Women's Lacrosse 03.31.26

Women's Lacrosse To Open Three-Game Homestand On Easter Weekend

Women's Lacrosse 03.31.26

Women's Lacrosse To Open Three-Game Homestand On Easter Weekend

Freshman Chloe Sheader and the Titans will look for a win over the Penguins.

DETROIT (3/31/2026) -- After playing at home twice in the first eight games of the year, the University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team will now have three in a row on campus, starting with Youngstown State this Saturday.

Game time is set for Noon at Titan Field and will feature live stats, but will not be streamed.

Both the Titans and the Penguins are looking for a win to stay in the MAC playoff race.

Detroit Mercy is coming off a 14-7 setback at Central Michigan. UDM had an early 3-1 lead, and the game was tied at 5-5 at the break before the Chippewas pulled away.

Senior Alyssa Jarvis led the team with five points at CMU and now tops the team in points (24), goals (14), assists (10), and draw controls (27), and is second in ground balls (10). She currently ranks fifth in the MAC in pree-position goals per game (.63), and free-position percentage (45.5%), sixth in draw controls per game (3.38), and eighth in assists per game (1.25).

Redshirt freshman Emily Coyne recorded eight saves and four ground balls at CMU and leads the goalies with 41 saves, while redshirt freshman Ava Bandi has a team-high nine caused turnovers.

Youngstown State is 1-10 on the season and 1-2 in league action. The Penguins' lone win was a 5-4 road triumph at Robert Morris, and they are coming off an 8-4 decision against Kent State.

SMART LADIES

Detroit Mercy tallied a 3.51 GPA in the fall term, with 10 players recording a 3.5 GPA and two with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Also, 15 of the Titans earned a spot on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll.

HONOR THY CAPTAIN

Detroit Mercy will go with four captains this season as seniors Libby Cuckler, Angelina Hook, Alyssa Jarvis, and Jane Peck will have the honor.
Cuckler and Jarvis are four-year Titans who have combined to play over 90 games entering the season and are the top two offensive players back from last year.
Hook is another four-year Titan who has been a mainstay in the backline for the last two seasons, and Peck is in her third year in the red, white and blue after playing her freshman campaign at La Salle.

VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE

Youngstown State is one of the newer programs in Division I, but the Penguins lead the all-time series at 5-2.
The series has featured a pair of overtime games, both coming in 2022.
UDM is 1-2 all-time in the Motor City, posting a 13-8 victory the last time these teams met in Detroit in 2024.

Series History
Mar. 13, 2021 Home - L, 7-12
Apr. 17, 2021 Away - W, 24-12
Mar. 12, 2022 Away - L, 11-12 (OT)
Apr. 16, 2022 Home - L, 9-10 (OT)
Apr. 22, 2023 Away - L, 8-20
Mar. 24, 2024 Home - W, 13-8
Apr. 19, 2025 Away - L, 9-20

SERVING SAAC

The women's lacrosse team has 13 members currently serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in Alyssa Jarvis, Lucy Annese, Abbi Bernhardt, Ava Bandi, Emily Coyne, Ashleigh Dixon, Kaitlynn Hedrick, Lillie Peshek, Avary Sacdalan, Chloe Sheader, Alison Smiley, Morgan Stamatakis, and Olivia Starr.
For Jarvis, she will also be the organization's Secretary.

LOOKING AT 2027

Detroit Mercy head coach Emma Kuehl announced her first signing class, featuring 10 student-athletes set to join the Titans next fall.
Joining the Titans as freshmen next fall are Mia Balogh (Brighton, Mich.), Solei Ewing (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Kendall Kreft (Davisburg, Mich.), Julienna Koller (Sylvania, Ohio), Molly Leyes (Grand Blanc, Mich.), Ellery Marsh (Neenah, Wisc.), Jena Robinson (Humble, Tex.), Gabrielle Smith (Granger, Ind.), Anni Yeomans (Mississauga, Ont.), and Anja Zakrzewski (Eaton Rapids, Mich.).
"I am incredibly proud to officially welcome our Class of 2026," said Kuehl. "This group represents the next generation of Titan Lacrosse — talented, hardworking student-athletes who embody what it means to compete with pride, discipline, and heart. Each of them has shown the dedication, character, and competitive drive that define our program, and we can't wait to see the impact they'll make both on campus and on the field. Welcome to the Titan family — the future is bright at Detroit Mercy!"

