DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 16, 2022) – The Mercy College men's lacrosse team enters the 2022 season looking to defend their ECC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third straight time. Mercy looks to make the ECC Tournament for the seventh straight season and are ranked No. 5 in the USILA Coaches Poll entering their first game of the season on Saturday against Saint Rose.
Tenth-year Head Coach Jordan Levine and the Mavericks return 10 of their top 11 scorers from a year ago and return 31 student-athletes overall from last year's team. Levine also returns five of his top six leaders a year ago in caused turnovers and top two goalies. Mercy went 9-1 during the 2021 season, winning the ECC Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
"I am very pleased with the way the fall and preseason have gone. We have brought in a talented group of freshmen and transfers who have meshed well with our returners. With continued focus, hard work, and dedication, we have the ability to compete with anyone in the nation," stated Levine.
Mercy was picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll, senior Brady Kearnan was tabbed ECC Co-Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and junior Justin Gerdvil was dubbed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Mavericks also had six named to the Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American Teams. Kearnan (First Team), Sean Rigley (First Team), Jack Gibbons (Third Team) and Jack Kipnes (Third Team), junior Gerdvil (Second Team) and graduate student Dominic Scorcia (Honorable Mention) earned the honors. Levine also brings back six ECC All-Conference selections from the 2021 season in Kearnan, Kipnes, Gibbons, Rigley, Gerdvil and Scorcia. The Mavericks will also rely upon a strong 11-member recruiting class to help get the Mavericks back to the NCAA Tournament.
The Mavericks once again will face a challenging schedule taking on six teams currently ranked in the USILA Top 20 Poll, including defending National Champions Le Moyne. This year the ECC Championship Game will be at Mercy Field on May 7th. Mercy opens up their 2022 season on Saturday, February 19th when they host Saint Rose at 1 p.m.
Defense
The Mavericks have three ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year recipients returning to a defense that surrendered just 68 goals in 10 games last season. Gerdvil is the latest winner of the award after starting all 10 games in 2021 with seven caused turnovers and 27 ground balls. The junior ranked third on the team in ground balls. Rigley was tabbed ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 and started all 10 games a year ago. He tied for the team lead with nine caused turnovers and scooped up eight ground balls. Kipnes took home ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019 and started nine games in 2021, finishing with a team-high-tying nine caused turnovers with 19 ground balls.
Senior Jake Fitzgerald will also see time after appearing in all 10 games last season. He had a team-high-tying nine caused turnovers with 11 ground balls. Fitzgerald was also named ECC Defensive Player of the Week once during the 2021 campaign. University of Hartford transfer Zack Higgins and sophomores Gabriel DeRoché and Michael Morra will also compete for time.
The Mavericks also return four goalies from a year ago, led by senior Tommy Umano who was named USILA All-Region Honorable Mention last season. Umano went 9-1 in goal last season with 79 saves, a .577 save percentage and 6.93 goals-against average. He ranked third nationally in goals-against average and was 10th in save percentage. Senior Joe Tortorella and sophomores Giovanni Guido and Tyler Vassell also return in goal. Joining the goalie ranks for the Mavericks in 2022 are freshman Brett Crecco and junior Omar Morris who will battle for minutes.
Midfield
Leading the Mavericks in the midfield is Gibbons who was named USILA Second Team All-American last year. He had 33 points on 17 goals and 16 assists with 19 ground balls in 10 games last season. The senior ranked fifth in the ECC in assists and points and had three or more points in all 10 games. Sophomore Andrew Calabria also returns after posting six goals and four assists in 2021. He was named ECC Rookie of the Week once a year ago. Senior Robert LoRicco, junior Robert Guglielmo and sophomore Brody Caskenette will also return at midfield for Levine.
Joining the midfield are Division I graduate transfers Matt Eccles and Sean Makar. Eccles transferred in from national power University at Albany and Makar joins the Mavericks from Binghamton University.
Also competing for time at midfield will be sophomores Kyle Gabrinowitz and Greg Gibbons and junior Matt Gaughan.
The Mavericks lose All-American face-off specialist Antonio Rey, but add an NJCAA All-American in PJ Argiros who joins Mercy from Nassau Community College. Argiros won 67.6 percent (138-204) of face-offs to help lead Nassau to the NJCAA National Championship. Also returning are junior Mustapha Daffeh and sophomore Jason Kuehner. Daffeh went 17-of-24 on face-offs in 2021 and Kuehner went 14-of-21. Joining the team this season are Adelphi transfer graduate student Phil Brady and freshman Ryan Resnick.
Attack
Kearnan and Scorcia lead the returners on the attack for Mercy. Kearnan was named USILA Second Team All-American and ECC Offensive Player of the Week three times last year. He had a team-high 29 goals, 22 assists and 51 points with 20 ground balls. The senior ranked third in the ECC in goals and points and was second in assists. Scorcia was named USILA All-Region Honorable Mention and Second Team All-ECC. He was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week twice after recording 23 goals, 19 assists, 42 points and 28 ground balls. He ranked fourth in the ECC in goals, third in assists and fourth in points.
Junior TJ Heyder and graduate student Marty Shargel will also see action at attack. Heyder was fourth on the team in 2021 with 14 goals and 19 points and Shargel had eight goals and two assists in nine games. Heyder was also named ECC Rookie of the Week once and to the Honor Roll once.
Also looking to see action at attack are sophomores Augustine Longhitano and Justin DeMonte and freshmen Ryan Smith and Ian Votta.
