DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 17, 2023) – For the eighth year, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2022-23 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy College Athletics will release a Top-10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2022-23 athletic year being unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 7 – Field Hockey Posts First Winning Record in Program History
Coming in at No. 7 in our 2022-23 Top-10 Moments is field hockey who posted their first winning record in program history and set a program record for wins in a season.
Mercy was picked 13th in the NE10 Preseason Poll out of 14 teams and was coming off a season in which they went 4-13. Entering the 2022 season, the Mavericks' previous school record for wins in a season was seven set in 2016 and 2017. Mercy's previous school record for NE10 wins in a season was three set in 2019 and 2021. The Mavericks would surpass both of those records during the 2022 season.
Head Coach Marissa Spinazzola and the Mavericks opened their 2022 season on September 20th at home against Molloy. The Mavericks fell behind 1-0 before graduate student Alyssa Sacco scored in the 17th minute following a junior Rachel Palladino shot after a junior Rieley Fitzgerald corner to make it 1-1. Palladino gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead in the final minute of play in the third quarter after a Sacco cross. Molloy tied the game at 2-2 in the 52nd minute before sophomore Kasey Volz scored the game-winning goal on a penalty stroke in the 53rd minute to give Mercy the 3-2 win. Mercy won their season opener for the second straight season.
The Mavericks resumed action on September 24th at Bentley. Mercy fell 2-0 in their NE10 opener with graduate student Lauren Viscione making seven saves. She recorded her 300th career save in the game, becoming the third goalkeeper in program history to reach the mark. Following the season-opening week, Viscione, Palladino and Volz were named to the NE10 Honor Roll.
Mercy returned to action on October 5th and got back in the win column against Southern Connecticut State. The win moved Mercy to 2-1 for the first time in program history. Fitzgerald scored her first collegiate goal and added her first assist of the season. Junior Kelly Rosenfeld and Sacco also scored and Palladino had a game-high two assists.
Spinazzola and the Mavericks made it two wins in a row when they earned a 4-2 win over American International on October 7th to move to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in NE10 play for the first time in program history. Junior Ally Schreck had two goals and an assist and Sacco had a goal and an assist. Rosenfeld also scored and Palladino had another assist. Junior Flynn Kirk had a defensive save and Viscione made six saves. Following the win over the Yellow Jackets, Schreck and Viscione were tabbed to the NE10 Honor Roll.
The Mavericks extended their winning streak to three games for the first time since 2017 with a 3-2 win over Pace on October 11th. The win moved Mercy to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in NE10 play matching their win totals in both from last year. Viscione made a career-high 21 saves and Sacco scored the game-winning goal in the 48th minute. Fitzgerald had a goal and two assists and junior Kate Ringstad scored her first collegiate goal and had her first collegiate assist. Kirk had a game-high two defensive saves.
Sacco scored a game-high two goals and Viscione had a game-high 13 saves, but the Mavericks dropped a 3-2 decision to Southern New Hampshire on October 15th to see their three-game winning streak come to an end. After the week was over, Sacco was named NE10 Player of the Week and Viscione was named NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week. Kirk was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Viscione was also named to Synapse Sports Division II Field Hockey National Honor Roll.
Mercy resumed action on October 19th and despite a game-high nine saves from Viscione the Mavericks dropped a 3-0 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas. The loss moved Mercy to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in NE10 play.
The Mavericks dropped their third straight game on October 22nd at home against Saint Anselm by a score of 4-0. The loss was Mercy's first home loss of the season and Viscione and sophomore Alexandra Giordano combined for 14 saves in the loss. Following the loss, junior Victoria Devlin was named to the NE10 Honor Roll.
Mercy fell to 4-5 overall and 3-5 in NE10 play on October 25th when they dropped a hard-fought 2-1 overtime decision to Adelphi on October 25th. Schreck scored a goal and Viscione made 13 saves in the game. Devlin had a game-high two defensive saves and Ringstad had an assist.
Spinazzola and the Mavericks snapped a four-game losing streak on October 29th with a 3-1 road win at Franklin Pierce. The win gave Mercy their most NE10 wins in a season at four and the five wins overall were the most in a season since 2018. Palladino netted her second goal of the season and Fitzgerald added her third goal and fifth assist of the season. Sacco recorded her team-leading seventh goal of the season and dished out her third assist. Viscione made eight saves in goal to earn the win.