GIVE ME LIBERTY

Senior Liberty Cuckler has tallied a goal in seven of the eight games on the year after posting two goals and a helper at Central Michigan.
That matched her season-best effort of two goals and an assist in the season opener against Butler.
She is currently second on the team with 13 points and third with nine goals.
Cuckler is now tied for ninth in school history with 34 assists and has 86 career points, including 52 goals.
She was named Second Team All-MAC last year after leading the team with a career-high 47 points, tied for first with a career-best 30 goals, and tied for second with a career-high 17 assists.
She posted a career-high six points on a career-best four goals with two assists at Furman, and a career-tying four goals and finished with five points at Kent State. She also had five points on a career-high four assists and a goal at Youngstown State, and ended the year with four goals against Robert Morris in the MAC semifinals.

OUR APPLE GIRL

Senior Alyssa Jarvis leads the team with 24 points, 14 goals, 10 assists, and 27 draw controls, and is second on the team with 10 ground balls.
She got off to a great start in the season opener against Butler, tallying a career-high six points on a career-tying five goals, to go with two draw controls and a ground ball.
She had a great day with five points (two goals, three assists), seven draw controls, two ground balls, and a caused turnover at Central Michigan.
Jarvis also posted a career-high three assists, three DC's, and two GB's at Ohio State, a career-tying four ground balls, four draws, and a pair of takeaways at Lindenwood, and seven DC's with a goal and a helper in the MAC opener at Akron.
Jarvis has 173 draw controls, second in the record book, and is fourth with 3.09 draws per game.
She also has 92 points on 74 goals and 18 assists in her career.
She has earned All-MAC Second Team honors in each of the last two seasons.
Last year, Jarvis started all 15 games and tied for the team lead with a career-high 30 goals and was fourth with a career-best 31 points. She topped the team with 61 draw controls - eighth in school history - and ranked sixth in the league and 88th in the nation with 4.07 draw per game.
Jarvis netted five goals with seven draws versus Akron and tied her career-high with five goals with five draw controls at Youngstown State. She also grabbed a season-high nine draws against Robert Morris, while scoring a goal.

ALL SMILES

Freshman Alison Smiley has had a great start to her collegiate career, ranking second on the team with 10 goals, recording a hat trick in two contests, and third with 10 points.
In her collegiate debut, she accomplished something that had not been done in 13 years and had been done just three times in school history posting four goals, the first freshman to post a hat trick in her collegiate debut since Michaela Schwartz scored three at Robert Morris in 2013.
Smiley's four goals in her debut were the most since Anna Eidem had six and Emily Boissonneault had five against Howard in UDM's first-ever game in 2009.
She came back with three markers at Canisius, and also had two markers at Ohio State.
In the MAC opener at Akron, she pulled down four draw controls after having none in the previous five games.
As a prep, she recorded 297 career points at Mercy High School, second in school history. She was tabbed All-League three times and was All-State and All-Catholic twice.

PATROLLING THE CAGE

The Titans have one of the youngest netminder units in DI, with sophomore Kaitlynn Hedrick, redshirt freshman Emily Coyne, and freshman Abbi Bernhardt.
All three played in the opener, with Hedrick getting the start and playing nearly 40 minutes, posting four saves. She then made three at Canisius, six at Xavier, and five at Lindenwood, playing 30 minutes in each game.
She came into the season as the only one who had seen time in the cage in college, playing in two games off the bench as a rookie.
Coyne has started six of the last seven games and played the full 60 last week at Central Michigan, registering eight stops and four ground balls.
She made a season-high nine stops at Lindenwood, had seven against Eastern Michigan, seven in the first half at Canisius, and five at Xavier.

ONE BRIGHT CHLOE

Freshman Chloe Sheader was another rookie who made quite a collegiate debut, recording a goal, an assist, and four draw controls against Butler.
She had a takeaway and a ground ball against Eastern Michigan and a draw and ground ball at Central Michigan.
She also had a takeaway and a GB at Canisius, scored her second goal of the season at Ohio State, and found the back of the net with a GB and a CT at Lindenwood.
Sheader posted 43 goals, 28 assists, 71 points, along with 81 ground balls, 60 caused turnovers, and 171 draw controls in 41 career games in high school.

