DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 28, 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. 2 – Men's Lacrosse Wins ECC Championship and Hosts NCAA Tournament Game
Coming in at No. 2 in our 2022-23 Top-10 Moments is men's lacrosse who won their fourth straight ECC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and hosted an NCAA Tournament game.
Mercy was coming off a 2022 season in which they played in the National Championship Game for the first time in school history. The Mavericks went 16-2 in 2022 and were picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll ahead of the 2023 season. Graduate student Jack Kipnes was named ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and senior Brady Kearnan was tabbed Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The Mavericks were ranked No. 2 nationally in the USILA Preseason Poll and Kearnan, Justin Gerdvil, Jack Gibbons, Kipnes and Umano were tabbed USILA Preseason All-Americans.
The Mavericks entered the season under first-year head coach and Mercy alum Ryan MacSpadyen. Mercy opened their 2023 season on February 11th with an impressive 23-1 win at Dominican. Kearnan had a game-high nine points on four goals and a game-high five assists and Gibbons had four goals and an assist. Junior Jason Kuehner went 15-of-17 on faceoffs with seven ground balls. The Mavericks won their fifth straight season opener and improved to 10-1 all-time against Dominican. The one goal allowed was the fewest goals allowed by Mercy in a game in program history and the 22-goal margin of victory was also the largest in a single game in program history. The victory was also the first collegiate win as a head coach for MacSpadyen. Following the season-opening win, Kearnan was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week, freshman Anthony Barone was named Rookie of the Week and Gibbons was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Kuehner was also named to the USILA Team of the Week for the first time.
MacSpadyen and the Mavericks improved to 2-0 on February 15th with a 21-12 win over Saint Rose. Kearnan led the way with a game-high seven points on six goals and one assist. Gibbons added four goals and senior Robert Guglielmo had three goals. Gerdvil had a game-high four caused turnovers and five ground balls. The Mavericks moved to 2-0 for the fifth straight season and improved to 10-0 all-time against Saint Rose.
Mercy would face No. 4/8 Le Moyne on February 19th in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament National Semifinal won by the Mavericks in double overtime. The Mavericks held their own but fell 10-8 to drop to 2-1 on the year. Gibbons, Kearnan and junior Andrew Calabria all had two goals and Kearnan recorded his 100th career ground ball in the loss. The loss was Mercy's first road loss since losing to Le Moyne on February 22, 2020. After the pair of games, Kearnan was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week again, Gerdvil was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week and Gibbons was tabbed to the Honor Roll again. Gerdvil was also named to the USILA Team of the Week for the first time this season.
The Mavericks dropped to No. 6 nationally in the USILA Poll as they entered their matchup with Georgian Court on February 22nd. Eight different Mavericks scored as Mercy cruised to an 18-8 win over the Lions to move to 3-1 on the year. Kearnan had a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists and recorded his 100th career goal as a Maverick. Gibbons had four goals and two assists and graduate student Thomas Connors had two goals and two assists. Kuehner went 19-of-24 on faceoffs with six ground balls and Umano made six saves in 48:38 minutes of action to earn the win.
After the win over Georgian Court, Mercy moved up to No. 5 nationally in the USILA Poll and Kearnan and Kuehner were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll. The Mavericks resumed action on March 4th against No. 12/15 Seton Hill. Senior TJ Heyder had six goals, Gerdvil had six caused turnovers and Umano made a game-high 16 saves as the Mavericks earned an 18-15 win over the Griffins in their home opener. Mercy won their 11th straight home opener and defeated Seton Hill in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament National Quarterfinal won by the Mavericks.
The Mavericks moved to 4-1 on the year following the win over Seton Hill and Heyder and Gerdvil were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll. Gerdvil was also named to the USILA Team of the Week and Mercy moved up to No. 3 nationally in the USILA Poll. The Mavericks would host Wilmington on March 11th and cruised to a 19-9 win with Kearnan producing a game-high eight points on four goals and four assists. He recorded his 200th career point as a Maverick and Heyder netted a game-high five goals. Connors added four goals and two assists and Umano made 11 saves in 42:10 minutes of action to earn the win. Mercy improved to 5-1 on the year following the win. After the win, Kearnan was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time and Gerdvil was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy opened up ECC play on March 19th at Mercy Field against Roberts Wesleyan. Junior Brody Caskenette had a game-high and career-high five goals as the Mavericks earned a 21-14 win over the Redhawks. Connors had a game-high eight points on two goals and a game-high six assists and Heyder recorded his 100th career point. Gibbons recorded his 100th career goal and Kuehner went 20-of-23 on faceoffs with eight ground balls. Gerdvil added a career-high 11 ground balls. The win gave the Mavericks four wins in a row and gave Mercy their 22nd straight win against ECC competition. Following the big win, Caskenette, Kuehner and Connors were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll and Kuehner was named to the USILA Team of the Week.
