Men's Soccer Falls Short in Heartbreaker to St. Thomas Aquinas
Box Score BOXSCORE – Mercy vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
PURCHASE, N.Y. (Oct. 1, 2011) – On Saturday night, the Mercy College men's soccer team took on St. Thomas Aquinas at Manhattanville College due to poor field conditions at Dobbs Ferry. The Spartans entered the match ranked No. 4 in the NSCAA East regional rankings and had received votes in the NCAA Division II rankings thanks to an undefeated 5-0-3 overall record (0-0-1 in the ECC) and were fresh off a 7-0 victory over Caldwell College. Known for their shutdown defense (ranked eighth in Division II) and solid offense, St. Thomas Aquinas needed its best at both ends to steal the victory from the Mavericks, who led once in each half but ultimately could not knock off the Spartans.
Mercy's record falls to 5-2-1 (1-1) while St. Thomas Aquinas improves to 6-0-3 (1-0-1).
Junior goalkeeper Nick Papas (Castleton, N.Y.) was tested early and often, making three saves of his eventual 10 saves in the first six minutes as the Spartans established control of play. Yet it was Mercy which broke through first, as senior back Colin Legge (Schodack, N.Y.) curled a corner kick into the box which found its way into the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Spartans responded instantly, ripping another four shots over the next 10 minutes and finding an equalizer in the 23rd, when junior midfielder Sean Reily (Monroe, N.Y.) collected a pass from freshman back Laurie Child (Surrey, England) at the penalty mark and smashed it home.
Neither side managed much of an attempt into the half, and seizing the opportunity Mercy came out blazing in the second half, firing shots and forcing corners relentlessly until getting the go-ahead strike in the 51st minute. Freshman defender Tafari Newman (Bronx, N.Y.) sent a long throw-in to graduate student forward Ben Latchford (Birmingham, England), who flicked the ball into the box, where Wednesday's hero, junior forward William Koki (Aurora, Colo.), headed his fourth goal of the week and seventh of the season in to take the lead.
Mercy's euphoria was short-lived, however, as everything came crashing down immediately. The Spartans found two goals just minutes after Koki's strike, first on another Child-Reily connection for the equalizer and the eventual game-winner from the team's leading scorer, senior midfielder Remington Lee (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), who converted a Mercy turnover into his sixth goal of the season with a blast off the bottom of the crossbar.
Disheartened, the Mavericks could not regain their edge, allowing the Spartans control of the remainder of play. Mercy fell short in the shots battle (23-8) but more significantly could not put enough attempts on target, as the Mavericks forced only one save of senior goalkeeper Andrew Tartara (Bardonia, N.Y.). Despite giving the Spartans one of their scariest challenges of the season and putting two goals past Tartara, who ranked sixth in Division II with a .913 save percentage entering the week, the result is what the Mavericks will dwell on as they look toward their next match.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will look to bounce back from the loss on Wednesday in Philadelphia, Pa. as they take on Chestnut Hill College (4-5-1) at 7:00 p.m.