OFF THE HOOK

Senior Angelina Hook saw limited time as a freshman, but has been a main starter on the defensive side of the ball the last two seasons.
She is coming off a career game, tying her career-best with three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
In the MAC opener at Akron, she tallied two caused turnovers and a ground ball.
Last year, she was fourth on the team with a career-high 11 caused turnovers and fifth with a career-best 21 ground balls.
In her career, she has 21 caused turnovers and 41 ground balls.

LOOK OUT FOR OUR BANDIT

Redshirt freshman Ava Bandi has been a solid defender after missing last season with an injury.
She has tallied a caused turnover and a ground ball in six of her eight games.
Bandi posted a career-high three caused turnovers, with a ground ball, at Lindenwood. She recorded a team-high two caused turnovers and had a ground ball in the season opener against Butler, and added three more GB's at Canisius.
Bandi also had a caused turnover and a GB against Eastern Michigan and at Central Michigan, and currently leads the team with nine caused turnovers and is third with eight GB's.
As a prep, she helped her team to a district championship as a sophomore and senior. She also played club with True PA and True National.

I LOVE LUCY

Redshirt freshman Lucy Annese is another defender who missed last season with an injury, but is using that experience to her advantage this year.
She just posted her first career caused turnover with a ground ball at Central Michigan, and also had a ground ball at Xavier and at Lindenwood.
A Canadian product, Annese was a five-time Elite Provincial champion and helped her team to three undefeated seasons. She also won a silver medal with the Ontario U19 team.

D-UP

Freshman Morgan Stamatakis had a standout offensive career in high school, but will now look to help on both sides of the ball.
She had an assist and a draw control in the season opener against Butler, and scored her first collegiate goal at Xavier.
She registered over 150 goals and 200 points as a prep, and was selected All-League Third Team as a sophomore and Honorable Mention as a junior and senior.
Stamatakis posted 50 goals in back-to-back seasons, and played club with Detroit United Lacrosse.

LOOKING FOR OUR AVARY

Redshirt freshman Avary Sacdalan missed all of last season with an injury, but she made an impact in her collegiate debut against Butler, finding the back of the net for her first goal.
She is coming off a two-goal game against Central Michigan.
In high school, she was All-League as a sophomore, junior, and senior, and was the Team MVP as a junior.

NO PECK ABOUT IT

Senior Jane Peck saw action in just one game last season, but one of the co-captains is looking to end her career in high form.
Stamatakis picked up a career-high three ground balls at Xavier, had two GB's at Lindenwood, and a takeaway at CMU.
She spent her freshman season at La Salle, but did not see action in any games.
Peck played in 12 games for the Titans in 2024, when they made their run to the MAC Championship, and one last year.

STAR STRUCK

Freshman Olivia Starr was a member of U-19 and U-15 Team Ontario and the U-22 Ontario Women's box lacrosse.
She played travel with the Rock Stars Elite, Burlington Minor, Hamilton Lacrosse, and JEWL Selects Junior Elite, and helped her team to a gold medal at the USA Box Lacrosse nationals in 2023, a silver in 2024, and a bronze for the U19 Ontario Field team at the Jenny Kyle Cup.

WELCOME BACK

Former starter Vanessa Evans rejoined the team in the middle of the season and made her debut against Eastern Michigan.
Last week at Central Michigan, she tied her career high with two caused turnovers.
Evans played in 15 games last year with 11 starts and had a caused turnover and three ground balls.
Overall, she has seen action in 26 games in the red, white and blue in her four years.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Ava Bandi: D; 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

#23 Emily Coyne: GK; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

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

#25 Ashleigh Dixon: MF/A; 5' 7"; Junior

#21 Kaitlynn Hedrick: GK; 5' 3"; Sophomore

#11 Angelina Hook: D; 5' 7"; Senior

#2 Alyssa Jarvis: MF; 5' 3"; Senior

#18 Jane Peck: D; 5' 6"; Senior

#20 Avary Sacdalan: A; 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

#24 Alison Smiley: A; 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Ava Bandi
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman
: D

#23 Emily Coyne
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: GK

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

#25 Ashleigh Dixon
: 5' 7"; Junior
: MF/A

#21 Kaitlynn Hedrick
: 5' 3"; Sophomore
: GK

#11 Angelina Hook
: 5' 7"; Senior
: D

#2 Alyssa Jarvis
: 5' 3"; Senior
: MF

#18 Jane Peck
: 5' 6"; Senior
: D

#20 Avary Sacdalan
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: A

#24 Alison Smiley
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: A