Friday, May 12
Gainesville, Fla.
7 PM
Mercer University
vs
Notre Dame
NCAA Tournament Preview: Mercer vs Notre Dame
5/11/2023 8:38:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Bears play Notre Dame in First Round of NCAA Tournament Friday at 7 p.m.
MACON, Ga. - Mercer women's lacrosse makes its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament on Friday when they take on No. 8 Notre Dame in the first round from Gainesville, Florida.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
NCAA Tournament First Round
Mercer (17-2, 9-0 Big South) vs No. 8 Notre Dame (13-5, 6-3 ACC)Â
Donald R. Dizney Stadium | Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, May 12 | 7 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday will be the first all-time meeting between Mercer and Notre Dame. Mercer is looking for its second win over an ACC opponent this season after the Bears picked up their first win over an ACC opponent in an 11-8 season opening win at Virginia Tech.
LAST TIME OUT
Kayla Soltys scored the game-winning goal with less than five minutes to play and Mercer's defense came up with a stand at the end of the game as Mercer women's lacrosse defeated Campbell 11-10 to win the Big South Tournament Championship. The Bears captured both the Big South regular season and tournament titles this season.Â
Big South Offensive Player of the Year, Shannon Urey led all goal scorers with five goals including a hat trick in the first quarter.
Soltys scored the game-winning goal for the Bears and led the team with eight draw controls. Carly Curran and Ainsley Malamala had great games defensively for the Bears as each had three caused turnovers. Kate Vanderlinde made five saves in goal for Mercer.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame enters the game ranked No. 8 in the country. The Irish are 13-5 and went 6-3 in the ACC, tied for fourth in the ACC standings. Mercer and Notre Dame have one common opponent in Virginia Tech. Both teams defeated the Hokies; Mercer won 11-8, Notre Dame won 14-1.
Notre Dame is top 10 in the country in scoring margin at No. 7 as they beat their opponents by an average of 6.89 goals per game. That stat is in part due to the fact the Irish also have a top 10 scoring offense (No. 8) Â and defense (No. 9) in the country.
Friday's game will feature two of the top 5 teams in the country in shots on goal per game. Mercer led the country in shots on goal per game with more than 27 shots on goal per game. Notre Dame led the ACC in shots and shots on goal per game as they average 26.56 shots on goal per game.
The Irish have been excellent in draw controls this season, leading the ACC and ranking fifth in the country with 17.28 draw controls per game.
Notre Dame has three primary goal scorers who all have more than 40 goals on the season:Â Kasey Choma (58), Madison Ahern (56), and Jackie Wolak (45). Wolak has 89 points on the year and is tied for ninth in the country in points per game.
Notre Dame goalie Lilly Callahan finished second in the ACC with a 8.38 goals against average and third in the ACC with a .486 save percentage.
BY THE NUMBERS
FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Lacrosse, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWLAX (Twitter) and @Mercerwlax (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
Â
GAME DAY INFORMATION
NCAA Tournament First Round
Mercer (17-2, 9-0 Big South) vs No. 8 Notre Dame (13-5, 6-3 ACC)Â
Donald R. Dizney Stadium | Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, May 12 | 7 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday will be the first all-time meeting between Mercer and Notre Dame. Mercer is looking for its second win over an ACC opponent this season after the Bears picked up their first win over an ACC opponent in an 11-8 season opening win at Virginia Tech.
LAST TIME OUT
Kayla Soltys scored the game-winning goal with less than five minutes to play and Mercer's defense came up with a stand at the end of the game as Mercer women's lacrosse defeated Campbell 11-10 to win the Big South Tournament Championship. The Bears captured both the Big South regular season and tournament titles this season.Â
Big South Offensive Player of the Year, Shannon Urey led all goal scorers with five goals including a hat trick in the first quarter.
Soltys scored the game-winning goal for the Bears and led the team with eight draw controls. Carly Curran and Ainsley Malamala had great games defensively for the Bears as each had three caused turnovers. Kate Vanderlinde made five saves in goal for Mercer.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame enters the game ranked No. 8 in the country. The Irish are 13-5 and went 6-3 in the ACC, tied for fourth in the ACC standings. Mercer and Notre Dame have one common opponent in Virginia Tech. Both teams defeated the Hokies; Mercer won 11-8, Notre Dame won 14-1.
Notre Dame is top 10 in the country in scoring margin at No. 7 as they beat their opponents by an average of 6.89 goals per game. That stat is in part due to the fact the Irish also have a top 10 scoring offense (No. 8) Â and defense (No. 9) in the country.
Friday's game will feature two of the top 5 teams in the country in shots on goal per game. Mercer led the country in shots on goal per game with more than 27 shots on goal per game. Notre Dame led the ACC in shots and shots on goal per game as they average 26.56 shots on goal per game.
The Irish have been excellent in draw controls this season, leading the ACC and ranking fifth in the country with 17.28 draw controls per game.
Notre Dame has three primary goal scorers who all have more than 40 goals on the season:Â Kasey Choma (58), Madison Ahern (56), and Jackie Wolak (45). Wolak has 89 points on the year and is tied for ninth in the country in points per game.
Notre Dame goalie Lilly Callahan finished second in the ACC with a 8.38 goals against average and third in the ACC with a .486 save percentage.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 2: Mercer is second in the country in scoring margin and scoring offense
- 4.32:Â Shannon Urey is second in the country with 4.32 goals per game
- 59.8: Mercer is seventh in the country in draw control percentage at 59.8%
- 12.58: The Bears average 12.58 caused turnovers per game, tied for second most in the country
FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Lacrosse, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWLAX (Twitter) and @Mercerwlax (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Lacrosse
/ Women's Lacrosse
/ Women's Lacrosse
/ Women's Lacrosse
/ Women's Lacrosse
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