DETROIT (3/19/2024) -- Junior Leah Bodnar tallied a career-high seven points on a career-tying five goals, and senior Cat Kopchia and junior Maddy Camm each posted hat tricks as the University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team used an offensive barrage to down Kennesaw State, 17-16, on Tuesday afternoon.

The win was the first Titan victory for first-year head coach Madeline Dugan as Detroit Mercy scored a season-high 17 goals, the most since netting 17 in a home win over Eastern Michigan last year. 

Bodnar added two assists and a career-high four caused turnovers with four ground balls. Camm netted three goals, two caused turnovers and a career-high 11 draw controls and sophomore Libby Cuckler registered a career-best four points on two goals and two assists. 

Kennesaw State (5-4) led 4-3 in the second when the Titans (1-8) surged in front on the strength of a 7-0 run. It started when Camm won a draw control and sophomore Alyssa Jarvis took a pass from graduate senior Marina Butler and tied the game at 11:43. 

Off a caused turnover by Bodnar, Kopchia got in position to score and was fouled, converting on the free position shot to give the Titans the lead. Another draw win, this time by Jarvis, had UDM on the move again and Bodnar found Butler for a 6-4 lead. Bodnar would strike with 4:22 left in the second for a 7-4 advantage, and then the Titans got two markers in the final 15 seconds as Kopchia scored and a draw win by Jarvis led to Butler finding Cuckler and a 9-4 margin at the break.

Senior Ella Brandt put the finishing touches on the 7-0 spurt with a goal just over a minute into the third, extending the lead to 10-4. 

The Owls pulled within three, 10-7, but Camm found the back of the net with 5:32 left and a draw win by Jarvis led to her goal for a 12-7 lead. KSU once again made it a three-goal game at 12-9, but Bodnar scored with 14:02 on the clock in the fourth. 

The red, white, and blue put the game away with four straight goals to open a 17-10 lead with 7:17 left. Bodnar scored with the women up and this time, a draw win by sophomore Angelina Hook had the offense back on the field and Cuckler was able to score on the free position. UDM kept possession with another win on the draw by Camm and Cucker would find her for the marker and it was 16-10 with 9:41 to go. The final ringer came just two minutes later as Cuckler found Bodnar for her career-tying fifth strike of the game.

Butler had a goal and three assists, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Jarvis ended with two goals, eight draw controls and four ground balls and senior Abby Schillinger posted two GB's and a caused turnover. 

Junior Meredith Leavell started and made one save in 30 minutes in net, while freshman Sam Gargiulo played the second half and posted seven saves.

The Titans outshot the Owls, 39-27, and won the battle of ground balls, 25-19, and draw controls, 23-11. All three categories were season-highs. 

UDM will now get back into MAC action as it hosts Youngstown State on Sunday, with first draw set for 1:00 p.m. 

Game Notes:

• The Titans and Owls were conference rivals in the Atlantic Sun from 2013-2017 as Detroit Mercynow leads the all-time series, 6-2, including 4-1 at home
• KSU head coach Laura Maness led Detroit Mercy for five seasons before moving down south
• The win stopped a school-tying 12-game slide dating back to last season
• The Titans' 39 shots and 23 draw controls were the most since posting 44 shots and 32 draw controls against St. Bonaventure in 2022
• UDM has posted 79 caused turnovers this season, with a season-high of 10 today, at Duquesne, at Pittsburgh, against Marquette, at Canisius and at Lindenwood as it leads the MAC and is 43rd in the nation with 8.6 caused turnovers per game
• It was the second-straight game for a hat trick for Camm
• Camm's previous career-high in draw controls was five at Xavier last year and two weeks ago at Lindenwood
• Camm now has at least one caused turnover and two ground balls in every game this season and has 39 caused turnovers, 58 draw controls, 62 ground balls with 25 goals and 19 assists in her career
• Kopchia registered her sixth-straight hat trick, her seventh of the season and 15th in her career as she has scored at least two goals in every game this season and 11 straight dating back to last year
• Kopchia is 10th in school history with 119 points on 89 goals and 30 assists, ninth in the school record book with those helpers
• Kopchia's 28 goals are now a career-high, surpassing the 24 she had last season
• Butler has scored a goal in six of the last seven games, including two markers at Xavier, and has 90 points on 46 goals and 44 assists - fourth in school history - along with 39 ground balls, 21 caused turnovers and nine draw controls
• Bodnar's previous high was five goals and six points against Kent State last season, while her previous high in caused turnovers was three in the season opener at New Hampshire
• Cuckler now how has seven points in the last two games and 14 points on the year on eight goals and six assists after accumulating just two goals and three points in 11 games last season
• Jarvis now has 35 draw controls in the last five games as she just pulled down a career-best 11 at Central Michigan the last time out
• Jarvis has scored a goal in eight games on the year

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