Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (11/1/2022) – The 2022 Gwynedd Mercy University men's soccer season was defined by the heart and determination demonstrated in the Griffin effort present during a 6-1 victory over Penn State Mont Alto (Sept. 6) and a 2-2 tie with Wilson College (Sept. 22). Those performances produced the only positive outcomes of a 1-16-1 season that was led by the savvy early-season play of senior forward Hugh Lynch (Philadelphia, Pa.), the emerging leadership of junior midfielder Mike Fienman (Philadelphia, Pa.), and the promise of the seasons to come with successes sophomore midfielder Kasey Wallace (Audubon, N.J.) and his fellow underclassmen.
 
Gwynedd Mercy University (1-16-1, 0-6) recorded their only win of the 2022 season early as losses to Clarks Summit University (L, 0-3 on Sept. 1) and Rosemont College (L, 0-3 on Sept. 3) were avenged by an impressive 6-1 victory over the Nittany Lions from Penn State Mont Alto (Sept. 6). The home opener was studded with Griffin success including a four-point (1 goal, 2 assists) night from Lynch and a three-point (1 goal, 1 assist) evening from senior forward Evan Kirby (Bensalem, Pa.). Lynch was named to the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men's Soccer Weekly Honor Roll for his performance, which also included a pair of shots in a 4-0 loss to FDU-Florham (Sept. 10).
 
Unfortunately, the victory was followed by four straight losses. The streak came to a close in dramatic fashion as a 2-2 tie with Wilson College (Sept. 22) was achieved with a determined Griffin effort that evened the affair with just 16 seconds remaining. After finding freshman midfielder Josh Rossell (Mount Ephraim, N.J.) down the near sideline in the 65th minute (2-1, 64:29), freshman forward Connor Bilotta (Runnemede, N.J.) struck again in the 90^th minute, saving an Evan Kirby restart to the oncoming head of sophomore forward/goalkeeper Shaine Kirby (Newtown, Pa.); 2-2 (89:44). Shaine Kirby started the game in goal and he made two saves before being relieved by senior John Wagner (Phoenixville, Pa.). The former provided a five-save second half that aided the Gwynedd Mercy University resurgence.
 
The spirited stalemate gave the Griffins renewed hope as they worked toward their AEC schedule. But prior to the league slate they took on non-conference losses to DeSales University (L, 0-6 on Sept. 24), Penn State Brandywine (L, 0-1 on Sept. 26), Delaware Valley University (L, 0-5 on Sept. 29), and Cairn University (L, 1-4 on Oct. 1).

The AEC season began on October 5 with a 6-0 loss to Marymount University and continued toward its conclusion with a 6-0 Senior Day loss to Immaculata University (Oct. 8) and a narrow 4-3 loss to Marywood University (Oct. 12). The loss to the Pacers provided the last high points of the season as Shaine Kirby made a career-high 18 saves and Wallace netted a pair of goals (76:01, 83:02) in the final minutes of the affair. Following the defeat, Gwynedd Mercy University went scoreless in consecutive league losses to Neumann University (L, 0-5 on Oct. 15), Centenary University (NJ) (L, 0-5 on Oct. 19), and Cabrini University (L, 0-5 on Oct. 26).
 
Wallace finished the season with team highs in goals (3) and points (6); he ranked third in shots with 21. Fienman took on more of a leadership role during the course of his five-point (2 goals, 1 assist) season. He tied Evan Kirby for the team lead in shots with 26; Kirby (1 goal, 2 assists) and Lynch (1 goal, 2 assists) each finished the schedule with four points. Wagner (0-11-1) played a majority of the minutes in goal (914:06) and made an AEC-high 86 saves on a .683 save percentage and a 3.94 goals against average (GAA). Shaine Kirby (1-5) totaled 61 saves in his 705:54; he offered a .642 save percentage and a 4.33 GAA.