DOBBS FERRY N.Y. (April 17, 2012) – The Mercy College women's lacrosse team rallied from a late two-goal deficit, scoring the final six of the contest to top Kutztown University, 16-12, on Tuesday afternoon.  Junior midfielder Kelsey Sullivan (Mastic, N.Y.) led a slew of impressive Mavericks performances with three goals, an assist, six ground balls and five draw controls, displaying the form that earned her Second Team All-Conference recognition last season.

Mercy improves to 2-7 on the season with the victory, while Kutztown slips to 4-10.

The teams traded goals through the opening minutes of the first half until the Mavericks jumped out to a two-goal lead, but the Golden Bears quickly tied things back up on a pair of scores within 30 seconds of each other.  Freshman attacker Marissa Kluber (Wading River, N.Y.) responded on the next possession, however, with the go-ahead score to give Mercy the 7-6 lead heading into the break.

An early goal to open the second half got Mercy its two-score lead back, but Kutztown answered again with three straight goals to wrestle away the lead.  Mercy had an answer again as sophomore attacker Kristen Znaniecki (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) netted her second goal of the day to stop the run, but the Mavericks quickly found themselves down again, 12-10 with 15:40 to play.  As the game looked to be slipping away, the Mavericks came up huge in the clutch to score six unanswered goals, including two from freshman midfielder Alyssa Handel (Medford, N.Y.) to end the game and take the win. 

Handel tied with Sullivan for the team lead with three goals (all in the second half) and led the squad with three caused turnovers.  Znaniecki added a brace and pair of assists while Kluber and junior attacker Marissa Hurley (Shirley, N.Y.) each scored twice and made one assist.  Junior goalkeeper Stephanie DiLegge (Bay Shore, N.Y.) made nine saves in net.

Four Golden Bears scored a pair of goals, led by senior attacker Leeann Pica (Levittown, Pa.) who also added an assist.  Junior midfielder Randy Vite (highland Mills, N.Y.) paced the team with five ground balls and sophomore goalkeeper Joann McLaughlin (Cape May, N.J.) made 10 saves amid a 34-shot barrage by the Mavericks offense.

Head Coach Francesca DeLorenzo and the Mavericks (2-7 overall, 0-3 in the ECC) will host Lake Erie College (7-6, 1-4) in an East Coast Conference matchup at Mavericks Field on Saturday, April 21 at 10:00 a.m.  Please note that this reflects a change from the original schedule, and continue to check www.mercyathletics.com for future schedule changes.