DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (May 8, 2021) – Despite a game-high-tying three goals from graduate student Mary Mackie (Bellport, N.Y./Bellport), the No. 1 seeded Mercy College women's lacrosse team dropped a hard-fought 10-9 decision to No. 2 seeded Roberts Wesleyan College in the East Coast Conference (ECC) Championship Final on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (12-2) see their 10-game winning streak come to an end, while the Redhawks (13-1) win their first ECC Championship.
Junior Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had two goals and one assist and junior Juliana Keenan (Bethpage, N.Y./Plainedge) had two goals, three ground balls and seven draw controls. Freshman Kelly Rosenfeld (Massapequa, N.Y/Massapequa) had a goal and an assist and sophomore Erin Shimborske (Farmingdale, N.Y./Adelphi University) also scored. Freshman Christina Lopreato (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) dished out an assist and junior Micayla Brady (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) had three caused turnovers and three ground balls. Senior Emma Jacobsen (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) made two saves in the first. Junior Madeline Garvalosa (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's) made seven saves in the second half to take the loss.
Roberts Wesleyan was led by Madison Bell who had two goals and three assists. Natalie Arieno made nine saves and was named Most Outstanding Player.
The game remained scoreless for nearly eight minutes before the Redhawks scored back-to-back goals to make it 2-0. Keenan found the back of the net less than a minute later to cut the Roberts Wesleyan lead to 2-1.
The Redhawks ended the half with five straight goals to take a 7-1 lead at halftime.
The visitors looked to have the game in hand, but Mercy had other plans, coming out of halftime with six straight goals to tie the game at 7-7 with 12:41 left. Mackie got the rally started less than a minute into the half and Rosenfeld, Grzelaczyk and Shimborske continued the run to make it 7-5 with 24:20 left.
Grzelaczyk and Mackie capped off the run with goals to tie the game for the first time. Garvalosa made several key saves during the run to give the Mavericks a chance to tie the game. The Redhawks regrouped and scored the next two goals to make it 9-7 with 9:46 on the clock. Mackie answered with a woman-down goal and Keenan netted her second of the day to tie the game again at 9-9 with seven minutes left.
The game remained tied until the 2:33 mark when Taylor Nathan found the back of the net to give the guests a 10-9 lead. The Mavericks were unable to find the equalizer and the Redhawks came away with the ECC Championship.
Roberts Wesleyan held a 26-25 edge in shots and Mercy held a 21-18 edge in ground balls and 12-9 edge in draw controls.
Head Coach Dawn Sachs and the Mavericks now await a possible NCAA Tournament bid. The selection show will air on Sunday, May 9th at 8:30 p.m. at NCAA.com.
