DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 24, 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. 4 – Women's Lacrosse Wins ECC Championship
Coming in at No. 4 in our 2022-23 Top-10 Moments is women's lacrosse who won their fourth ECC Regular Season Championship and third ECC Tournament Championship.
Head Coach Dawn Sachs and the Mavericks looked to repeat as ECC Champions in 2023 after going 14-5 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. Mercy was picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll and graduate student Micayla Brady was tabbed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Mavericks were also ranked No. 11 nationally in the ILWomen/IWLCA Preseason Top 25 Poll and Brady was tabbed USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Second Team All-American.
The Mavericks opened their 2023 season at Franklin Pierce on February 18th. Mercy earned a convincing 17-9 win over the Ravens to earn their 11th straight season-opening win. Sophomore Leena Moussa had a game-high four goals with an assist and sophomore Lindsey Shimborske had a game-high six caused turnovers with a goal and four draw controls. Graduate student Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk had three goals, recording her 100th career point. Following the season-opening win, Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and graduate student Emma Rippon and Moussa were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy remained ranked No. 11 nationally heading into their home opener against No. 4/5 Le Moyne on February 25th. The Mavericks held their own against the Dolphins but dropped a hard-fought 12-8 decision to fall to 1-1 on the year. Moussa had a team-high three goals and sophomore Leah Hansen had two goals. Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week and Moussa was tabbed to the Honor Roll after the loss.
The Mavericks faced another ranked team in No. 16 Assumption on March 1st. Grzelaczyk had a game-high four goals as Mercy earned a 13-11 win to move to 2-1 on the year. Moussa added three goals and Shimborske had five ground balls, five caused turnovers, four draw controls and an assist in the win. On March 4th, the Mavericks faced their third straight ranked opponent in No. 6/10 Adelphi. Graduate student Erin Shimborske had a game-high-tying two goals, but the Mavericks fell, 9-5, to the nine-time National Champions. The four-goal margin of defeat was the smallest margin of defeat in four all-time meetings against Adelphi. Following the pair of games that week, Lindsey Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time and Brady was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy entered their matchup against RV Bloomsburg on March 8th ranked No. 13 nationally in the ILWomen/IWLCA Top 25 poll. Ten different Mavericks would score as Mercy earned a 15-9 win over the Huskies to improve to 3-2 on the year. Moussa had a team-high three goals and Rippon, Erin Shimborske and senior Sydney Corley each had two goals in the win. Following the win, Lindsey Shimborske was named to the ECC Honor Roll.
Sachs and the Mavericks began their Florida trip ranked No. 13 nationally in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll. Mercy opened the two-game trip against 2023 Final Four participant No. 2/3 Florida Southern. The two teams were tied at 12-12 after three quarters before Florida Southern outscored Mercy 4-1 in the fourth quarter to earn the 16-13 win. Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk had a team-high four goals and graduate student Jaclyn Grzelaczyk had two goals and a game-high three assists. Moussa netted three goals and Erin Shimborske had a goal and a game-high four caused turnovers.
Two days later the Mavericks would play at No. 4/9 Tampa on March 18th. Mercy once again held their own against a nationally-ranked team, falling by just three, 18-15. Moussa had a team-high four goals and Erin Shimborske had three goals and an assist. The loss moved Mercy to 3-4 on the year. Following the two games in Florida, graduate student Jaclyn Grzelaczyk was named to the ECC Honor Roll.
Mercy moved up to No. 12 nationally in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll heading into their ECC opener against RV Roberts Wesleyan on March 25th. In a rematch of last year's ECC Championship Final, the Mavericks earned an 11-8 win to snap a two-game losing streak and move to 4-4 on the year. Lindsey Shimborske had a game-high-tying five caused turnovers and recorded her 100th career draw control. Juniors Savanna Spadalik and Christina Lopreato both had four caused turnovers and Brady had three caused turnovers. Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk had a team-high three goals in the win. Following the win over the Redhawks, Lindsey Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time and Lopreato was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Sachs and the Mavericks faced their sixth ranked team of the season on March 29th when they played at No. 12 Bentley. Mercy jumped out to a 13-6 lead at halftime and held on for the 22-19 win to move to 5-4 on the year. The 22 goals scored by the Mavericks were the most scored by Mercy since a 22-9 win over New York Tech on May 3, 2018. Jaclyn Grzelaczyk had a game-high 10 points on six goals and four assists and Rippon added five goals, two assists and a game-high 11 draw controls. Junior Olivia Maute made 12 saves in goal to earn the win.
