ECC Men's Lacrosse Championship Preview: #1 Mercy vs #2 Frostburg State

DOBBS FERRY. N.Y. – For the third consecutive season, No. 2 Frostburg State will travel north to face No. 1 Mercy in the ECC Tournament Championship held on Saturday morning. 

How They Got Here
Frostburg enters the matchup as the No. 2 seed in the ECC, spotting a 13-3 record with a 5-1 record in conference play.  All three of FSU's losses came against ranked opponents in Mercyhurst, Bentley, and Mercy, with the Mavericks being their lone loss in conference competition with a close final of 16-12 at home on Saturday, April 13.  The Bobcats took down the No. 3 seed Roberts Wesleyan in the semifinal, knocking off the Redhawks 15-7 at home on Wednesday, putting their win streak at four games as the No. 15 team in the latest USILA rankings. 

Mercy sits with an overall record of 13-1 with an ECC record of 6-0, holding the No. 1 seed in the tournament.  The Mavericks' lone loss of the season came to fifth-ranked, at the time, Adelphi University, in overtime with a final score of 13-12, while MU beat all other ranked opponents in the regular season, with wins over Bentley, Seton Hill, Frostburg, and Mercyhurst.  Mercy defeated No. 4 Molloy in the semifinal on Wednesday, taking the strong 19-11 victory, as the Mavericks hold a nine-game win streak as the No. 5 spot in the latest USILA rankings. 

The Matchup
The Bobcats are still seeking their first-ever win over Mercy, as the Mavericks spot a 5-0 record in the all-time series.  FSU's closest match up came in last year's regular season contest, with Frostburg falling just shy in a 9-7 game, while the largest margin between the two has been six goals.  Both teams have faced off in the last two ECC Championships, with MU taking both by a score of 15-10 in 2022, and a score of 15-9 in 2023.    

The Players
Frostburg is led offensively by the ECC Offensive Player of the Year and All-ECC First Team honoree, graduate Bubba Love, who rounds out his Bobcat career with a 49 goal, 35 assist, and 84 point season so far, having set FSU's all-time career points record.  Behind Love is graduate Chase Buckwalter, another All-ECC First Team selection, who put up 48 goals, while also dishing out 18 assists for 66 total points.  Second Team All-ECC selections senior Austin Sipes and graduate Owen McCallum round out the offense for the Bobcats, with the former sitting at 41 points and 36 assists for 77 points, and the latter providing 38 goals and 15 assists for a solid 55 points.  On the defensive side, All-ECC First Team honorees senior Luke McCullough (18 caused turnovers, 41 ground balls) and junior Seamus Kearney (30 caused turnovers, 43 ground balls) stand in the way of opponents, while All-ECC Second Team selection junior Alex Walstrum leads Frostburg in the X with 114-for-171 attempts, while picking up a team-high 68 ground balls. 

The Mavericks are a well-rounded team as well, led by a numerous number of tremendous athletes, starting at the defensive end with three-time ECC Defensive Player of the Year and All-ECC First Team honoree Justin Gerdvil, who holds 48 ground balls and 31 caused turnovers on the year.  On defense, Gerdvil is supported by All-ECC Second Team selection Owen Stephanos, who has 37 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers on the season so far, as both ECC Goalkeeper and Rookie of the Year, Cameron Dorfman, stands behind them in the net, making 110 saves in 10 games this season, for a record of 9-1, a .576 save percentage, and an 8.72 goals against average.  Delivering in the midfielder position are First Team All-ECC selections Andrew Calabria (33 goals, 28 assists, 19 ground balls) and Devon Duchnowski (22 goals, nine assists), as Damiano Ferrara, All-ECC First Team honoree, and Tyler Piatak, All-ECC Second Team honoree, serve as short stick defensive midfielders, with the former sitting with seven goals, five assists, 29 ground balls, and eight caused turnovers, while the latter holds five goals, three assists, 47 ground balls, and 24 caused turnovers.  On the attack, First Team All-ECC selection Greg Gibbons leads the team with 63 points on 24 goals and a team-high 39 assists, along with scooping 29 ground balls, while TJ Heyder, earning Second Team All-ECC honors, leads Mercy in goals with 37, while dishing out 13 assists and picking up 26 ground balls as well.  First Team All-ECC honoree and face-off Jason Kuehner leads the team in ground balls with 153, going 248-360 from the X, while dropping in nine goals and assisting on two as well. 

2024 ECC Men's Lacrosse Tournament
Wednesday, May 1 – Semifinals
#1 Mercy def. #4 Molloy 19-11
#2 Frostburg State def. #3 Roberts Wesleyan 15-7

Saturday, May 4 – Championship
#1 Mercy vs #2 Frostburg State – 11 a.m. in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.