By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/17/11
Ridley rising senior goalie Frankie McCarty has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Mount St. Mary’s University.
McCarthy helped the Green Raiders finish 19-5 and advance to the state tournament in 2011. He plays club lacrosse for HEADstrong Elite and helped the team win the King of the Hill title this summer.
McCarthy, an Honors student, plans to major in education and become a coach.
“I really liked the campus and I liked that the school is small,” he said. “I like that it’s close to home and my parents can see our games.”
McCarthy also liked the Mount’s ties to the HEADstrong Foundation. His new head coach, Tom Gravante, is a cancer survivor of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – the same disease that afflicted the late Nick Colleluori, a Ridley High grad and creator of the HEADstrong Foundation.
The popular Gravante brings his team to the Nick Colleluori Classic every fall and has gained national notoriety for supporting the Foundation.
“We talked about the HEAdstrong Foundation when I went down there,” said McCarthy. “I also chose this school because of their winning program and its good academic reputation.”
The Mount won the Northeast Conference championship in 2011. One of the team’s major contributors was Ridley grad Daniel Stranix, a rising junior midfielder.
McCarthy joins Pottsgrove defender Branden Mercier as a Mount recruit from Philly.
McCarthy expects Ridley to be a Central League and District 1 contender in 2012.
“I think we definitely should be just as good next year,” he said. “We return all three close defenders and we’ll be quick on offense. We should go as far or farther.”
McCarthy wished to thank the coaches at Ridley and HEADstrong for their support.
