DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 27, 2023) – Powered by four different Mavericks scoring, the Mercy University field hockey team earned a 5-1 Senior Day win over NE10 foe Southern Connecticut State University on Friday afternoon at Mercy Field.
In a ceremony prior to the game, seniors Kate Ringstad (Woodstock, Md./Mount de Sales Academy), Kelly Rosenfeld (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), Rory McComb (Lagrange, N.Y./Arlington), Ally Schreck (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place), Flynn Kirk (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus), Rachel Palladino (Latham, N.Y./Shaker), Kyra Reyes (Valley Center, Calif./San Pasqual), Rieley Fitzgerald (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) and Victoria Devlin (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) were recognized for their contributions to the program.
The Mavericks (8-9, 7-6 NE10) conclude the regular season winning five of their final six games, while the Owls (5-12, 4-9 NE10) end their season with seven straight losses. The Mavericks match their school record for wins in a season set last season. Mercy will now play at Saint Anselm in an NE10 Championship Quarterfinal on Tuesday, October 31st at a time to be announced.
Palladino led Mercy with a game-high two goals and now has a team-high 14 goals and 29 points. The 29 points are a new single-season school record, surpassing the previous record of 26 set last season by assistant coach Alyssa Sacco. Ringstad added her 10th goal of the season and Fitzgerald recorded her sixth goal of the season. Junior Kasey Volz (Lake Grove, N.Y./Sachem North) netted her fourth goal of the season. Rosenfeld recorded two assists and now has a team-high eight assists on the year. Kirk recorded her fifth defensive save of the season and junior Alexandra Giordano (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) made a game-high 10 saves in 51:15 minutes of action to earn the win. Sophomore Rebecca McClure (Canastota, N.Y./Pace University) made one save in the final 8:45 of the game to preserve the win.
Southern Connecticut State was led by Bridget Andros who scored and by Kaitlyn Parent who had a team-high six saves in 8:45 minutes of action. Rachel Miller made two saves in 51:15 minutes of action to take the loss.
Giordano made two early saves in the first quarter before Ringstad gave Mercy a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute of action. Giordano made another save in the 13th minute to keep the Mavericks ahead 1-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Mercy took a 2-0 lead in the 26th minute when Rosenfeld sent a cross from right to left and Fitzgerald fired the ball into the back of the cage. Giordano made three more stops to close the quarter and Kirk made a defensive save to keep Mercy ahead 2-0 at halftime.
The Owls made it 2-1 in the 36th minute when Andros scored following an assist from Meghan Tillona. The score remained 2-1 at the end of the third quarter with Giordano making another save in the quarter.
Palladino gave the Mavericks a 3-1 lead in the 48th minute following a cross from Rosenfeld. Volz later made it 4-1 in the 55th minute when she fired home a rebound of a Ringstad shot that was stopped by Parent. Palladino found the back of the cage again in the final minute of play after following her own rebound to make it 5-1. The Mavericks cruised the rest of the way to the 5-1 Senior Day win.
Southern Connecticut State held a 20-19 edge in shots and Mercy held a 14-13 edge in shots on goal. Mercy held an 8-6 edge in penalty corners.
Head Coach Marissa Spinazzola and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, October 31st when they play at Saint Anselm in an NE10 Quarterfinal matchup at a time to be announced.