The next day Mercy faced Frostburg State in a non-conference matchup and fell 4-1 to fall to 5-6 on the year. Schreck scored her fourth goal of the season and Viscione made seven saves. Following the weekend, Devlin and Viscione were named to the NE10 Honor Roll.
Mercy got back to their winning ways on November 2nd when they earned a 3-0 win at Molloy to move to 6-6 overall and 5-5 in NE10 play. Schreck had a game-high two goals and senior Lily Sherry scored her first goal of the season. Sacco had an assist and Palladino had her team-leading sixth assist of the season.
The Mavericks faced No. 6 Assumption on November 5th, falling 5-0, with Viscione making 10 saves in the loss. Following the week's games, Schreck was named to the NE10 Honor Roll.
Mercy played their next game on November 9th in Dobbs Ferry against New Haven. Rosenfeld had a game-high two goals and Viscione had a game-high 13 saves as Mercy earned a 3-1 win over the Chargers. Sacco recorded her eighth goal of the season and Ringstad had her fifth assist of the season. Kirk added two defensive saves. The win moved Mercy to 7-7 overall and 6-6 in NE10 play. The seven wins tied the school record for wins in a season set in 2016 and 2017 and the win was the first over New Haven since 2017.
The Mavericks held Senior Day in their season finale on November 12th against Saint Michael's. Mercy honored seniors Sherry, Christy Falisi, Taylor Durkin, Sacco, and Viscione in a ceremony prior to the game. The Mavericks would come away with a 6-4 win over the Purple Knights to finish the season 8-7 overall and 7-6 in NE10 play. The eight wins were a new school record and the seven NE10 wins were a school record. Mercy ended the season with a winning record overall and in NE10 play for the first time ever. Schreck had a game-high six points on two goals and four assists and Sacco had two goals and one assist. With her two goals and an assist, Sacco set a new single-season school record with 10 goals and 26 points. Rosenfeld added her fifth goal of the season and Palladino netted her third goal. Ringstad had two assists and had a team-high seven assists on the year. Kirk and Devlin both added a defensive save and Viscione made five saves to earn the win. The Mavericks would just miss out on qualifying for the NE10 Tournament for the first time due to a tiebreaker.
Following the season, Sacco was named NE10 Second Team All-Conference and Viscione was named Third Team All-Conference. Ringstad was tabbed to the All-Rookie Team. Sacco and Viscione became the first All-Conference selections from the NE10 in program history. Sacco led the Mavericks with 10 goals and 26 points and was second with six assists. She set a new single-season school record for goals and points. Viscione went 8-7 in goal with 125 saves, a .776 save percentage and 2.58 goals-against average. Ringstad had a team-high seven assists to go along with one goal and nine points.
The Mavericks also excelled in the classroom with Sacco being named NE10 Academic All-Conference. 16 Mavericks were named to the NE10 Fall Academic Honor Roll and 10 Mavericks were tabbed to the NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad. Freshmen Molly Magnifico, Tess Ringstad and Samantha Trickel were named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction and Sacco was tabbed the third most efficient graduate student in Division II field hockey by Allison Keefe. Sacco and Kate Ringstad were named College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District and Sacco, Falisi and Durkin earned the NE10 Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence. The successful academic year in the classroom was capped off by all 21 student-athletes being named to the NE10 Spring Academic Honor Roll in June.
Spinazzola and the Mavericks had a historic season in 2022 and will look to improve upon that success in 2023.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2022-23 Season
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, the Mercy College Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Monday, July 10th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 1 – July 31st
No. 2 – July 28th
No. 3 – July 26th
No. 4 – July 24th
No. 5 – July 21st
No. 6 – July 19th
No. 7 – July 17th
No. 8 – Baseball Qualifies for ECC Tournament for Third Straight Year and Wins First ECC Tournament Game Since 2010
No. 9 - Softball Qualifies for ECC Tournament for Third Straight Year
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Sweeps Bridgeport for First Time Since 2005
