May 19, 2010
The Somerset County lacrosse factory produced two
more collegiate stars this spring as Brad McAdam
and Erin Hepper enjoyed breakout seasons.
McAdam, a Merrimack sophomore and Immaculata
High School grad, was named Northeast-10
Tournament MVP after scoring the winning goal in
the final.
Hepper, a Siena junior and a Bernards High School
alum, led the much-improved Saints in ground balls
and was named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic
Conference All-Tournament team.
For McAdam, stardom was reached in one defining
moment. With less than one second left in overtime
he scored an unassisted goal to decide a 12-11
verdict against top-ranked LeMoyne in the
Northeast-10 final. He paid for it, too, getting
clocked as he fired the winner.
"A kid hit me pretty hard and my head hit the
ground. I got a nice concussion from it," he said. "I
realized (it went in) after the whole crowd starting
cheering. It was insane, having the whole team jump
on top of me."
InsideLacrosse.com named McAdam Division II
Player of the Week. He finished the campaign with
18 goals and four assists, helping Merrimack
fashion a 13-3 ledger. Not bad for someone
carrying a biology major -- and who wound up at
Merrimack almost by accident.
"I met coach (Mike) Morgan down in Aruba," McAdam
said, noting that they crossed paths in the hotel.
"We were on vacation and my parents like to talk, so
they started talking to him and it all came about."
Hepper's rise was more gradual.
"I remember I went into my first game and I was just
blown away by how much faster and stronger
college athletes are," she said. "My freshman and sophomore year it took a lot of adjusting. This was
my breakout year when I got to the level I needed
to."
She got there largely due to an eye-opening
experience in the storied European city of Prague,
where she participated in an Under-20 tournament
and also got to witness the lacrosse World Cup.
Suitably inspired, Hepper posted 25 goals and a
team-high 45 ground balls, earning second team
All-MAAC honors. Siena finished 7-9 overall and 3-
3 in the league, which represented a huge leap from
last year's 0-6 mark.
"It was awesome," said Hepper, a psychology major
who carries a 3.2 GPA and is a two-time member of
the MAAC's All-Academic team. "Coming from high
school I was a strong player and it was kind of a
letdown to come to college and not really be that
standout. So it felt great to help the team and make
an impact."
