DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 30, 2020) – For the sixth year in a row, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2019-20 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy College Athletics will release a Top-10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Thursday for the next ten weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2019-20 athletic year being unveiled on Thursday, June 11th.
No. 7 – Men's Lacrosse Defeats No. 7 Pace
Coming in at No. 7 in our 2019-20 Top-10 Moments is men's lacrosse who defeated No. 7 Pace at Mercy Field on March 7th.
Mercy entered the 2020 season ranked No. 10 nationally in the USILA Preseason Top 20 Poll and were selected first in the ECC Preseason Poll for the first time. Senior Tommy McPartland and sophomore Jack Kipnes were tabbed ECC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.
The Mavericks opened up their season with a 19-3 win at American International on February 11th and defeated Georgian Court 19-8 in their home opener on February 15th to improve to 2-0. After the 2-0 start, Mercy was ranked No. 9 in the USILA Poll. Sophomore Brady Kearnan was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week, senior Antonio Rey was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week, freshman TJ Heyder was named Rookie of the Week and junior Dominic Scorcia was named to the Honor Roll. Rey was also named to the USILA Team of the Week.
Head Coach Jordan Levine and the Mavericks faced No. 2/3 Le Moyne on February 22nd and held their own before falling 12-11 on the road. After the game, sophomore Thomas Umano was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and McPartland was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy moved to 3-1 heading into the Pace after Scorcia had a school-record nine goals and 14 points in the Mavericks 17-8 win over RV Lake Erie on March 1st. After the win, Scorcia and Rey were named ECC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week and were both named to the USILA Team of the Week.
The Mavericks headed into the March 7th matchup with Pace at 3-1 and No. 8 in the USILA Poll. The Setters sat at 1-0 and No. 7 in the USILA Poll. It would be the first meeting between the two schools since May 9, 2015.
The game was played in front of a packed crowd at Mercy Field and saw Mercy score first when sophomore Jack Gibbons scored just over a minute in to put the Mavericks up 1-0. Pace closed the quarter out with two goals to take a 2-1 lead after the first quarter.
The Setters scored the first two goals of the second quarter to build a 4-1 lead with 7:58 left in the half. Mercy battled back and scored three straight goals to tie the game up at 4-4 with 2:16 on the clock. Heyder started the run and junior Marty Shargel and McPartland added goals to tie the game up. It remained 4-4 heading into halftime with Umano making seven saves in the first half.
Kearnan gave the lead back to the Mavericks at the 12:48 mark of the third quarter to make it 5-4. Pace answered with a goal to tie the game again at 5-5 with 11:06 on the clock. Mercy scored the final three goals of the quarter to take an 8-5 lead after the third quarter. Kearnan broke the tie and Gibbons and Scorcia finished off the scoring in the period.
The score stayed at 8-5 heading into the final five minutes of the game when Pace scored to make it 8-6 with just 3:35 left. After the Setters won the ensuing faceoff, Umano made a key save to keep the Mercy lead at two and Gibbons put the finishing touches on the win with a man-up goal at the 1:07 mark to seal the game for the Mavericks.
With the win, Mercy improved to 4-1 and Pace fell to 1-1 on the year. Umano made 14 saves to earn the win in goal and Gibbons had a game-high three goals. Heyder had a game-high four points with a goal and three assists. Kearnan had two goals and an assist and junior Sean Rigley had a game-high six ground balls with two caused turnovers. Rey had eight ground balls and went 9-for-18 on faceoffs. He broke the school record for career ground balls in the win, surpassing the previous mark of 190 set by Kevin Glueckert in 2015.
Following the win, Gibbons and Umano were named ECC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week and Heyder was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Umano was also named to the USILA Team of the Week.
Mercy stayed at No. 8 in the USILA Poll following the win and faced RV Bentley on Tuesday, March 10th following their matchup with Pace on Saturday. The Mavericks jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter and held a 7-3 lead at halftime. Mercy later held a 10-7 lead after three quarters of play before the Falcons rallied to tie the game up at 11-11 after regulation. Kearnan would score the game-winning in overtime to give the Mavericks a 12-11 win in what would be their season finale.
The win moved Mercy to 5-1 and the Mavericks ended the year at No. 8 in the USILA Poll. Kearnan was named a Second Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse after recording 17 goals, 11 assists and 28 points. Scorcia led the Mavericks with 22 goals, 13 assists and 35 points and Umano led Mercy in goal with a 5-1 record, 52 saves and a .619 save percentage. Senior Kyle Gardner had a team-high ten caused turnovers and Rey had a team-high 54 ground balls and went 96-for-137 (.701) on faceoffs.
The accolades did not stop there as Heyder was named to the Long Island Lacrosse Journal's List of Top Collegiate Freshmen, Umano and sophomore Jake Fitzgerald were named to the List of Top Sophomores, Scorcia was named to the List of Top Juniors and McPartland and Gardner were tabbed to the List of Top Seniors.
Despite the cancellation of the season due to COVID-19, the future looks bright with several key pieces returning for 2021.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2019-20 Season
Every Thursday for the next ten weeks, the Mercy College Athletics Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Thursday, April 9th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Thursday, June 11th.
No. 1 – June 11th
No. 2 – June 4th
No. 3 – May 28th
No. 4 – May 21st
No. 5 – May 14th
No. 6 – May 7th
No. 7 – April 30th
No. 8 – Women's Lacrosse Defeats No. 18 Bentley in Final Seconds on the Road
No. 9 – Softball Gets Off to Best Four-Game Start Since 2017
No. 10 – John Mooradian, Miguel Ortiz Sanchez and Anthony Murphy Reach Career Milestones and Move up in Baseball Record Book
