DOBBS FERRY, N.Y.- The Frostburg State men's lacrosse team took on Mercy in the ECC championship final, where FSU fell just short 15-10 in their first trip to the ECC Tournament.

In the first quarter, the Mavericks would strike first, but the Bobcats would answer right back with a nice faceoff win from senior Cade Price to allow junior Evan Dere to rush down the field for a goal. Shortly after, senior Gavin Schattall gave Frostburg the lead, followed by a goal from junior Chase Buckwalter to go up 3-1. Mercy answered just one minute later, then scored the equalizer with just over three minutes to go as the teams went into the second at 3-3.

The Mavericks used the momentum from the end of the first to score the first three goals of the second, as the defense held FSU without a goal for nearly a full quarter. Junior Bubba Love finally broke the five-goal streak to breathe life back to the Bobcat offense, with redshirt junior Tanner Donaldson then tallying back-to-back goals within a minute and a half of each other, as the game went into halftime tied 6-6.

In the third quarter, the Mavericks once more took the lead with the opening goal, but Frostburg answered just 24 seconds later through junior Owen McCallum. Mercy fired back with another three goals, as an important faceoff win from Price would allow Donaldson to get his hat trick and keep FSU within striking distance at 10-8. Mercy kept their foot on the gas, however, scoring three straight again to take a strong 13-8 lead into the final quarter.

The Bobcats took advantage of a man-up opportunity to score on a goal from Love 45 seconds into the fourth, but the Maverick defense held firm for the majority of the quarter. Mercy scored a pair of goals a minute and a half apart and held FSU scoreless until Buckwalter scored with 3:20 left in the game, as the Mavericks were crowned champions with the 15-10 win.

Donaldson (three goals, one assist) and Buckwalter (two goals, two assists) both led the offense with four points each, while sophomore Luke McCullough was a force defensively with a game-high five caused turnovers and nine groundballs. 

The team set single-season program records for goals scored (272) and total points (422), while also tallying the second-most assists (150) and third-most caused turnovers (194). 

With the loss, Frostburg ends their season at 11-8, while the Mavericks rise to 14-1 as they await their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.