Just in case people forgot, it took Mercy College’s Hunter Isnardi all of one game this season to remind them of her prowess as an all-around impact player. The senior midfielder scored five of her game-high six goals in the second half to help No. 14 Mercy rally from a four-goal halftime deficit for a 13-12 win at No. 20 Merrimack Tuesday. She also led the Mavericks with six draw controls, four groundballs, and four caused turnovers.

“There’s a lot of shock and awe at times when we are watching Hunter play,” said head coach Dawn Sachs. “I’ve never seen anything like the things she does.”

After earning East Coast Conference Rookie of the Year in 2016, Isnardi has followed with back-to-back first team All-America honors the past two seasons. In addition, she was the IWLCA’s 2018 Division II Midfielder of the Year following a monster campaign. She led the nation in goals scored with 97, scoring at least three goals in all 18 games. She also set a new NCAA single-season record for draw controls with 214. That mark smashed her own NCAA record of 182 draw controls, set just one year earlier.

“Hunter puts everything into her training and brings others with her,” Sachs said. “She elevates everybody around her.”

With 30 wins over the past two seasons, including the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017, Mercy has established itself as a consistent Top 20 program. How far the Mavericks can ultimately advance in 2019 may be determined, in large measure, by their best player.

“She came around for us at just the right time,” Sachs said. “She is a legacy player for our program.”
 

Slow Start at Florida Tech

It’s not exactly the coaching start that first-year head coach McKenzie Rafferty might have wanted, but the recent run of success at Florida Tech has raised the bar on expectations. Following a 17-3 campaign in 2018, Florida Tech is off to a 1-2 start this year, with losses to a pair of top-ranked teams.

After two years as an assistant at Regis, Rafferty was hired as the program’s second head coach last summer, replacing Corinne Desrosiers, who moved to Division I Duquesne. Rafferty inherited a team coming off its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and has become a consistent Top 10 contender. FIT started the year at No. 7 in the Nike/US Lacrosse ranking. 

After recording a 13-8 win over Lenoir-Rhyne in the opener, Florida Tech has now dropped two straight, falling 13-9 at then-No. 11 Limestone Sunday, and 15-9 at home against No. 2 Adelphi Thursday. 

Rafferty’s team has a chance to start righting the ship with its next three games at home, beginning with a non-conference meeting with Davenport on Monday. 
 

Clash of the Titans

There are several good match-ups on this weekend’s schedule, including No. 20 Merrimack against No. 6 LIU Post, and No. 16 Grand Valley State at IUP, but one game is clearly the headliner: No. 2 Adelphi at No. 3 Florida Southern.  The two programs have combined to win four of the past five national championships. 

This is the fifth straight year that Adelphi has made the early-season southern swing, including the match-up with FSC. The Panthers have won three of the four previous February match-ups between the teams.

Adelphi posted a 15-9 win over No. 12 Florida Tech in Thursday’s season-opener. All-American Kole Pollock led the way with six goals as the Adelphi built a 7-3 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half. FSC has not played since its own 19-7 season-opening victory over Rockhurst on February 14.