Southern Trip, League Opener, Next For Lacrosse

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan lacrosse team travels to Georgia to compete in a pair of games, including its Southern Conference opener, this weekend.

The first game, a nonconference affair, is on Friday, March 29 (4 p.m.), against Kennesaw State. The second game is on Sunday, March 31, against Mercer. It is CMU's first SoCon game of the season. The Chippewas are the defending SoCon regular-season champion.

WHERE THEY STAND
The Chippewas are 3-5 and are coming off a 16-7 win over Marquette, CMU's first over the Golden Eagles in program history.

Kennesaw State is 2-6 and is coming off a 20-9 loss, its third straight, to Mercer.

Mercer is 3-6 and dropped its last start, to Winthrop, 14-12. The Bears will play host to Detroit Mercy on Friday in their SoCon opener.

LEADERS
Senior Jocelyne Lemay leads CMU in both goals, with 21, and points, 24. Fellow senior Anna Schoonover, who earlier this week was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, is second on the team in goals with 17. She scored a program-record seven goals, on just nine shots, in the victory over Marquette.

Lemay ranks second in the SoCon with 21 goals. She is third (2.62) in the conference in goals per game, while teammate Natalie Karlen is sixth (2.12) and Schoonover is tied for seventh (7.00).

Hope Murray drew her first start of the season in goal for the Chippewas against Marquette and made 17 saves to earn the victory and pick up the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week Award.

Murray has clocked more than 189 minutes in goal in six games and carries an 11.07 goals against average with a .598 save percentage. She ranks second in the SoCon in both categories. CMU's Dominique Hamman is third in the conference in save percentage (.470).

The Chippewas are leading the SoCon in saves per game (14.38) and save percentage (.518).

SCOUTING
Siena Gore, with 32 goals, leads Kennesaw State in scoring, while goalkeeper Alex Bunn carries a 16.21 goals against average with a .416 save percentage.

Mercer's top offensive threat is Hailey Rhatigan, who leads the Bears in both goals (27) and points (32). Goalkeeper Iseabal Cryne has allowed 12.67 goals per game and carries a .442 save percentage.

Mercer leads the SoCon in scoring with 12.57 goals per game and ranks second in goals against average at 12.57.

SCOUTING
CMU coach Sara Tisdale said the Owls and Bears similar in the way they attack and in the way they defense, but Mercer brings a different look from what has presented in the past. The Chippewas topped the Bears for the first time in three meetings last season.

"There's a lot of familiar names and faces from last year, still the same goalie as last year, a key defender that was one of the best defenders in (the SoCon) last year," Tisdale said. "Offensively, there are some new faces for them, but some really strong freshman. For us, I think it's a matter of looking to exploit a defense I think we've played very well against, and shooting the ball with the efficiency that we did against Marquette."

REFLECTION
With SoCon play beginning this week, the importance of each game ticks up a notch. In reflecting on the first eight games, the Chippewas had their ups and their downs. Not only did they beat Marquette for the first time, they also knocked off Cincinnati for the first.

"We had an opportunity to do a little bit of a gut check," said Tisdale, referring to the season-long theme of the Sherpa rope. "'What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you willing to strive for?' We set these commitments back in January, and it was a moment where (we asked ourselves), Are we doing it? We're comfortable with where we're at, we're excited about our accomplishments, we're looking to tighten up a few things, and making sure we're hitting our marks over the next six weeks."

NEXT
CMU's final two road regular-season games are scheduled for weekend in the Washington, D.C. area where it will take on Delaware State and then Howard. After that, CMU plays its final five regular-season games at home, including three in the SoCon.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dominique Hamman

Natalie Karlen

Jocelyne Lemay

Hope Murray

Anna Schoonover

Central Michigan University Athletics