Women's Lacrosse 04.30.24

Titans Open Up #MACtion Postseason At Top-Seeded Central Michigan On Thursday

Women's Lacrosse 04.30.24

Titans Open Up #MACtion Postseason At Top-Seeded Central Michigan On Thursday

The Titans will look for their first postseason victory since 2016.

DETROIT (4/30/2024) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team will play in its first postseason game since 2019 on Thursday as the Titans travel to Central Michigan for the MAC Championship semifinals.

Game time is set for Noon at the CMU Lacrosse Complex and will be broadcast live on the MAC Digital Network. A live stats feed will also be available.

The last time the Titans played in the postseason was in the 2019 Southern Conference Championship semifinals.

Detroit Mercy is 5-11 on the year and 3-3 in conference play, finishing fourth in the MAC. Six of the Titans' setbacks have come by four goals or less, with three by just one goal, including a 9-8 decision at Central Michigan and an 11-10 outcome at Akron.

Senior Cat Kopchia currently tops the team with 61 points - second in the MAC - and 55 goals - second in the league and 29th in the nation, while junior Meredith Leavell is third in the MAC and 18th in DI with 156 saves, third in the league and 17th in the nation with 9.3 saves per game, third in the league and 49th in the country with a .445 save percentage and third in the MAC with a 13.3 goals against average, including just 10.0 in conference play.

Central Michigan is 5-12 on the year and 5-1 in league play to win the regular season and claim the top seed. The Chippewas fell their last time out at Kent State, 15-9, which ended a three-game winning streak.

A win will put the victor in the MAC title game on Saturday, set for a Noon start against either #2 Robert Morris or #3 Eastern Michigan.

POSTSEASON HISTORY

Detroit Mercy is 9-12 all-time in the postseason throughout the years, but has not played in a playoff game since the Southern Conference semifinals in 2019.
UDM has dropped its last three playoff games, last winning in 2016 in the Atlantic Sun Championship as it downed Mercer in the quarterfinals and top-seeded Jacksonville in the semifinals, before falling to second-seeded Old Dominion in overtime.

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 seven meetings.
The Titans are 2-4 all-time on the road, dropping the last four 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, but this is the first-ever meeting in the postseason.

NEED TO BE ROAD STRONG

The Titans are 38-92 all-time on the road, including 8-26 since 2020. Three of those wins were at Akron, while the others were at Butler and Robert Morris this season, at Xavier last year, at Youngstown State in 2021, and at Winthrop in 2020.

TAKE IT AWAY

Detroit Mercy has posted 125 caused turnovers on the year, the 10th most in school history for a single season.
UDM had a season-high 10 at Duquesne, at Pittsburgh, against Marquette, at Canisius, at Lindenwood, and against Kennesaw State.
In fact, the Titans saw Duquesne turn it over 24 times, Lindenwood 19 and KSU 19 times and Pittsburgh, Marquette and Xavier had 18.
Detroit Mercy is second in the MAC and 64th in DI with 7.88 takeaways per game.

HIGH RANKS

Detroit Mercy is currently second in the league and 27th in the country in free position percentage (.500), second in the MAC and 52nd in the nation in ground balls (16.2), third in the league and 34th in the country in save percentage (.447).
The Titans also averaged 26.4 shots per game to lead the league and 19.6 shots on goal per game, for second in the MAC.
UDM is fourth in the conference in scoring offense (10.1) and defense (13.3), but is allowing just 10.0 goals per game in MAC battles, third least in the conference.

NINE LIVES

Senior Cat Kopchia just tallied her 13th hat trick of the season and 21st of her career with a career-best six goals at Butler, including three straight to help the Titans get off to a 6-0 lead.
She currently tops the team with 61 points - second in the MAC - and 55 goals - second in the league and 29th in the nation. Both stats are career highs as her goals are tied for the seventh most by a Titan and the since Kaitlyn Wandelt's 62 in 2018.
In MAC play, her 26 points and 23 goals are second, only to Kent State's Jackie Wolford (35, 27).
She has scored a goal in all 16 games, with 15 at two or more, 13 with three or more, seven with four or more, three with at least five.
She is also 10-of-17 on the free position after starting the year 1-of-6, but has converted on seven straight over the course of the last six games.
She had four goals and five points against Kent State, a team-high four goals against Eastern Michigan and four goals and five points at Robert Morris to earn her second MAC Offensive Player of the Week.
She posted five goals against Youngstown State, three at Central Michigan and recorded five goals and six points at Lindenwood.
Kopchia is now seventh in school history with 149 points on 116 goals and 33 assists, sixth in school history in goals and tied for eighth in assists. On the extra attacker, her 13 women-up goals are second in the Titan record book, one away from the top spot.

