DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – For the second season in a row, the Frostburg State Men's Lacrosse team fell in the ECC Championship Game to top-seeded Mercy by a final of 15-9.
 
The Mavericks swiftly won the opening face-off and charged down the field looking for the opener, but graduate Mitch Meckley came up with a top save. Three minutes in, Mercy was whistled for a penalty, from which senior Bubba Love made the most of the opportunity with a man-up goal. Love made it back-to-back scores just over two minutes later, then senior Matt Sharkey came up with a huge caused turnover which was picked up by senior Evan Dere. The speedy midfielder then raced down the field and fired a perfectly-placed bounce shot for a 3-0 lead, forcing the Mavericks to call a timeout.
 
That break sparked Mercy into action, as they won the resulting face-off and scored a minute into their offensive possession. Tommy Umano, the hosts' ECC Goalkeeper of the Year, then made a key save to keep FSU out, allowing the offense to score a pair of goals just a minute apart, tying things at 3-3. Both netminders made outstanding saves in the last few minutes of a frantic period, keeping the contest tied headed to the second.
 
In the first eight minutes of the second quarter, the sides engaged in a defensive struggle, with each goalkeeper one-upping the other on save after save. With just over six minutes left until halftime, junior Luke McCullough corralled a misplayed catch then fed sophomore Seamus Kearney at midfield, with the long pole taking it all the way himself, firing into the bottom right corner to regain a 4-3 lead. That advantage didn't last long, as on the very next possession, Mercy equalized at 4-4, then Umano came up with another big save to preserve the tie.
 
Umano's save proved to be costly for the Bobcats, as the Mavericks used their strong 1-2 combination of Brady Kearnan feeding TJ Heyder to get their first lead of the day at 5-4. Frostburg failed to get any possession in their offensive half, allowing Mercy to score the next three goals without much resistance for a 8-4 advantage at the half.
 
With 22 seconds left in the first half, Frostburg was called for a penalty, which carried into the third quarter and eventually set the stage for the Mavericks to continue their scoring streak, going up 9-4 on a Kearnan goal. After nearly 11 minutes without a goal, Love secured his hat trick in stopping the drought, but Mercy immediately responded to maintain a 10-5 lead. Meckley and Umano traded saves over the next five minutes before redshirt senior Tanner Donaldson found the back of the net on an assist by junior Parker Masters. FSU thought they captured some momentum, winning the face-off and firing shot after shot at Umano's goal, twice beating him but hitting the post. The momentum was lost when the Mavericks forced a late turnover deep in Frostburg's defensive half, scoring with a second left on the clock for an 11-6 lead.
 
Just 30 seconds into the final period, Heyder scored another, which the Bobcats responded with goals from senior Chase Buckwalter and junior Austin Sipes to get within four. Mercy quickly and effectively ended any thoughts of a comeback, winning two quick face-offs to score a pair 10 seconds apart to go back up by six. Donaldson scored his second of the game on a feed by senior Jake Bowman, but was immediately rebuffed when the Mavericks scored a minute later.
 
Mercy attempted to further their lead, but Meckley and the post came to Frostburg's rescue, then Umano repaid the favor with a pair of saves in the final minutes to seal their fourth-straight ECC Tournament title.
 
Love provided a third of FSU's goals with three on the day, while the defense was led by McCullough and Sharkey combining for four caused turnovers and seven groundballs. The Mavericks featured four different players with a hat trick, while also winning the face-off battle 18-8. Umano was a force in goal, saving 14 shots for a 60.9 save percentage.
 
With the loss, Frostburg ends the season at 13-5, the most wins for the program since 2016, while Mercy awaits their NCAA seeding at 14-3.