Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (6/3/2026) – For the fifth straight year, Gwynedd Mercy University's season came to a close in the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men's Lacrosse Semifinals as the third-seeded Griffins fell on the short side of a 14-4 final at #2 Immaculata University. The Red and Gold finished the 2026 season with a 7-7 overall record and a 2-2 AEC standing thanks to a perfect 5-0 home record and the All-AEC performances of freshman defenseman Caleb Gaines (Brookhaven, Pa.) (1^st Team, AEC Rookie of the Year), senior midfielder Josh Devine (Pottstown, Pa.) (1^st Team), senior attack Nick Citrigno (Southampton, Pa.) (2^nd), and junior defenseman Joe Oriold (Southampton, Pa.) (2^nd).
 
Gwynedd Mercy University's fifth season under Head Coach Blase Cesarone began with road losses to Moravian University (L, 5-9 on Feb. 11) and Montclair State University (L, 4-17 on Feb. 15). Senior attack Gunnar Seaman (Worcester, Pa.) was recognized on the AEC Men's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll for totaling five points (4 goals, 1 assist), four ground balls, and a caused turnover against the Greyhounds and Red Hawks.
 
The Red and Gold soon evened their record at 2-2 with back-to-back wins over Albright College (W, 19-8 on Feb. 18) and Lycoming College (W, 10-1 on Feb. 21). Against the Lions, the Griffins got started with four assisted goals (4-0; 6:48, 1QTR) in the first quarter and separated for a commanding 18-6 (3:23, 3QTR) advantage heading to the final minutes of the third quarter. Citrigno gave a career performance with six goals in a seven-point (6 goals, 1 assist) night. Seaman (2 goals, 2 assists) and Devine (3 goals, 1 assist) recorded four points apiece, while sophomore goalkeeper Alexander Guardino (Lumberton, N.J.) earned his first collegiate victory with 10 saves and two ground balls. Guardino's second win was not far behind as Gwynedd Mercy University defeated Lycoming College with convincing 10-1 final; Seaman (3 goals, 1 assist) and Citrigno (2, 2) totaled four points apiece, while Oriold (6 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers) and Gaines (4, 2) made sure the Warriors had their difficulties. Guardino recorded eight saves and a ground ball in the victory.
 
Citrigno's hot stick garnered an AEC Men's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll selection; he was joined there by fellow senior, face-off Jake Tedeschi (Goshen, N.Y.), who was 23-of-30 (.767) in the circle while grabbing 10 ground balls and causing a turnover.

Following a couple schedule changes and a loss at Widener University (L, 8-14 on Mar. 4), Gwynedd Mercy University enjoyed three straight home wins as the Red and Gold consecutively retired Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) – Florham (W, 8-6 on Mar. 7), Cairn University (W, 23-2 on Mar. 11), and Delaware Valley University (W, 10-2 on Mar. 18).
 
The three-game run was highlighted by a pair of AEC Men's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll mentions for Oriold and sophomore midfielder Landen Ciran (Ephrata, Pa.), as well as AEC Weekly Honor Roll appearances from Gaines (Mar. 9) and Devine (Mar. 23); Ciran spread nine goals over the contests, Oriold (10-0; 5:04, 2QTR vs. Cairn University) and Gaines (1-0; 7:18, 1QTR vs. FDU-Florham) each scored their first collegiate goals while providing stalwart defense, and Devine started getting hot with six points (4 goals, 2 assists), four ground balls, and three caused turnovers against the Aggies.  
 
Then, a 11-10 double-overtime loss at Alvernia University (Mar. 25) was avenged by 8-3 win over AEC rival, Marywood University (Mar. 28). Devine totaled five goals, 16 shots, five ground balls, and a caused turnover against the Golden Wolves and Pacers to earn a second straight AEC Weekly Honor Roll mention. The Red and Gold captain scored four times against the latter with a team-high 11 shots; he feed off a controlling performance as the Griffins won 13-of-15 (.867) face-offs and forced several shot-clock turnovers.
 
