Two Hat Tricks, Stalwart Goalkeeping earns Lacrosse MAC-Opening Win, 9-8

Sunday, March 17

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Noon

Central Michigan University

1-9 (1-0MAC)

Detroit Mercy

0-8 (0-1MAC)

Detroit Mercy

Central Michigan

Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography

Two Hat Tricks, Stalwart Goalkeeping earns Lacrosse MAC-Opening Win, 9-8

3/17/2024 3:51:00 PM | Lacrosse

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Edwards punches in the gamewinner with two minutes to play, joining Martinsen with a hat trick; Martel posts 10 of 15 saves against first-half barrage from Detroit Mercy

By: Harrison LaLone

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — An all-around effort from Central Michigan Lacrosse earned the season's first victory Sunday afternoon over Detroit Mercy, 9-8, to open the 2024 Mid-American Conference schedule at the CMU Lacrosse Complex.

Senior midfielder Sandy Edwards (Stuart, Fla. / Jensen Beach) continued her strong play from Friday's bout with Lindenwood to record the gamewinning goal with two minutes to play, clinching one of two hat tricks for the Chippewas.

CMU was met with frigid gusts and light snow, yet a red-hot Titan attack that posted 11 shots on goal for a 5-2 lead within 10 minutes of the opening draw, leaving Alexa Martel (Rochester, N.Y. / Greece Olympia) to record six of her 10 first-half saves. The attack answered with back-to-back goals to bring the first-quarter deficit to just 5-4.

Five different players scored for Central Michigan Sunday, four in the first four strikes of the contest, including the first toward respective hat tricks for Edwards and junior Reagan Martinsen (Long Beach, N.Y. / Long Beach).

Despite the late push to end the first, the Chippewa attack slowed to a halt in the second quarter as the Titans worked to a 7-4 halftime lead, though without Martel's 10 stops the attempt at a rally would have been much stiffer.

"Without [Martel's] first-half performance, we're probably not in a position to make the comeback," Head Coach Emilia Ward said. "We're thankful for everything Lex gives us on a daily basis. She's earned herself some wins early in the season, so it was nice to see the team get her a win."

The winds changed during intermission as Martel saw just eight more shots from Detroit Mercy in the second half, compared to 19 in the first. Ward credits both ends of the field in responding to the halftime adjustments.

"A lot of talk in the huddle was keeping things simple, but getting back to our style of lacrosse. A lot of that is bringing in a more physical brand on the defensive side. Offensively, it was just about allowing ourselves space. [Detroit Mercy is] a physical defense so we need to use our athleticism in space."

Martinsen and Edwards scored their second respective goals within a minute of each other after a 13-minute stalemate to open the second half. Martinsen and Makenna Huhn (Parker, Colo. / Chapparral)—who had tallied a goal and an assist herself to this point—combined for three attempts on frame in the quarter prior to the quick pair.

Sadie Hinkle (Medina, Ohio / Medina) recorded all three of her points in less than eight minutes of game time, assisting Martinsen's third-quarter strike, tying the game herself at 7-7, then assisting Martinsen again to complete her hat trick and take an 8-7 lead with 9:14 on the board.

A late goal from the Titans provided a new opportunity for the Chippewa attack to prove its mettle, doing so on Edward's gamewinner with 2:07 to play.

Edwards, Martinsen and Hinkle combined for nine points on the day in the absence of CMU's leading scorer, Skye DePrado (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny), who left Friday's contest early due to injury.

"Any time you can go without a player who's made such an impact for us like Skye, and have other players have success on the field, just bodes well for our confidence in the future. It was great to see them taking the ball upon themselves, not being afraid when their number was called to just go make a play and win a game."

Central Michigan Lacrosse goes back out on the road for more non-conference action Friday (March 22) to visit Marquette for a 4 p.m. ET first draw, and will stay out for visits to Youngstown State (March 31) and Pittsburgh (April 2) before returning to Mount Pleasant for Robert Morris on April 7.

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