Previews Provided by MAC Athletic Communications Departments
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The 2025 Mid-American Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship begins today, May 1 with a pair of semifinal matches on the campus of Robert Morris University.
Postseason play begins with No. 1 Robert Morris and No. 4 Detroit Mercy at 11 a.m. ET before the No. 2 Eastern Michigan Eagles face off with the No. 3 Akron Zips at 2 p.m. ET.
The 2025 MAC Women's Lacrosse Championship match is set for Saturday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET aganst the winners of both semifinal matches.
All three matches throughout the championship will be broadcast on ESPN+.
No. 1 Robert Morris vs. No. 4 Detroit Mercy
11:00 a.m. ET | Watch Live | Live Stats
No. 1 Robert Morris
The Colonials (7–10, 4–2 MAC) dropped their regular-season finale on the road Sunday afternoon, falling to Akron, 14–12. Despite the loss, RMU secured a share of the MAC regular-season title alongside Eastern Michigan and Akron, with all three teams finishing 4–2 in conference play. Thanks to head-to-head tiebreakers over both the Zips and Eagles, RMU will serve as the host for the upcoming MAC Championships at Joe Walton Stadium on Thursday, May 1, and Saturday, May 3. This marks the second time in program history RMU will host the tournament, the first being in the 2023 postseason.
Through a full 17 game season, Vivian LaMange led the MAC in assists, averaging 2.13 per game. With the regular season now complete, the Colonials enter the postseason as the MAC's top seed.
Since joining the MAC in 2021, the Colonials have enjoyed consistent postseason success, reaching the MAC Championship in each of their first four seasons. They captured their first tournament title last year by defeating Detroit Mercy, after falling to Central Michigan in the finals the two previous years. Central Michigan, however, will not compete in this year's championship after finishing fifth. RMU holds a 4–2 record in MAC postseason play, with wins over Detroit Mercy, Youngstown State, and Eastern Michigan.
No. 4 Detroit Mercy
The first-ever game was on Feb. 21, 2009, a 20-1 road victory at Howard. Detroit Mercy posted its first winning season in 2015 at 10-8 and broke that mark with a school-record 12-8 mark in 2016 and had another winning ledger at 10-8 in 2018. The Titans have been on the doorstep of the NCAA Tournament, making four straight trips to the Atlantic Sun Championship game from 2013 to 2016 and the MAC title game last year. UDM is 98-177 all-time, but 50-54 in its conference games throughout the years as members of the National Lacrosse Conference (2010-12), ASUN (2013-17), Southern Conference (2018-19) and the MAC (2020-present).
This is the fifth season with the Titans as a member of the MAC, as UDM is 12-28 all-time in MAC games. Detroit Mercy missed the playoffs the first three years but had quite a turnaround last season, going 3-3 and qualifying for the postseason, where the Titans upset #1 Central Michigan on the road in the semifinals before falling to Robert Morris in the title game.
Detroit Mercy is 10-13 all-time in the postseason throughout the years. UDM has advanced to the championship game of a conference tournament five times despite never playing a home playoff game in its history. The Titans are 1-7 in true postseason road games, coming up with that lone victory last year when they ousted top-seeded Central Michigan 11-10.
No. 2 Eastern Michigan vs. No. 3 Akron
2:00 p.m. ET | Watch Live | Live Stats
No. 2 Eastern Michigan
For the first time in the program's three-year history, the Eagles are MAC Champions! Eastern posted a 4-2 record in league play with its only losses coming in one-goal road games at Robert Morris (March 16) and Central Michigan (March 30). Both Akron and Robert Morris posted 4-2 records as well following the Zips' home win over the Colonials on the final day of the regular season to force a three-way tie for the crown. While the title stands as the first for the Eagles, it marks the 159th MAC crown earned by an EMU team and continues a streak of 44 consecutive years Eastern has secured at least one conference title in an academic year.