The Mavericks ended the week playing at Molloy in an ECC matchup on April 2nd. Despite a career-high seven caused turnovers from Lindsey Shimborske, the Mavericks dropped a 14-13 overtime decision to the Lions. Mercy fell to 5-5 overall, 1-1 in ECC play and lost to Molloy for the first time since 2015. After the Molloy game, Jaclyn Grzelaczyk and Lindsey Shimborske were named to the ECC Honor Roll.
Mercy was ranked No. 15 nationally in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll entering their matchup with St. Thomas Aquinas on April 8th. The Mavericks jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way to a 19-0 shutout win. The shutout was the third in school history and first since a 20-0 win over District of Columbia on April 18, 2018. Hansen scored a game-high four goals and Corley and Moussa each had three goals. Freshman Olivia LaMonica made five saves in the first three quarters to earn the win. The victory moved Mercy to 6-5 overall and 2-1 in ECC play. Hansen was named to the ECC Honor Roll following the win over the Spartans.
The Mavericks faced their seventh ranked team on April 11th when they played at No. 22 New Haven. Rippon had a team-high two goals, but the Chargers earned a 17-7 win over the Mavericks. Mercy dropped to 6-6 on the year following the loss.
Sachs and the Mavericks regrouped and got back in the win column on April 15th with an 18-0 win over District of Columbia. Mercy had now earned two shutouts in the same season for the first time in program history. 11 different Mavericks scored in the win, highlighted by Jaclyn Grzelaczyk who had a game-high seven points on two goals and five assists. Freshman Andrea Mott contributed three goals and three assists. The win moved Mercy to 7-6 overall and 3-1 in ECC play.
Mott was named to the ECC Honor Roll and Mercy was ranked No. 19 nationally in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll following the win over UDC. The Mavericks made it two wins in a row when they earned a 23-9 win over Georgian Court on April 18th, improving to 8-6 on the year. The 23 goals scored by Mercy were a new school record for goals in a game. Moussa had a career-high six goals and eight points and Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk had five goals. Mott had four goals and three assists and Hansen had four goals. Rippon had three goals and a season-high 14 draw controls.
The Mavericks extended their winning streak to three games and secured their seventh straight ECC Tournament berth with an 18-5 win at D'Youville on April 22nd. Rippon had a game-high five goals in the win and Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk and Hansen each had three goals and an assist. Erin Shimborske added a game-high three caused turnovers in the win. The win moved Mercy to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in ECC play. After the win over the Saints, Mott was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week and Lindsey Shimborske and Rippon were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Sachs and the Mavericks increased their winning streak to four games and improved to 10-6 on the year after a convincing 17-7 win at Jefferson on April 26th. Mercy held the Rams to a season-low-tying seven goals in the win and Jaclyn Grzelaczyk had a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists. Junior Olivia Maute and LaMonica combined for 14 saves in the win and Lindsey Shimborske had a game-high six ground balls and eight draw controls.
Mercy capped off the regular season on April 29th with Senior Day and First Responders Day against Daemen. Prior to the game, seniors Erin Shimborske, Corley, Rippon, Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk, Jaclyn Grzelaczyk, Alexandra Bigilin, Brady, Gianna Mott, and Jessica Denike were recognized for their contributions to the program. The Mavericks cruised to a 19-6 win with 10 different Mavericks scoring to move Mercy to 11-6 overall and 5-1 in ECC play. Mercy ended the regular season with five straight wins and earned a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship for the fourth straight season. Moussa had a game-high five goals and Hansen had three goals and an assist. Rippon added two goals, six draw controls and a game-high four caused turnovers. Following the win over Daemen, Jaclyn Grzelaczyk was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week, Lindsey Shimborske was named Defensive Player of the Week for the fifth time and Andrea Mott was tabbed Rookie of the Week. Hansen earned Honor Roll recognition.
