Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (11/10/2022) – For the second straight season, Gwynedd Mercy University earned the right to host an Atlantic East Conference (AEC) postseason game as league wins over Immaculata University (W, 2-1 on Oct. 19), Neumann University (W, 5-0 on Oct. 22), and Mahattanville College (W, 6-0 on Oct. 25) earned the Griffins the #4 seed for the 2022 AEC Field Hockey Championship Tournament. The Griffins and Mighty Macs battled through four scoreless frames and two scoreless overtime periods before deciding the postseason contest by a 4-3 shootout final. Unfortunately, Immaculata University advanced to the AEC Semifinals, ending Gwynedd Mercy University's season with a 7-10 overall mark and a 3-3 league standing. Three Griffins were selected to the 2022 All-AEC Field Hockey Team as sophomore forward Cheyenne Avellino (Egg Harbor, N.J.) earned Second Team honors in addition to First Team laurels for graduate midfielder Kaci Murray (Chalfont, Pa.) and senior defender Alexis Schambers (West Chester, Pa.).
 
A September-3 win over Cedar Crest College (W, 2-1) was Gwynedd Mercy University's only victory in a 1-3 start that included tight losses to Misericordia University (L, 0-2 on Sept. 1), Delaware Valley University (L, 0-1 on Sept. 7), and FDU-Florham (L, 0-1 on Sept. 9). Graduate forward Caitlyn Thornton (Ivyland, Pa.) garnered an AEC Weekly Honor Roll appearance for providing assists on both Griffins goals against the Falcons.
 
Gwynedd Mercy University bounced back with three wins in their five remaining non-conference contests. The first was a 1-0 victory over Eastern University (Sept. 14) that saw a connection between sophomores forwards Amber Sims (Perkasie, Pa.) and Avellino serve as the difference maker. Ten days later (Sept. 24), a 12-0 win over Bryn Athyn College included hat tricks from Thornton (4:37, 8:15, 35:44), Avellino (5:10, 14:26, 16:29), freshman forward Mackenzie Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) (25:55, 26:15, 38:49), and on October 1 late scores from Murray (50:41) and Avellino (52:24) freed the Griffins for an eventual 3-1 victory at Keystone College (Oct. 1). Thornton made her second AEC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 26) appearance thanks to the three-goal effort versus the Lions.
 
AEC play began on October 5 with a 6-1 Play for the Cure loss to St. Mary's College of Maryland and continued on October 8 with a 5-0 loss at Marywood University. Gwynedd Mercy University briefly broke from league play with a 2-0 loss at Montclair State University (Oct. 12) and fell to Cabrini University (L, 1-4 on Oct. 15) before righting their postseason path with consecutive league wins over the Mighty Macs (Oct. 19), Knights (Oct. 22), and Valiants (Oct. 25). Sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Lawless (Bristol, Pa.) was the star of the stretch with AEC Defensive Player of the Week awards on October 3 and October 26. She also joined Thornton on the October-31 Weekly Honor Roll, thanks to a pair of saves and her fourth shutout of the season versus Mahattanville College. Thornton was named the AEC Offensive Player of the Week after recording her second hat trick (35:53, 41:07, 57:56) of the season versus the Valiants.
 
A 3-3 conference record earned Gwynedd Mercy University the four seed for the 2022 AEC Field Hockey Championship Tournament. The Griffins battled #5 Immaculata University for 110 minutes scoreless competition before succumbing to the Mighty Macs in a 4-3 shootout final. Schambers, Thornton, and sophomore midfielder Laura Filchner (Bath, Pa.) recorded scores in the stroke-off.
 
This year's All-AEC First Team selection marks the second straight for Murray, whose versatility showed with her selection to the conference's midfield unit. The Griffin captain left her defensive duties to help provide more offense and did so with 11 points (21^st in AEC) on three goals (T23^rd) and five assists (T10^th). She also ranked 13^th in the league for shots (37) and tied for fifth in defensive saves (3) en route to earning an invitation to participate in the 2022 Victory Sports Tours/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Senior Game.  
 
Meanwhile, Schambers recorded one defensive save in addition to her four points (2 goals, 1 assist) and a dozen shots. She took 16 corners and made some outstanding defensive contributions to the Griffins' success, including a last-second sellout that preserved the 1-0 triumph over Eastern University on September 14. Avellino's Second Team honors come after a 22-point season that ranked her tenth among her league peers; she finished her sophomore season with nine goals (9^th), two game-winning goals (7^th), four assists (T16^th), and 31 shots (13^th).
 
Thornton led the Griffins in points (23), scoring seven goals and providing a team-high nine assists. She totaled 27 shots and a team-high 96 corners. Lawless started all 17 games in goal, earning five shutouts en route to her 7-10 record. She totaled 59 saves on a .686 save percentage while posting a 1.56 goals-against average (GAA).