Eastern ended the regular season at 8-8 overall and 4-2 in the MAC with both win totals setting program records for the most in a single season. The Eagles earned a three-way share of the MAC title, marking the program's first conference crown in its three years of play and the 159th earned by an EMU team. The win also continues a streak of 44 consecutive years with at least one EMU team earning a MAC title.
Eastern will be looking to secure its first postseason victory when it plays Akron. EMU made its postseason debut in 2024 in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament where the No. 3 seed Eagles fell to No. 2 seed Robert Morris, 12-11, in Mount Pleasant, Mich. In the previous two MAC Tournaments, the No. 1 seed/host has not won the tournament title with RMU falling in 2023 final and Central Michigan falling in the semifinals in 2024. Last year, the No. 2 seed, RMU, won the title, the same position the Eagles occupy this year.
The Eagles finished second in the league in goals scored (194) and tied for first in goals allowed (177) to post the second-best goal differential (+17) in the league behind Youngstown State's +19 (201-182). Through the regular season, nine individual single-season program records were broken along with 12 records.
Mackenzie Blackwell broke five school records and became the first in program history to record 50+ goals, 60+ points, and 100+ shots in a season. Maddie Porter joined her by becoming the first Eagle to record 70+ ground balls and 150+ saves in a single season
Emerson Henry has tallied 94 draw controls this season to break the EMU freshman record (83) while tying the record set by Mackenzie Blackwell last year. Henry is now just six draw wins away from becoming the first Eagles to record 100+ draw controls in a single season.
The team is closing in on several milestones as the Eagles are six goals away from recording 200+ in a single season, one free-position goal from reaching 40 for the first time, five assists from reaching 90, and 21 points from reaching 300 in a season for the first time.
Several early-season wins came with milestones as the 19-10 win at Presbyterian (Feb. 25) was the first for Maddie Dugan as head coach at EMU and her first road win with the Eagles. The win at home over Canisius (March 1) marked her first home victory and the first time in program history the Eagles had won at the EMU Indoor Practice Facility (0-4 entering the game).
Maddie Dugan is in her first season guiding the Eagles. The 2024 MAC Coach of the Year at Detroit Mercy, Dugan took a Titan team that was selected to finish seventh in the standings to the MAC Tournament championship game. She is in her seventh year as a collegiate head coach.
No. 3 Akron
With its 14-12 come-from-behind victory over Robert Morris on Sunday (April 27) the Zips earned a share of their first-ever Mid-American Conference regular season title.
The Zips will be making their first ever postseason appearance when the squad battles Eastern Michigan on Thursday (May 1).
Sienna Hinchcliffe leads the Zips in goals (53), points (65), shots (123) and shots on goal (94). Noelle Boyd paces the squad in assists (23) and draw controls (68) and ranks second in ground balls (36). Katie Baumer directs the team in caused turnovers (21). Goalkeeper Hannah Sanders has registered 122 saves and a team-high 37 ground balls.
Sienna Hinchcliffe supplanted Alexis Kiefer as the single season record holder for goals in program history with a career-best six-goal effort against Robert Morris (April 27). She enters play against Eastern Michigan with 53 goals this season.
Noelle Boyd became Akron's all-time leading goal scorer when she netted her first goal of the game versus Central Michigan (March 23).
Sienna Hinchcliffe has set the single-season record for points (65), shots (123) and shots on goal (94), while Noelle Boyd owns the top single-season mark for assists (23) and Hannah Sanders for saves (122) and wins (9).
Hannah Sanders surpassed 300 career saves with a career-best 13 save performance at UMBC on April 11. She enters play versus Eastern Michigan with 329 career saves.
Noelle Boyd surpassed Alexis Kiefer atop the career list for shots versus Robert Morris (April 27) having amassed 311 shots, while moving atop the list for shots on goal with 243 shots on goal against Eastern Michigan (April 20). Additionally, she has started a program record 66 games.
Katie Baumer is seven caused turnovers away from supplanting Jenna Ridener atop Akron's career list.