The Mavericks secured the No. 1 seed in the ECC Championship due to winning the tiebreaker over Molloy and Roberts Wesleyan. Mercy would host No. 4 seed D'Youville in an ECC Semifinal on May 4th. Nine different Mavericks scored as Mercy cruised to a 19-5 win over the Saints to advance to the Final for the sixth straight season. The Mavericks defeated D'Youville in the Semifinals for the second straight season and won their sixth straight game to improve to 12-6 on the year. Andrea Mott had a game-high-tying five points on three goals and two assists and Rippon added a game-high four goals and eight draw controls. Erin Shimborske added a game-high four caused turnovers.
Mercy would face No. 2 seed Roberts Wesleyan in the ECC Championship Final on May 7th in a rematch of last year's final. Rippon gave Mercy a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the first quarter on a free position shot. Tori Lammes and Annie Mulhall followed with back-to-back goals to give the Redhawks a 2-1 lead with nine minutes left in the quarter. Moussa won the ensuing draw control and finished to tie the game at 2-2. Tannah O'Neill-Blake gave Roberts Wesleyan a 3-2 lead at the 4:57 mark of the quarter. A Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk woman-up goal with three minutes left in the quarter tied the game again at 3-3. Lammes and Jaclyn Grzelaczyk closed the quarter with goals to send the teams into the second quarter tied at 4-4.
Alexis Grant and Mulhall scored consecutive goals to open the second quarter, giving Roberts Wesleyan their largest lead of the game, 6-4, with 8:32 left in the half. Mott followed with a woman-up goal at the 6:44 mark to make it 6-5 and Rosenfeld scored with 39 seconds on the clock to tie the score at 6-6 heading into halftime.
Erin Shimborske, Moussa, and Hansen scored the first three goals of the third quarter to give Mercy their largest lead of the game, 9-6, with eight minutes left in the quarter. Kadie Tierney scored a free position goal with two seconds left on the clock to cut Mercy's lead to 9-7 after three quarters.
The score remained 9-7 until the 6:32 mark of the fourth quarter when Emma Blumenstock scored to make it 9-8. The Mavericks defense would hold the Redhawks scoreless for the rest of the game to secure their third ECC Championship in four seasons.
Lindsey Shimborske had a game-high six ground balls and four caused turnovers in the win and was named the championship's Most Outstanding Player. She also finished the season with a school-record 55 caused turnovers, surpassing the previous record of 51 set by Brady in 2021. Moussa had a game-high-tying two goals and Maute and LaMonica combined for 10 saves to give Mercy their third ECC Championship in program history.
The Mavericks ended their season on a seven-game winning streak and finished the season 13-6, just missing out on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Mercy ended the season ranked No. 21 nationally in the final ILWomen/IWLCA poll and No. 19 nationally in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine poll.
Following a successful season, the awards began to pour in for the Mavericks. Lindsey Shimborske was named ECC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-ECC. Jaclyn Grzelaczyk, Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk, Rippon, Erin Shimborske, Brady, and Moussa were named First Team All-ECC and junior Kelly Rosenfeld and Lopreato were tabbed Second Team All-ECC. Lindsey Shimborske and Brady were also named IWLCA All-Region and Shimborske was named IWLCA Second Team All-American and USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American Honorable Mention. Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk, Jaclyn Grzelaczyk and Rippon were also selected to play in the IWLCA Division II Senior All-Star Game.
The team not only excelled on the field but also in the classroom as Lindsey Shimborske, Spadalik and junior Carly Diolosa were tabbed College Sports Communicators Academic All-District. Shimborske was tabbed Third Team Academic All-American by College Sports Communicators, becoming the first women's lacrosse student-athlete in program history to earn the award. Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk also earned the ECC's John Smillie, Jr. Award and Lindsey Shimborske earned ECC Co-Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Mavericks had another strong season on and off the field in 2023 and will look to continue its success under Sachs in 2024.
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 – Women's Basketball Wins Most Games Since 1989 and Hosts First-Ever ECC Tournament Game
No. 6 – Volleyball Posts First Winning Season Since 2005 and Qualifies for ECC Tournament
No. 7 – Field Hockey Posts First Winning Season in Program History
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
