PURCHASE, N.Y. (May 15, 2022) – Powered by a combined nine points from graduate student Dominic Scorcia (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) and senior Brady Kearnan (Courtice, Ontario/Newberry College) and 13 saves from senior Tommy Umano (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), the No. 1 seeded Mercy College men's lacrosse team earned an 11-10 win over No. 5 seeded Seton Hill University in an NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship Quarterfinal matchup on Sunday afternoon at SUNY Purchase. The Mavericks advance to the National Semifinals for the first time in program history.
The Mavericks (15-1) have won 12 games in a row and defeat the Griffins (13-7) for the second time this season. Mercy earns their second-ever NCAA Tournament win and advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history. The Mavericks will host No. 3 seed Le Moyne College in a National Semifinal matchup on Sunday, May 22nd at 1 p.m.
Kearnan had a game-high five points on three goals and two assists and Scorcia had a game-high four goals. Graduate student Robert LoRicco (Guilford, Conn./University at Albany) had two goals and an assist and senior Jack Gibbons (North Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham) had a goal and three assists. Sophomore Andrew Calabria (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) also scored a goal and junior TJ Heyder (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) had two assists. Seniors Jake Fitzgerald (Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham) and Sean Rigley (Pleasant Hill, Calif./Onondaga CC) each had a game-high two caused turnovers and sophomore Tyler Pjatak (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) had a team-high five ground balls. Umano made 13 saves to earn the win.
Seton Hill was led by Thomas Hanulak who had a team-high three goals with one assist. Kevin Mo made 14 saves to take the loss.
The game remained scoreless until the 11:04 mark of the first quarter when Scorcia found the back of the net, off an assist from Gibbons, to make it 1-0. LoRicco later gave Mercy a 2-0 lead with 5:59 on the clock with his first goal of the day. Jeremy Sforzo scored the final goal of the quarter to cut the Mavericks lead to 2-1 after one quarter of play.
Gibbons and LoRicco netted back-to-back goals to give Mercy a 4-1 lead with 6:27 left in the half. Zack Estabrooks made it 4-2 with 3:41 remaining in the quarter before Scorcia scored the final goal of the quarter to give Mercy a 5-2 lead at halftime.
Seton Hill scored the first three goals of the third quarter to tie the game at 5-5 with 6:43 on the clock. Kearnan answered with his first goal of the day to make it 6-5 at the 4:58 mark, following an assist from Gibbons. David St. Clair tied the game at 6-6 with four minutes left in the third quarter. Scorcia gave the Mavericks a 7-6 lead with a man-up goal and Mercy headed into the fourth quarter up, 7-6.
Scorcia gave the Mavericks a two-goal lead, 8-6, off an assist from Heyder, with 10:15 remaining. The Griffins scored two straight goals to tie the game at 8-8 with 8:51 left. Kearnan and Hanulak traded goals to bring the score to 9-9 with 7:36 on the clock. Calabria and Kearnan ensued with back-to-back goals to give Mercy an 11-9 lead with 3:27 remaining. Andy Davis made it 11-10 with 1:36 left, but the Mavericks held off a late Seton Hill rally to earn the win and advance to the Final Four for the first time.
Seton Hill held a 48-45 edge in shots, a 31-28 edge in ground balls and went 8-for-24 on faceoffs.