YES I CAMM CAMM

Junior Maddy Camm has had a great year on both sides of the field as she has added an offensive flare to her game.
She now has a caused turnover in every game this season, including eight straight and 12 games with two or more as she leads the MAC and is 17th in the nation with 2.06 per game.
Camm tied her career high for the fifth time this season with three caused turnovers in the finale against Butler.
She tied her career high for the third time this season with three goals against Kent State to go with a team-high six draw controls, two caused turnovers and three ground balls.
She had three caused turnovers, pulled down five draws and had two assists at Akron. She tallied another two caused turnovers and scored a pair of goals against Eastern Michigan and recorded three takeaways against Arizona State.
Camm tallied four points on a career-tying three assists and a goal, along with two caused turnovers, four draw controls and three ground balls against Youngstown State. She recorded her second-straight hat trick with three goals and a career-high 11 draw controls, two caused turnovers and three ground balls in the win over Kennesaw State after three goals, a team-high three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover at Central Michigan.
She has career highs in every statistical category with 35 points, 21 goals, 14 assists, 39 ground balls, 47 draw controls and 33 caused turnovers, with the 33 takeaways tied for fourth in the Titan record book and five shy of third.
She is fourth in the MAC and 49th in the nation with 2.44 ground balls per game. She also leads the team with 14 assists, is second with 47 draw controls and is third with 35 points and 21 goals.
Camm has 56 caused turnovers - eighth in school history - 76 draw controls, 76 ground balls with 33 goals and 26 assists in her career.

OUR ALL-MAC IS BACK

Junior Leah Bodnar has picked up the offense as the season has gone on, tallying a hat trick in six of the last eight and seven of the last 10 games after registering three goals and an assist at Butler.
The 2023 All-MAC selection now has 10 games in her career with three or more goals as she is currently second on the team with 37 points and 28 goals, third with nine assists and 13 caused turnovers and fourth with 23 ground balls, all career highs. Her 77.3 shots on goal percentage is also a team high.
In MAC play, she has 19 points with 17 goals as she had hat tricks in four of the six games.
She tallied three goals with an assist against Kent State, found the back of the net three times at Akron and helped the Titans beat Robert Morris on the road with four markers. Against Kennesaw State, she tied her career high with seven points on a career-tying five goals, a career-high four turnovers and picked up four ground balls and registered three markers against Youngstown State.

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, especially in the draw as she leads the team with 61 and is fourth in the MAC with 3.81 per game.
The 3.81 is eighth in school history for a single season as her 61 total draws are seventh, just four away from sixth.
Jarvis just netted two goals at Butler and has now scored a goal in 13 games, ranking fourth on the team with a career-high 23 points and 19 goals to go with 22 ground balls, fifth on the squad.
Jarvis had a team-high three draw controls with a goal at Robert Morris. She grabbed six draws with three goals and two GB's against Youngstown State.
She had eight draws, two goals and four ground balls against Kennesaw State and that was after pulling down a career-best 11 at Central Michigan, the most by a Titan since Elise Harder had 11 against Kent State in 2022.
Prior to that, she recorded six draw controls with a goal at Lindenwood and 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 ground balls with a goal and caused turnover at Pittsburgh.

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 54 games with 52 starts, posting 31 caused turnovers and 63 ground balls, including eight caused turnovers and a career-tying 19 GB's on the year. She had a career-high four ground balls at Butler and against Eastern Michigan and posted two caused turnovers against Kent State and at Pittsburgh.
Bilello as seen action in 44 games with 37 starts and has 24 caused turnovers and 47 ground balls, including eight caused turnovers and 15 ground balls this season. She had a takeaway and three GB's against Kent State as well as versus Eastern Michigan 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 36 games with 26 starts and tied her career best with a pair of takeaways at Central Michigan. She also had a caused turnover at Xavier, a caused turnover and a ground ball against the Golden Eagles and two ground balls at Lindenwood.

