DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (May 4, 2021) – The No. 16 Mercy College women's lacrosse team hosts St. Thomas Aquinas in an ECC Championship Semifinal matchup on Thursday, May 6th at 2 p.m. The winner of the game will face the winner of Roberts Wesleyan/Molloy in the Final on Saturday, May 8th at 11 a.m. at Mercy Field.

Who, When and Where
Semifinal
Date/Time: Thursday, May 6th 2 p.m.
Records: #1 Mercy (11-1, 5-0 ECC), #4 St. Thomas Aquinas (4-4, 2-3 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
 
Final
Date/Time: Saturday, May 8th 11 a.m.
Records: Mercy/STAC winner vs. #2 Roberts Wesleyan (11-1, 4-1 ECC)/#3 Molloy (4-6, 3-2 ECC) winner
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Scouting the Mavericks

• Mercy is coming off a 12-6 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday, securing their second straight ECC Regular Season Championship.
• Mercy was picked to finish 1st in the ECC Preseason Poll and junior Micayla Brady was tabbed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Mavericks went 4-1 during the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season. Mercy went 15-5 during their last full season in 2019 and won their first ECC Championship, making the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Mercy has secured the No. 1 seed in the ECC Tournament and will be hosting STAC in a Semifinal. The Mavericks have won each of their last three ECC Semifinal matchups and won their first Championship in 2019 with an 11-9 win over LIU Post.
• Mercy has had six straight winning seasons and is making their fifth straight ECC Tournament appearance. Mercy is looking to extend their winning streak to a program-record 10 games with a win over STAC.
• Mercy secured their first outright ECC Regular Season Championship in program history with the win over Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday.
• The Mavericks are a combined 5-1 against STAC, Roberts Wesleyan and Molloy this season. The lone loss came to Roberts Wesleyan on March 20th in overtime.
• Graduate student Mary Mackie has been named to the ECC Honor Roll four times and junior Taylor Bishop has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice. Bishop is second on the team with 36 points on a team-high 32 goals to go along with four assists.
• Mackie currently has 23 goals and 10 assists on the year and became the 13th Maverick to record 100 points for a career on April 25th. Junior Erin Chalich was named the ECC Offensive Player of the Week on April 12th and is third on the team with 33 points on nine goals and a team-high 24 assists. Junior Kerri Cummings has 26 points on nine goals and 17 assists. Junior Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk was named to the ECC Honor Roll on April 5th and is sixth on the team with 24 points on 15 goals and nine assists. Senior Briana Corace has a team-high 37 points on 28 goals and nine assists. She recorded her 100th career point in the Mavericks win over Georgian Court on April 8th and was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• Brady leads the defense for the Mavericks and has been named ECC Defensive Player of the Week four times. The junior has a team-high 46 ground balls and a team-high 39 caused turnovers. Junior Jules Keenan was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on April 19th and has recorded 11 goals, five assists, 22 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and 47 draw controls. Senior Kellie Znaniecki has also played well recording 33 ground balls with a team-high 54 draw controls. Senior Emma Jacobsen has made the start in goal in all 12 games this season and is 11-0 with a .552 save percentage and 37 saves. She has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice.

Scouting the Spartans

• STAC last played on Saturday and dropped a 17-10 decision to Molloy.
• The Spartans went 4-4 during the regular season and have secured their first ECC Championship appearance since 2018.
• STAC is looking to win their first-ever ECC Tournament game.
• STAC are led by seniors Danielle Cajou and Jennifer Farrell. Farrell has a team-high-tying 33 points on 22 goals and 11 assists. Cajou has 32 points on 21 goals and 11 assists with 19 ground balls and 27 draw controls. Junior Leanna Iobbi has a team-high 30 goals on the year and a team-high 39 draw controls. Also contributing is two-time ECC Rookie of the Week Micaela Ross who has 13 goals and two assists on the season.
• Defensively, the Spartans are led by senior Casey Hannon who has a team-high nine caused turnovers with 22 ground balls.
• Senior Laura Delorenzo is 4-4 in goal with 85 saves and a .455 save percentage.

Scouting the Redhawks

• Roberts Wesleyan earned the #2 seed in the ECC Championship after going 4-1 in ECC play with their lone loss coming to Mercy on May 1st.
• The Redhawks looks to make their first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship Final and look to win their first-ever ECC Championship.
• Roberts Wesleyan is currently 11-1 on the year and is ranked No. 15 in the IWLCA Poll.
• The Redhawks are currently one of six teams under consideration for an NCAA Tournament spot in the East Region.
• Roberts Wesleyan is led by two-time ECC Offensive Player of the Week senior Lindsey Brinkel who has a team-high 74 points on 28 goals and a team-high 48 assists. Three-time ECC Offensive Player of the Week junior Madison Bell is second on the team with 70 points on 38 goals with 32 assists. ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year senior Emily Tomei has a team-high 40 goals on the year and has 52 points overall.
• Graduate student Tiffany Melendez has a team-high 24 caused turnovers and two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week senior Madilynn Walsh has 21 caused turnovers. One-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week graduate student Jessica Giancursio has a team-high 36 ground balls and 66 draw controls. Junior Natalie Arieno is 11-1 in goal with 79 saves and a .446 save percentage.

Scouting the Lions

• Molloy went 4-6 during the regular season and secured the #3 seed after defeating STAC on Saturday.
• This is the third season in a row that Molloy and Roberts Wesleyan will meet in the ECC Semifinals. Molloy has won the previous two meetings. The winner of Thursday's game will make their first-ever appearance in the final of the ECC Championship.
• Molloy is led by one-time ECC Offensive Player of the Week Abbie Bellport who has 25 points on the year on 16 goals and nine assists. Amanda Weber has a team-high 26 points on a team-high 21 goals with five assists and 10 caused turnovers. Weber also has a team-high 41 draw controls with 14 ground balls.
• Ryan Smith has a team-high 13 caused turnovers with 24 draw controls and 15 ground balls. Mary-Kate Sweeney is 4-6 in goal with 78 saves and a .436 save percentage.