Leon Jr. Opens Scoring as Men's Soccer Hosts No. 1 LIU Post
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 3, 2012) – The Mercy College men's soccer team hosted undefeated No. 1 LIU Post in an East Coast Conference matchup this afternoon, taking the Pioneers into halftime still tied before succumbing in the second half.
Mercy drops to 7-3-2 overall and 2-3 in the ECC while LIU Post improves to 10-0 (5-0).
With two such imposing team facing off, neither was willing to give an inch as the two teams combined to commit nine fouls in just the opening 10 minutes. Once they settled down, however, Mercy began to control the run of play and even took the lead in the 16th minute. Sophomore midfielder Danny Leon Jr. (Flushing, N.Y.) took a pass from senior forward William Koki (Aurora, Colo.) and tapped it into the lower right side of the net to put the Mavericks up 1-0.
The Pioneers recovered and equalized in the 31st minute, though, and kept the pressure on, forcing junior goalkeeper Nick Papas (Castleton, N.Y.) to make another two saves before heading into the break still tied at 1-1.
The teams came out firing again in the second half, with Mercy giving no quarter and LIU Post pounding away on net. Unfortunately for Mercy, junior back Kevon Haynes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) picked up his second yellow card just four minutes in and was sent off, leaving the Mavericks a man down. They fought as long as they could but the Pioneers finally broke through again in the 64th minute as freshman back Johan Wallin (Sollentuna, Sweden) dribbled through a handful of defenders and, with the Mavericks deflated and distracted while conversing with the referee, added a third strike just 30 seconds later.
Papas finished the game with six saves while junior goalkeeper Marco Jorgensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) made four.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will look to bounce back in another ECC matchup against basement-dwelling Dowling College (2-8-1, 0-4) on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 3:00 p.m.