MacSpadyen and the Mavericks moved back up to No. 2 nationally in the USILA Poll heading into their matchup with Bentley on March 22nd. Calabria had a game-high seven points on three goals and four assists and Umano made a game-high 17 saves as the Mavericks earned a 14-12 win. Senior PJ Argiros added seven ground balls and picked up his 100th ground ball as a Maverick. The win moved Mercy to 7-1 on the year.
The Mavericks extended their winning streak to six games with a convincing 26-2 win at D'Youville on March 26th. Freshman Devon Duchnowski scored a career-high five goals in the win and Heyder added four goals and two assists. The 24-goal margin of victory was now the largest margin of victory in school history, surpassing the 22-goal margin of victory set earlier in the season opener at Dominican. Following the wins, Umano was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and Duchnowski was tabbed Rookie of the Week. Heyder and Calabria were named to the Honor Roll.
Mercy saw their six-game winning streak come to an end on April 1st with a 16-10 loss at No. 6/7 Mercyhurst. Gibbons and Heyder both had a team-high three goals and Kearnan had a team-high four points. Umano made 11 saves, recording his 400th career save in the process. The loss moved Mercy to 8-2 on the year.
The Mavericks dropped to No. 8 nationally in the USILA Poll and would host No. 12/16 Frostburg State on April 7th. Umano made a career-high-tying 19 saves and Kearnan had a game-high-tying four points as Mercy earned a 9-7 win over the Bobcats to move to 9-2 overall and 3-0 in ECC play. Junior Tyler Pjatak had a game-high seven ground balls, including his 100th career ground ball. The win over Frostburg State was the Mavericks 24th straight win over ECC competition. After the win, Umano was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and Kearnan was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Umano was also named to the USILA Team of the Week.
MacSpadyen and the Mavericks continued to cruise on April 15th when they earned a 24-3 win over District of Columbia. Kearnan had a game-high four goals with an assist and Connors had a game-high six points on three goals and three assists. Heyder and junior Justin DeMonte both had three goals and senior Matt Gaughan had two goals. Connors and Kearnan were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll following the win over UDC.
Mercy entered the next week ranked No. 9 nationally in the USILA Poll taking on No. 2 Adelphi at Mercy Field on April 19th. The Mavericks fell behind early and made a late rally, but it was not enough as the Panthers earned the 14-12 win. The loss moved Mercy to 10-3 on the year and the Mavericks suffered their first home loss of the season. Umano made 15 saves in the loss and Connors had three goals. Kearnan had three goals and recorded his 100th career assist as a Maverick.
The Mavericks were one of eight teams under consideration for an NCAA Tournament berth in the first regional rankings released on April 19th. Mercy concluded the week with a 17-4 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on April 23rd. Kearnan had a game-high eight points, Heyder had a game-high five goals and sophomore Ryan Smith and Duchnowski both had two goals. Kuehner went 11-of-15 on faceoffs and recorded his 100th career ground ball. The win improved Mercy to 11-3 overall and 5-0 in ECC play. After the week of games, Kearnan was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week, Gerdvil was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week and Heyder was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Gerdvil was also named to the USILA Team of the Week.
Mercy sat at No. 4 in the second NCAA North Regional Rankings ahead of their matchup with Molloy on April 27th. The Mavericks celebrated Senior Day with seniors Argiros, Connors, Mustapha Daffeh, Jake Fitzgerald, Gaughan, Guglielmo, Gibbons, Kearnan, Kipnes, Umano, Joe Tortorella, Omar Morris and Zack Higgins being honored prior to the game. Gibbons and Kearnan combined for 14 points and Heyder had a game-high six goals, including his 100th career goal, as the Mavericks cruised to a 24-10 win over Molloy. Kearnan recorded his 300th career point in the win and Gibbons had a career-high-tying seven points. With the win, the Mavericks secured their fourth straight ECC Regular Season Championship and finished the regular season 12-3 overall and 6-0 in ECC play. Following the big win, Gerdvil was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and Kearnan and Heyder were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Kuehner was also named to the USILA Team of the Week.
The Mavericks secured their eighth straight ECC Tournament berth and earned the No. 1 seed where they would host No. 4 seed Molloy in a Semifinal on May 3rd. 11 different Mavericks scored as Mercy cruised to a 19-9 win to advance to the Final for the fourth straight season. Kearnan had a game-high five goals and Heyder netted three goals, setting a school-record for goals in a season with 55. Gibbons recorded his 200th career point and Umano made 13 saves.
