DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (May 3, 2025) – Despite a team-high three goals from senior Leah Hansen (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) and sophomore Riley Wallace (Islip, N.Y./Islip), the No. 1 seeded Mercy University women's lacrosse team dropped a 15-13 decision to No. 3 seeded Molloy University in the ECC Women's Lacrosse Championship Final on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.

The Mavericks (10-7) fall in the Final for the second straight year, while the Lions (10-8) win their first ECC Championship and earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Mercy was led by Hansen who had a team-high four points on three goals and one assist. Wallace had three goals and freshman Kayden Meyer (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) had two goals and one assist. Freshman Ashlinn Kelly (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) had a goal, two assists and three caused turnovers and sophomore Juliana Talenti (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) had two goals. Freshman Marena Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) had a goal and junior Maeghan Callow (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) had a goal and six draw controls. Senior Lindsey Shimborske (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) had five draw controls, one caused turnover and two ground balls. Junior Olivia LaMonica (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Township) made a game-high seven saves to take the loss.

Molloy was led by Megan Rugolo who had a game-high nine points on eight goals and one assist and was named the Championship's Most Outstanding Player. Nicole Schaumloffel made four saves to earn the win.

Meyer, Talenti and Wallace scored the game's first three goals to give Mercy a 3-0 lead with 7:16 left in the first quarter. A Rugolo goal made it 3-1 in favor of the Mavericks after the first quarter.

Talenti and Wallace scored the first two goals of the second quarter to give Mercy a 5-1 lead with 9:56 left in the half. Molloy rallied with four consecutive goals to tie the game at 5-5 at the 5:04 mark. Wallace gave Mercy the lead back at 6-5 after a Kelly assist. The Lions netted back-to-back goals to take a 7-6 lead with 2:32 on the clock. A Hansen goal tied the game at 7-7 before a late Rugolo goal gave the Lions an 8-7 lead at halftime.

Callow and Morales scored back-to-back free position goals to begin the third quarter, giving Mercy a 9-8 lead at the 11:39 mark. Two goals from Sophia Quitoni gave Molloy a 10-9 lead before Meyer and Hansen ended the quarter with goals to give Mercy an 11-10 lead after the third quarter.

A Rugolo goal to open the fourth quarter tied the game again at 11-11 with 12:45 left. Hansen gave Mercy the lead back at 12-11 at the 10:29 mark before three straight Rugolo goals gave Molloy a 14-12 lead with 5:29 left. A Kelly goal from Hansen made it 14-13 with 4:06 remaining. An Alexa Amorison goal from Rugolo gave the Lions a 15-13 lead with 2:19 on the clock. Molloy held Mercy scoreless for the final 2:19 to earn the 15-13 win and their first ECC Championship.

Mercy held a 34-24 edge in shots, Molloy held a 16-13 edge in ground balls and Mercy held a 17-13 edge in draw controls.