Lacrosse title capped special year for ’Hurst teams As Erie Times-News sportswriter John Dudley noted, “Just about everything a green-clad Laker touched seemed to turn gold.” He went on, “Sixteen teams qualified for league or conference playoffs. Twelve teams reached the NCAA playoffs. On the heels of the football program’s first-ever appearance in the Division II quarterfinals, the college hosted NCAA Division I hockey’s women’s Frozen Four. And its lacrosse and baseball programs capped things off with NCAA appearances, with lacrosse winning it all.” In addition, the women’s rowing team finished as runners-up to seven-time defending national champion Western Washington at the NCAA rowing national championships. The men’s lacrosse team beat C.W. Post 14-4 to advance to the championship game, then captured its first national title with a hardfought 9-8 win over Adelphi University on May 29. Mercyhurst had reached the finals once before, in 2007, but fell 6-5 on a goal by LeMoyne College with just one second left on the clock. The 2011 Lakers, all making their first championship runs, were determined to bring home the trophy this year. They did, after another nail-biter. More than 18,000 fans watched at Baltimore’s M & T Stadium as the two teams traded goals throughout the contest. The Hurst was up by one as the clock wound down, and goalkeeper Zach Nash captured the last Adelphi shot attempt with three seconds remaining to seal the victory.
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The Class of 2005 dedicated the Sister Damien Mlechik RSM ’56 Spirit Bell in Garvey Park as its legacy to Mercyhurst to honor Sister Damien, who died Aug. 20, 2004, in her 20th year of service to the college. It was an appropriate tribute to the nun who was arguably the greatest fan ever of Laker sports. She was best known for cheering on the hockey teams, banging a bell fashioned out of old airplane parts by a former student’s father against the Plexiglas® of the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Tullio Field, home to Laker football, lacrosse and field hockey, was dedicated during Homecoming in 1996, when Mercyhurst defeated cross-town rival Gannon. It’s named for legendary Erie Mayor Louis J. Tullio, whose family helped finance the structure. Ironically, before beginning his political career, Tullio coached the first football team at Gannon College in 1949. Papers and memorabilia from Tullio’s 24-year City Hall tenure are housed in Mercyhurst’s archives and many items, including his desk, are displayed in the Tullio Room in Hammermill Library.