DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – Powered by the game-winning goal with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter from freshman Jessica Grzelaczyk (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), the No. 25 Mercy University Women's Lacrosse Team overcame a three-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to earn a 17-16 upset win over No. 9 Saint Leo University on Thursday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (7-1) have won three games in a row, while the Lions (8-2) see their eight-game winning streak come to an end. It is the highest ranked win for Mercy since they defeated No. 8 LIU Post in the ECC Championship Final in 2019.
The game commenced with Mercy controlling the opening draw, leading to sophomore Ashlinn Kelly (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) scoring the first goal within the first minute. Saint Leo responded with a woman-up goal by Marina Dean, temporarily equalizing the score at 1–1. The Mavericks quickly regained the lead when senior Andrea Mott (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) scored despite being a woman down, assisted by Grzelaczyk, giving Mercy a 2-1 lead. Dean later tied the score at 2-2 following a woman-down goal at the 10:13 mark.
Midway through the quarter, the Mavericks retook the lead with a goal from junior Riley Wallace (Islip, N.Y./Islip). Grzelaczyk then found the net twice in quick succession, with an assist from Kelly on the second, extending Mercy's lead to 5–2 with 3:20 on the clock. The Lions managed to cut the deficit with a late goal by Dean, ending the quarter with a score of 5–3 in favor of the Mavericks.
Mercy opened the second quarter by quickly responding to Saint Leo's early goal with sophomore Kayden Meyer (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) finding the back of the net at 12:34 to make it 6-4. Natalie Jones then scored to make it 6-5 before Kelly and freshman Ava Franco (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) capitalized on offensive opportunities, each scoring to extend Mercy's lead to 8-5 at the 7:17 mark.
The Lions managed to close the gap with two goals, one of which was a free position shot by Dean, narrowing Mercy's lead to 8-7. However, Kelly's second goal of the quarter at 1:58 helped the Mavericks maintain a 9-7 edge.
The quarter concluded with a late goal by Saint Leo's Sophia Wood, bringing the Lions within one. Mercy held a narrow 9–8 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Dean scored to tie the game at 9-9. Meyer scored just over a minute later to give Mercy a 10-9 lead. Holly Hill scored at the 7:43 mark to tie the game again at 10-10. Jana Nuss later gave the Lions their first lead of the game 11-10 with 6:12 on the clock.
Kelly scored again to even the score at 11-11 with 5:19 left in the quarter. Wallace, assisted by junior Juliana Talenti (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage), capitalized on a woman-up opportunity, giving Mercy a 12-11edge. Meyer added another goal, extending the Mavericks' lead to 13-11. However, Saint Leo ended the quarter with three straight goals to take a 14-13 lead after three quarters.
Mercy faced a challenging start to the fourth quarter as Saint Leo's Natalie Jones scored early, increasing their lead to 15-13. A Briana Bellando goal later gave the Lions a game-high three-goal lead, 16-13, with 10:44 left, leading to a Mercy timeout.
Following the timeout Talenti scored, narrowing the gap to 16–14 with 8:25 left. The Mavericks continued their offensive push with goals from Meyer and Franco, assisted by Meyer, leveling the score at 16–16. Intense defense from Mercy, including turnovers caused by senior Rita-Marie Masi (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) and LaMonica, kept Saint Leo from regaining control.
Grzelaczyk's goal with 2:07 left gave Mercy a 17–16 lead. Franco won the ensuing draw control, and the Mavericks ran out the clock to secure the 17-16 upset win.
Mercy was led by Kelly and Meyer who both had a team-high four goals with one assist. Grzelaczyk had three goals and two assists and Franco added two goals and a game-high six draw controls. Wallace had two goals and three draw controls and Talenti recorded a goal and an assist. Mott had a goal and senior Emily Marino (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) had a game-high three caused turnovers with five ground balls. LaMonica made seven saves with a caused turnover and two ground balls to earn the win.
Saint Leo was led by Marina Dean who had a game-high five goals. Jessica Harclerode made a game-high nine saves to take the loss.
Mercy held a 32-31 edge in shots, ground balls were tied at 15-15 and Saint Leo held a 19-16 edge in draw controls.
Head Coach Dawn Sachs and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, March 25th when they host Molloy at 4 p.m.
