Duarte joined the Mercer program in August 2026, after spending the past three seasons as the head coach at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. During her tenure with the Wildcats, Duarte guided the program to a 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship, the sixth conference championship in program history.

In her three seasons as head coach at Johnson & Wales, Duarte and the Wildcats went 38-18 overall, with a 26-6 conference record.

During her three seasons at the helm, Duarte coached 20 All-Conference selections, five conference Players of the Year, and a USA Lacrosse All-American.

In her first season as head coach at Johnson & Wales, Duarte led the Wildcats to a 15-5 overall record and 10-1 record in conference play as they won the regular season GNAC Championship. The Wildcats also claimed the GNAC Tournament title that year, outscoring their three opponents in the tournament, 43-16.

Prior to Johnson & Wales, Duarte spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Findlay. During her time with the Oilers, Duarte helped the program advance to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship, while three of her student-athletes earned major conference awards. She was also responsible for practice planning, individual and small-group instruction, offensive development, film breakdown, team travel and offseason programming.

A native of Middletown, Delaware, Duarte was a standout player at Caravel Academy, where she graduated as Delaware's high school all-time leader in goals with 429. She was named a First Team All-American in 2016 and 2017. Duarte went on to play collegiately at Colgate University from 2017-21 before using her final year of eligibility at Lindenwood University in 2022. She appeared in 42 games with Colgate finishing with 19 draw controls, 18 ground balls, and eight caused turnovers. She earned Patriot League All-Tournament Team honors following the 2021 season. She then appeared in nine games for Lindenwood, recording eight ground balls and eight caused turnovers.

Duarte is also a member of the Argentina Women's National Team and helped them to a third-place finish at the Heritage Cup in 2024.

Name	Title	Phone	Email Address
Samantha Eustace	Head Coach	(478) 301-2773	eustace_sj@mercer.edu
Olivia Duarte	Assistant Coach		duarte_o@mercer.edu
Lauren Messinese	Assistant Coach		messinese_l@mercer.edu

2027 Women's Lacrosse Coaching Staff

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