hat trick with three goals at Central Michigan. She added another hat trick along with four GB's, two draw controls and an assist at Akron and had a monster game with a career-high five goals, six points and seven draw controls against Kent State. 

A SCHILL OF A TIME

• Senior Abby Schillinger pulled down a career-best eight draw controls and scored a goal in the season opener at New Hampshire and added four draws at Duquesne and two at Pittsburgh. 
• Schillinger is tied for second on the team with 16 draw controls after registering just 15 in her career coming into this season. 

GIVE ME LIBERTY

• Sophomore Libby Cuckler has stepped up on offense to start the year as she recorded a goal and an assist at New Hampshire, two goals - both on the extra attacker - at Duquesne, and recorded a goal and an assist at Canisius.  
• She had just two goals and three points in 11 games last season. 

REPRESENTING PUERTO RICO

• Senior Cecelia Vergara had her best collegiate game with a career-high three ground balls, a career-best two assists as well as a draw control and caused turnover at Duquesne.
• She donned a uniform for a few days in November as she was a member of the Puerto Rico National Team at the Pan-American Lacrosse Association (PALA) Sixes Cup in Kingston, Jamaica.
• In her career, she has appeared in 39 games and has 26 draw controls, 18 ground balls and eight caused turnovers to go with seven points on four goals and three assists. 

OUR WASHINGTON TITAN

• Sophomore Alyssa Jarvis, the first Titan from the state of Washington, had a solid rookie campaign last year and has improved in all areas as a sophomore.
• Jarvis has scored a goal in all seven games and is second on the team with nine goals and third with 11 points to go with a team-best 21 draw controls and 10 ground balls.
• She just grabbed a career-high six draw controls with a goal and a ground ball at Lindenwood, and that was after back-to-back games with five draw controls at Xavier and at Canisius. 
• She netted multi-goal games with two markers at New Hampshire and at Canisius, and picked up a career-best four GB's with a goal and caused turnover at Pitt. 
• She played in 14 games with 12 starts as a freshman and was sixth on the team with 10 goals and tied for sixth with 13 points. She was also fourth on the squad with 18 draw controls and had 12 ground balls and four caused turnovers. 
• She scored two goals on her first two collegiate shots at Xavier. Jarvis posted a season-best three goals with two draw controls and a ground ball against Robert Morris and pulled down a season-high five draw controls and had a goal and ground ball against Kent State.

ALL 3 BACK AT D

• The Titans' starting defensive unit will be led by a trio of returning starters from last season in graduate senior Kiah Nuessgen and juniors Katie Bilello and Sophie Davis.
• Nuessgen has been a starter since he stepped foot on campus, playing in 45 games with 43 starts and posting 27 caused turnovers and 49 ground balls, including a career-high 10 caused turnovers and 19 GB's last season.
• Bilello as seen action in 35 games with 28 starts and had a career-best three caused turnovers against Marquette. Last season, she registered 17 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls. 
• Davis has appeared in 27 games with 18 starts, and had a caused turnover at Xavier, a caused turnover and a ground ball against the Golden Eagles and two GB's at Lindenwood. 
• She collected six caused turnovers and four ground balls last season. 

OUR PRESIDENT

• Senior Sarah Meek not only holds the distinction of being one of the captains, but she also serves as President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
• Meek picked up a career-best seven ground balls with two caused turnovers and a draw control at Xavier, the most GB's by a Titan since 2019.
• She had five ground balls and three caused turnovers at Duquesne and matched that effort with three caused turnovers and two GB's at Pittsburgh and three more takeaways and GB's at Canisius. 
• She is tied for the team lead, fourth in the MAC and 40th in the nation with 19 ground balls and 2.71 per game as well as second on the team, third in the conference and 71st in DI with 11 caused turnovers and 1.57 per game.  
• A three-time member of the Athletic Director Honor Roll and a two-time member of the MAC All-Academic Team, Meek tied for the team lead with a career-high 27 draw controls and also posted a career-best 10 points, tying her career-high with seven goals and adding nine ground balls and three caused turnovers.
• She recorded a career-high seven draw controls with a ground ball at Marquette and scored a career-best two goals with two draw controls and a ground ball against Lindenwood. 
• In her career, she has 42 draw controls, 29 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers and 19 points on 14 goals and five assists.