The final three regular season games determined AEC postseason seeding as losses to Immaculata University (L, 5-12 on Apr. 11) and Marymount University (L, 5-10 on Apr. 22) and a win over Neumann University (W, 15-7 on Apr. 18) landed Gwynedd Mercy University the third seed for the 2026 AEC Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament.
 
The Griffins out-efforted the Mighty Macs on ground balls (38-32) and face-offs (15-5), but the Immaculata University made more use of their possessions in a 12-5 final. Freshman midfielder Cooper Lachowicz (Toms River, N.J.) finished with a team-high two goals on six shots while recovering two ground balls and causing a turnover. Oriold captained the Red and Gold's defensive effort with his four ground balls and five caused turnovers garnering him his third AEC Weekly Honor Roll mention of the season.
 
Gwynedd Mercy University celebrated the collegiate careers of Citrigno, Devine, Seaman, Tedeschi, defenseman Dylan Gazda (Pottstown, Pa.) and short stick defensive midfielder Zac Womer (Gilbertsville, Pa.) with a 15-7 Senior Day triumph over the Knights. The victory was highlighted by a six-goal, AEC Player of the Week performance from Ciran, a six-point (1 goal, 5 assists) effort from sophomore attack David Crespo (Furlong, Pa.), and a united front from the Red and Gold backfield. The Gwynedd Mercy University defense caused 16 turnovers and collected 39 ground balls to keep the Griffins in possession of the ball, while Guardino earned the win with eight saves, four ground balls, and a caused turnover.
 
A week later, Guardino made his first AEC Weekly Honor Roll appearance as the Griffin goalkeeper made a career-high 20 saves and recovered two ground balls in a 10-5 loss to the Saints. The Red and Gold offense kept pace with the Saints in shots as the home team held just a five-shot advantage (45-40). Lachowicz scored on both his shots (6:31, 4:32; 3QTR), while Devine took six shots and recorded a team-high three points (1 goal, 2 assists).

The 2026 Gwynedd Mercy University men's lacrosse season officially ended with a 14-4 AEC Semifinal loss at #2 Immaculata University (L, 4-14 on Apr. 25). The Griffins kept the contest close early with an opening goal from Lachowicz (1-0, 13:17 1QTR) and a second-quarter score (4-2, 10:28 2QTR) from Devine, but late third quarter tallies from sophomore midfielder Colin Vannais (Washington Township, N.J.) (11-3, 6:02 3QTR) and Devine (11-4, 4:39 3QTR) were too little too late to derail the Mighty Macs from their return to the AEC Championship.
 
Gaines' (14 games played – 14 games started) impact on the Gwynedd Mercy University backfield play and their opponents' ability to create offense with an impressive debut season. The 2026 AEC Rookie of the Year and All-AEC First Team performer tied for second in the league for caused turnovers (T2^nd, 27) and sixth in ground balls (6^th, 65), while scoring three goals (3 points) on six shots. He was joined on the All-AEC First Team by Devine (14gp-14gs), who earned his third straight First Team selection with Top-10 statistics in shots (3^rd, 121), goals (7^th, 26), and points (10^th, 34). He finished his senior season with 26 goals on a team-high 121 shots and he added eight assists for a team-high 34 points. Additionally, he recovered 36 ground balls and caused nine turnovers.
 
Citrigno (14gp-8gs) did not appear among the league's Top-10 in any statistical category, but won an All-AEC Second Team selection with career-highs in goals (16), assists (10), points (26), and shots (75). He also recorded four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Oriold (14gp-14gs) joined him with on the Second Team thanks to a breakout junior season. He led the Griffins with a career-high – and league-best - 33 caused turnovers, recovered 55 ground balls, and scored his first collegiate goal (10-0, 5:04 2QTR vs. Cairn University on Mar. 11) with just one shot.
 
Also of note were the sophomore season of Ciran (14gp-10gs) and Gaurdino (14gp-14gs). The former led the Griffins with 27 goals while ranking second on the team in points (2^nd, 32), shots (2^nd, 105), and game-winning goals (2^nd, 2 GWG). The latter was 7-7 with 134 saves on a .538 save percentage (SV%) and an 8.36 goals-against average (GAA).