PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Despite a game-high 12 saves from senior Olivia LaMonica (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Township), the No. 3 seeded Mercy University Women's Lacrosse Team dropped a hard-fought 13-12 decision at No. 2 seeded Pace University in the Second Round of the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon at Northwell Stadium.
The Mavericks (16-4) see their season end in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 after earning their first NCAA Tournament win in program history on Thursday. Mercy matches the program history with 16 wins this season, tying the 2017 team for most wins. The Mavericks also won their first ECC Tournament Championship since 2023. The Setters (15-5) advance to the National Quarterfinals where they will play at No. 1 seed Adelphi on Saturday, May 16th at 1 p.m.
Mercy started the first quarter with a solid defensive play, as senior Emily Marino (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) caused a turnover that led to a successful clear. Despite early offensive efforts, including a shot by sophomore Ashlinn Kelly (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) that was saved, Pace took an early lead with a goal by Mackenzie Carita.
After another Pace goal extended the deficit to 2-0, Mercy responded with Kelly finding the back of the net off an assist from junior Riley Wallace (Islip, N.Y./Islip). However, Pace quickly regained momentum with a goal by Lisa Heffernan, and another by Marissa Doty, pushing the lead to 4-1 at 7:47. Mercy called a timeout to regroup, and sophomore Kayden Meyer (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) scored, assisted by junior Juliana Talenti (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage), to reduce the margin to 4-2 at 1:24. As the quarter closed, Pace added one more goal, bringing the score to 5-2 in their favor.
The second quarter opened with a key defensive stand as LaMonica saved a free position shot by Heffernan. Mercy capitalized on this momentum when Meyer found the back of the net at 12:55, narrowing the gap to 5-3. After a free position goal by Doty for Pace, Mercy's Wallace responded by scoring from a woman-up situation at 7:27, cutting the Setters' lead to 6-4.
As the quarter progressed, both teams experienced turnovers and intense defensive play. Mercy's LaMonica continued to guard the goal effectively, saving another shot by Doty with just two minutes remaining. The Mavericks headed into halftime down, 6-4.
The third quarter commenced with a significant momentum shift. After an early goal by Pace's Annie Sheehan, Mercy quickly responded. Wallace netted a goal, to make it 7-5 at 12:51 before a Heffernan goal gave the Setters an 8-5 lead. Meyer later made it 8-6 with 10:11 left in the quarter. Kelly added a free position goal to make it 8-7. Annie Sheehan gave the hosts a 9-7 lead with 7:45 on the clock.
Mercy battled back with Talenti scoring a woman-up goal assisted by Kelly. Freshman Ava Franco (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) followed up with another woman-up score from a free position attempt, leveling the game at 9-9 at 5:55. Despite Mercy's strong run, Pace managed to retake the lead with a late goal by Sheehan. The quarter ended with Mercy trailing 10-9.
The fourth quarter began with Pace extending its lead with quick goals from Heffernan and Carita, taking a 12-9 lead with 13:54 left. Mercy responded with a goal by Franco, assisted by Wallace, which initiated a shift in momentum. Franco's effort was followed by solid defensive work, including a save by LaMonica and a caused turnover by senior Kaci Bates (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon).
Mercy continued to capitalize on its opportunities, with Talenti scoring on a free position shot, as the shot clock expired, to make it 12-11. Meyer then contributed with a goal at 3:15, tying the game at 12-12. Despite Mercy's efforts, Heffernan scored for Pace with 36 seconds left to give the Setters a 13-12 lead. Pace won the ensuing draw control and ran out the clock to secure the win.
Mercy was led by LaMonica who made a game-high 12 saves to take the loss. Meyer had a game-high-tying four goals and Wallace added two goals and two assists. Talenti and Kelly both contributed two goals and an assist and Franco recorded two goals. Senior Maeghan Callow (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) had a team-high nine draw controls and Bates and Marino both had a game-high-tying two caused turnovers. Senior Rita-Marie Masi (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) added a team-high-tying three ground balls.
Pace was led by Doty who had a game-high six points on four goals and two assists. Camryn Smith made eight saves to earn the win.
Pace held a 41-27 edge in shots, a 21-13 edge in ground balls and a 14-13 edge in draw controls.
