Mercy lacrosse teams trying to build something special
The first home game in Mercy women's lacrosse history wasn't going to end well for the Mavericks last week on the Purchase College turf. Bentley scored to go up 15-7 with just 1:41 left, but Francesca DeLorenzo called time and gathered the Mercy players around her by the sideline.
"Catch the ball first before you make a move," the Mavericks' coach told them.
"Every single time I get an opportunity to talk to them is a teaching moment," DeLorenzo said after the players headed to the lot, "whether it's in the middle of a game or in practice."
Because this a team with 16 freshmen among its 18 players. The Mercy men's lacrosse team, under Steve Manitta, has 20 freshmen among its 25 players.
These players and coaches are the pioneers. They are standing on the ground floor, laying the foundation for two programs in their inaugural seasons.
The Division II teams from Dobbs Ferry are members of the tough East Coast Conference and have been quite competitive so far, for the most part. The women are 3-1 after Wednesday's 15-14 win at Ramapo and the men are 1-3 with two one-goal losses.
"I'm not a big fantasy football guy, but a lot of my friends are, and it's very similar to playing fantasy football," Manitta said. "You've got to go out and you've got to get the kids that you think are going to help you. ...
"I think the kids who have committed to us realized we weren't going to throw reversible jerseys on them and play club ball. We were going to go out and play a competitive schedule. We were looking to improve as quickly as possible."
Athletic director Pat Kennedy said adding lacrosse was the brainchild of college president Dr. Kimberly Kline, that the prospect was mentioned to Kennedy when she interviewed for the job in 2008. The announcement came in August of that year that the programs were now on the roster.
"Westchester is a hotbed of lacrosse, men's and women's, and Mercy's location on the cascading Palisades on the Hudson in Westchester is a perfect location and perfect venue to add both lacrosses," Kennedy said. "Mercy College's mission is to be affordable and accessible, and they wanted to bring more opportunities and options to the Westchester students."
There are four from Westchester on the men's team, including Yorktown's John Fitzpatrick, Cortlandt Manor's Steve Hoch, Pelham's Tyler Danzi and Briarcliff's Matthew Tompkins, and one on the women's team, Briana Belluscio, from Yonkers.
"I wanted to be part of a new team," said Belluscio, a freshman starter on defense. "It's a great environment. I love the people here. It's close to home and I can play lacrosse with great girls."
"It's awesome for kids who really don't want to go away to school or are undecided about what they want to do," said Fitzpatrick, a freshman starter at midfield. "It's a good opportunity to come and enjoy what they do — play lacrosse."
The programs have also provided opportunities for players from Long Island, the city, upstate, Jersey, Pennsylvania, and even for one woman from San Diego.
There was also a chance here for the coaches. Both came onboard in October of 2008.
Manitta is a 39-year-old native of upstate Fulton who had been at Chatham High in Chatham, N.J., where he spent nine seasons and was the program's all-time winningest coach.
Before that, he was also involved in a start-up, coaching at Roxbury High in Succasunna, N.J.
DeLorenzo is a 26-year-old native of Valley Cottage. She played at Nyack High and Marist College before becoming a volunteer assistant at St. Thomas Aquinas, an operations director for the now-defunct New Jersey Pride in Major League Lacrosse, a Rockland youth lacrosse coach and a real-estate salesperson.
"There are many challenges with starting up a team, especially a young one, and going into a very competitive conference," DeLorenzo said. "I just saw that opportunity and I thought to myself, 'How could you say no?' ''
Both teams won their first game. They will play most home games at Purchase this season, although they want to get in a few of the later ones at Mercy. The game plan is to play next season on campus after the grass field is renovated, and to eventually play on a new turf field.
The setting should build even more excitement and that community feel.
"Our cafeteria and library overlook the field, so it'll be kind of cool to know my friends are watching, whether they're eating or studying in the library," said Lauren Mateja, a freshman who starts in goal. "And it's a lot closer. People can just come after class. It'll be great."
