Press Release written by Nathan Foltz

NEWARK, Del. - - A tiebreaking goal in the final two minutes of the game elevated 17th-ranked Mercy to a 9-8 win over the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team at the WU Athletics Complex on Saturday, putting the first blemish on the Wildcats' record in 2026.

Wilmington, who received votes in this week's national poll, is now 2-1 on the year, while Mercy's hard-fought victory improves the Mavericks to 3-0.

Mercy got the scoring started in the first, going up 2-0 before Josh Weston and Andrew Dzubak responded with back-to-back goals of their own to end the period with the scoring knotted up.

The Wildcats bookended the scoring in the second with goals by Carter Earl and Weston, but in between, the Mavericks scored three, making it a 5-4 Mercy edge at halftime.

The teams traded goals throughout the third, with Wilmington finally tying it up again after Kiran Gupta caused a turnover on defense that Tyler Quinn scooped up and took back to Mercy's side for a goal from 40 feet out. Mercy went back on top a few minutes into the fourth, but once again, the Wildcats responded with one of their own just a minute and a half later, courtesy of freshman Ian Betts.

Both defenses held strong for most of the fourth quarter, but Wilmington's ended up being the one that broke first, with a Maverick goal coming at the 1:48 mark to give them a 9-8 edge that stood through the end of the game. The Wildcats had a chance though, with Ian Betts' shot getting saved, a shot by Carter Earl was blocked, and a final shot form Andrew Dzubak right in front trickled wide with 47 seconds left.

The Wildcats spread out the goal scoring to six different players, with Dzubak and Weston each notching two. Ian Betts had two of the team's five assists.

Quinn Tracy led the team with five ground balls, while Tyler Quinn was just behind him with four.

Brian McGarvey led the way on faceoffs for Wilmington, winning four of five. Aidan Vicidomini went 3-for-6, and Connor Widmer went 2-for-9. Both goalies were tested frequently, and Daniel Flynn managed 12 saves on 21 shots to keep a team that averaged 14.5 goals in their first two games in check. Mercy's goalie Cameron Dorfman stopped 18 shots.

The Wildcats will take a quick dip into conference play in their next game, taking on Caldwell on Wednesday for their first CACC contest of the year. That game is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. in northern New Jersey.