Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. - Powered by a game-high five points from junior Brady Kearnan (Courtice, Ontario/Newberry College), graduate student Antonio Rey (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) going 13-for-14 on face-offs and junior Tommy Umano (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) making 10 saves, the No. 1 seeded Mercy College men's lacrosse team defeated No. 2 seeded Roberts Wesleyan College, 7-5, to win their second straight East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (9-1) earn their second straight ECC Championship and have won two games in a row. The Redhawks (7-5) see their season come to an end in the Final for the first time. Rey was named the Most Outstanding Player after going 13-for-14 on face-offs with a game-high eight ground balls.
Kearnan had a game-high-tying three goals with two assists, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Senior Dominic Scorcia (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) had a goal and an assist and had six ground balls. The senior recorded his 100th career ground ball and now has 103 for his career. Junior Jack Gibbons (North Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham) had a goal and two assists. Gibbons recorded his 100th career point, becoming the 10th Maverick to reach the mark. Senior Robert LoRicco (Guilford, Conn./University at Albany) and sophomore TJ Heyder (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) also scored. Graduate student Bobby Norton (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) had two caused turnovers and Umano made 10 saves to earn the win.
Roberts Wesleyan was led by Hunter Lemieux who had a game-high-tying three goals. Pat Hynes made 19 saves to take the loss.
A low-scoring affair broke out in the teams' second meeting of the season. The Redhawks scored first at the 12:59 mark when Lemieux scored to make it 1-0. It remained 1-0 until there was 7:25 on the clock. Heyder recorded a behind-the-head goal, off an assist from Gibbons, to tie the game at 1-1. The score remained 1-1 heading into the second quarter.
Kearnan and Gibbons scored back-to-back goals to begin the second quarter, giving Mercy a 3-1 lead with 9:38 left in the half. The Redhawks closed out the quarter with two goals of their own to make it 3-3 at halftime.
The Mavericks retook the lead less than a minute into the third quarter when Kearnan put another goal into the net to put Mercy ahead 4-3. Roberts Wesleyan rallied back with two unanswered goals to take the lead back at 5-4 with 8:57 left in the quarter. Kearnan tied the game back up at 5-5 with his third of the day less than a minute later. The game remained tied at 5-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
LoRicco gave the Mavericks the lead for good with a goal at the 13:15 mark to make it 6-5. Umano came up with a huge save at the 3:51 mark to keep Mercy ahead. Following a Roberts Wesleyan penalty, Scorcia found the back of the net, off a pass from Kearnan, to give the Mavericks a 7-5 lead with 1:28 left. Mercy led the rest of the way and held on for their second straight ECC Championship.
Mercy held a 38-23 edge in shots, 44-29 edge in ground balls and went 13-for-14 on face-offs.
Head Coach Jordan Levine and the Mavericks now await a possible NCAA Tournament bid. The selection show will air on Sunday, May 9th at 7:30 p.m. at NCAA.com.
Provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