YOU RANG

Graduate senior Marina Butler has scored a goal in 10 games this season after a goal and an assist at Butler.
She has 18 points on 12 goals and six assists on the season and now has 98 points on 51 goals and 47 assists - fourth in school history - along with 45 ground balls, 25 caused turnovers and nine draw controls.
She notched a goal in the MAC win over Kent State and had a four-point effort with three assists and a goal against Youngstown State. She also had four points on a goal and three assists against Kennesaw State.
Butler 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.

NOT IN MY NET

Junior Meredith Leavell has had another outstanding season inbetween the pipes as she has eight games on the year with double-digit saves and 18 in her career.
Leavell is third in the MAC and 18th in DI with 156 saves, third in the league and 17th in the nation with 9.3 saves per game, third in the league and 49th in the country with a .445 save percentage and third in the MAC with a 13.3 goals against average.
She has even been up to the tasks on free position shots, picking up 19 saves in the one-on-one situation this year.
Her 156 saves on the season are eighth in school history, while her 357 career saves are third in school history.
She just made a season-high 17 saves, allowing just five goals, in 45 minutes of action in the win at Butler.
Leavell recorded four games allowing less than 10 goals, including three straight in MAC play, with nine at Central Michigan, eight against Youngstown State and nine at Robert Morris.
She made 14 saves against the Penguins - including sixth in the fourth period - and 12 at RMU. She had nine saves with a career-high nine ground balls against Eastern Michigan, the most GB's by a Titan since Allison McDonough's school-record 10 at Stetson in 2017. She made 15 saves against Marquette, registered 12 at Lindenwood, eight versus Kent State and seven at CMU.
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.
Leavell is currently fifth in school history with 8.71 saves per game, tied for second at a .438 save percentage and fourth with a 13.86 goals-against average.
Her mom, Kate, played club lacrosse at Maryland and is now the head women's lacrosse coach for New College of Florida.

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).
She just won the Reverend Norbert Huetter Award, given to a student-athlete who sets an example for others by their display of attitude, dedication and leadership.
Meek picked up a career-best seven ground balls with two caused turnovers and a draw control at Xavier.
She had five ground balls and three caused turnovers at Duquesne and matched that effort with three caused turnovers and two ground balls at Pittsburgh and three more takeaways and GB's at Canisius.
She is third on the team with 24 ground balls as well as second on the team with 14 caused turnovers.
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 last season.
In her career, she has 54 draw controls, 36 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers and 19 points on 14 goals and five assists.

GIVE ME LIBERTY

Sophomore Libby Cuckler tied her career high with four points on a career-best three goals with a helper versus Kent State.
She tallied a career-high three assists against Eastern Michigan and had four points on two goals and two assists against Kennesaw State.
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 has 21 points - fifth on the team - on 11 goals and 10 helpers - second on the squad - after accumulating just two goals and three points in 11 games last season.
Cuckler is also 4-for-4 on the free position and 27 of her 26 shots (75.0%) have been on frame.

ONE ELLA OF A TIME

Senior Ella Brandt has 11 points on seven goals and four assists, but she had a big game on the road at Akron.
She posted a career-high six points and four goals against the Zips, her second collegiate hat trick as she put in three markers last year at Eastern Michigan.
Brandt registered a goal and an assist against Kennesaw State and found the back of the net at Canisius and at Lindenwood.
In her career, she has 21 points and 16 goals.

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Players Mentioned

#55 Katie Bilello: D; 5' 4"; Junior

#33 Leah Bodnar: M; 5' 8"; Junior

#6 Ella Brandt: A; 5' 1"; Senior

#12 Marina Butler: A; 5' 8"; Graduate Student

#27 Maddy Camm: M; 5' 7"; Junior

#8 Libby Cuckler: A; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#26 Sophie Davis: D; 5' 10"; Junior

#2 Alyssa Jarvis: M; 5' 3"; Sophomore

#19 Cat Kopchia: A; 5' 2"; Senior

#41 Meredith Leavell: GK; 5' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#55 Katie Bilello
: 5' 4"; Junior
: D

#33 Leah Bodnar
: 5' 8"; Junior
: M

#6 Ella Brandt
: 5' 1"; Senior
: A

#12 Marina Butler
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student
: A

#27 Maddy Camm
: 5' 7"; Junior
: M

#8 Libby Cuckler
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: A

#26 Sophie Davis
: 5' 10"; Junior
: D

#2 Alyssa Jarvis
: 5' 3"; Sophomore
: M

#19 Cat Kopchia
: 5' 2"; Senior
: A

#41 Meredith Leavell
: 5' 3"; Junior
: GK