Mercy would face Frostburg State in the Final on May 6th. The Mavericks were facing the Bobcats in the Final for the second straight year. Back-to-back goals from Bubba Love and a goal from Evan Dere gave the Bobcats a 3-0 lead with 8:42 left in the first quarter, leading to a Mercy timeout. Following the timeout, Argiros won the ensuing faceoff and Calabria found Gibbons who found the back of the net to make it 3-1. Connors and Duchnowski recorded back-to-back goals to tie the game at 3-3 with 2:55 remaining in the quarter and the teams headed into the second quarter tied at 3-3.
Frostburg State took a 4-3 lead at the 6:14 mark of the second quarter following a Seamus Kearney goal. Kearnan quickly answered with a goal from Calabria to tie the game at 4-4. Heyder gave the Mavericks their first lead of the game with 3:49 on the clock following a Kearnan assist, making it 5-4. Duchnowski, Kearnan and Gibbons closed the quarter with goals to give Mercy an 8-4 lead at halftime.
Kearnan made it 9-4 just over a minute into the third quarter. Love made it 9-5 at the 10:48 mark, but Connors scored with 8:15 on the clock to make it 10-5. Tanner Donaldson and Calabria traded goals to finish the quarter giving Mercy an 11-6 lead after three quarters.
Heyder gave Mercy a 12-6 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Chase Buckwalter and Austin Sipes scored back-to-back goals to cut the Mavericks lead to four, 12-8, with 10:11 remaining, Mercy put an end to any hope of a comeback as Duchnowski and Heyder scored consecutive goals to give the Mavericks a 14-8 lead with nine minutes left. Donaldson later scored to make it 14-9 before Gibbons scored Mercy's last goal with 7:15 on the clock to make it 15-9. The Mavericks held the Bobcats scoreless for the final seven minutes of the game with Umano making two saves to give Mercy their fourth straight ECC Championship.
Argiros went 18-of-26 on faceoffs with a game-high 10 ground balls to be named the Championship's Most Outstanding Player. Umano made 14 saves and Kearnan and Gibbons both had a game-high six points on three goals and three assists.
The Mavericks sat at 14-3 after the ECC Championship and would be selected to play in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed in the North Region. Mercy received their fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth and would host No. 6 seed Saint Anselm at Mercy Field in a First Round matchup on May 10th.
Calabria scored a career-high-tying five goals and Kearnan had three goals and an assist, but the Mavericks would drop a heartbreaking 17-16 decision to Saint Anselm to see their season come to an end in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Mavericks ended the season 14-4 and would see the awards begin to pile up once the season was over. Kearnan was named ECC Offensive Player of the Year, Gerdvil was named Defensive Player of the Year, Umano was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year and MacSpadyen was named Coach of the Year. Kearnan, Gerdvil, Umano, Gibbons, Kipnes, Pjatak and Kuehner were named First Team All-ECC and Heyder, Calabria, Damiano Ferrara and Fitzgerald were tabbed Second Team All-ECC.
Kearnan was also named USILA North Region Offensive Player of the Year and Kearnan, Gibbons and Gerdvil were named USILA First Team All-Region. Kipnes, Kuehner, Pjatak were named Second Team All-Region, Heyder was tabbed Third Team All-Region and Umano was named Honorable Mention All-Region.
Gerdvil was named USA Lacrosse Magazine First Team All-American, Gibbons, Kipnes and Kearnan were named Second Team All-American, Kuehner was tabbed Third Team All-American and Pjatak was named Honorable Mention All-American.
Kearnan and Gerdvil were also named USILA First Team All-American, Gibbons and Kuehner were tabbed Second Team All-American, Kipnes and Pjatak were named Third Team All-American and Heyder and Umano were named Honorable Mention All-American. Kipnes was selected to play in the USILA Division I/II Senior All-Star Game and Mercy ended the season ranked No. 10 nationally in the final Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine poll and No. 11 in the final Inside Lacrosse poll.
Kearnan was also crowned a Division II Statistical Champion in points per game (5.93) and Heyder was crowned a Statistical Champion in shot percentage (.648).
The team also excelled in the classroom having earned the USILA Academic Team Award for having above a 3.0 GPA and earned the ECC Academic Team of Excellence Award for having the highest GPA of all ECC men's lacrosse teams. Kipnes, Pjatak, Greg Gibbons, Caskenette and Ian Votta were also named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and Kipnes was named Third Team Academic All-American. Kipnes was also named USILA Scholar All-American and was tabbed the ECC's Co-Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Mavericks had tremendous success in their first year under MacSpadyen and will look to build upon that success in year two.
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 – Men's Soccer Wins ECC Championship and Hosts NCAA Tournament Game
No. 4 – Women's Lacrosse Wins ECC Championship
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
