Michigan
15-3
Mercer
14-6
Maize & Blue Dominates Mercer to Advance in NCAA Tournament
5/10/2024 6:34:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» Michigan advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with the win.
» Kaylee Dyer led U-M with seven points, including four assists.
» Jill Smith added five points with three goals.
» Michigan will take on Notre Dame in the second round on Sunday (May 12) at noon.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse dominated Mercer Friday (May 10) at Alotta Stadium as it earned the 17-6 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Junior Kaylee Dyer paced the offense with seven points that included three goals and four assists, while Jill Smith had five points with her ninth hat trick of the season. Senior Annabelle Burke recorded her first career hat trick and both Julia Schwabe and Josie Gooch added two goals each for the Maize and Blue. As a team, Michigan outshot Mercer, 35-20, and put 27 shots on goal.
The draw control team won 13 draws on the day with Smith winning four and both Katharine Merrifield and Gooch winning three each.
Defensively, Burke and Grace Callahan had two caused turnovers each and Erin O'Grady made five stops in the cage for the win.
Dyer scored the first goal of the game and added an assist on the next two as Michigan took a 3-0 advantage over Mercer into the second quarter of play.
The Wolverines continued their run and extended the lead to 7-0 with 7:04 left in the half on Dyer's second goal of the day and fifth point. The Bears stopped the Michigan run with their first goal of the game with just over five minutes to play in the second quarter. U-M closed out the half on a three-goal run, including back-to-back goals from Smith to take a 10-1 lead into the halftime break.
Michigan dominated the half outshooting Mercer, 23-11, with 16 shots on goal and winning the draw control battle, 8-4. Dyer added five points with two goals and three assists, while Smith had four points with two goals and two assists in the opening 30 minutes of action.
The Wolverines outscored Mercer, 4-2, in the third quarter and started the running clock as they took a 14-3 advantage into the final 15 minutes of action.
Michigan tacked on a final three goals in the fourth quarter as U-M ran away with the 11-point victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolverines will take on No. 4 Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday (May 12) at noon on ESPN+.
