FROSTBURG, Md. - For the second straight season, second seed Frostburg State will face off against top-seeded Mercy to determine the ECC Tournament Champion on Saturday morning.
How They Got Here
The Bobcats enter the game sporting a 13-4 overall record with an ECC regular season record of 4-2. FSU started out undefeated through its first eight games before losing four of its next six, with three of those losses coming against ranked opponents. After a non-conference win over Alderson Broaddus, Frostburg and RWU faced off for the right to host the semifinals in the final regular season game of the season, which the Bobcats came out victorious in. In that semifinal, the Bobcats had one of their best performances of the season en route to a 21-13 victory.
The Mavericks remain one of the top teams in the country, coming into the contest with a 13-3 record, including a perfect 6-0 record in the conference. Mercy won eight of its first nine games, lost two of the following four, then ended the regular season on a two-game win streak. Similarly to FSU, the Mavericks won their semifinal in convincing fashion, with a 19-9 victory over No. 4 seed Molloy.
The Matchup
Since the Bobcats joined Division II, the series has been one-sided, with Mercy winning each of the three matches between the two teams. Having won by totals of six and five last season, the Mavericks held on in a 9-7 defensive battle earlier this season, a result that helped pave their way to the regular season title.
The Players
Frostburg boasts one of the top players not just in the ECC, but in all of Division II, as senior Jake Bowman is second in all of Division II in both goals (67) and goals per game (3.94), leading the ECC in both categories. He has already broken the program records for goals and points in a single season, with a trio of teammates balancing out the offense in senior Bubba Love (38 goals, 35 assists), junior Austin Sipes (42 goals, 35 assists), and senior Owen McCallum (31 goals, 30 assists) all being over the 50-point mark. The defensive effort is primarily led by sophomore Seamus Kearney (31 caused turnovers, 44 groundballs) and senior Matt Sharkey (25 caused turnovers, 41 groundballs). In the faceoff circle, FSU uses a three-headed attack in sophomoe Alex Walstrum (.614 win pct), sophomore Gregg Dort, Jr. (.534 win pct), and junior Drew Downing (.509 win pct.).
As the yearly awards were announced, Mercy had the distinction of earning each of the Offensive Player, Defensive Player, and Goalkeeper of the Year honors. In the attack, Brady Kearnan (46 goals, 33 assists) leads a high-powered offense, supported by TJ Heyder (55 goals, 10 assists), Thomas Connors (30 goals, 27 assists), and Jack Gibbons (38 goals, 15 assists). As for the defense, Justin Gerdvil (38 caused turnovers, 75 groundballs) remains one of the top players in the country, joined by Jake Fitzgerald (16 caused turnovers, 18 groundballs), Jack Kipnes (11 caused turnovers, 41 groundballs) and Tyler Pjatak (11 caused turnovers, 48 groundballs). Should the opposing team get past the aforementioned defense, standout Tommy Umano is waiting in goal, the top netminder in goals against average (9.63) and second in save percentage (.560) for the conference.
2023 ECC Men's Lacrosse Tournament
Wednesday, May 3 – Semifinals
#1 Mercy def. #4 Molloy 19-9
#2 Frostburg State def #3 Roberts Wesleyan 21-13
Saturday, May 6 - Championship
#1 Mercy vs #2 Frostburg State - 11 a.m. Dobbs Ferry, NY
