Men's Soccer Posts Third Straight Shutout in 5-0 Win Over Stonehill
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 11, 2013) – The Mercy College men's soccer team recorded its third straight shutout to start the season with an overpowering 5-0 victory over Stonehill College in near 100-degree heat on Wednesday afternoon.
Mercy improves to 3-0-0 with the victory, while Stonehill drops to 1-2.
Fresh off receiving votes in the national NSCAA Poll and ranking fourth in the East region, the Mavericks justified the attention and then some as they dominated in every aspect of the game, controlling the vast majority of possession, ripping 19 shots (10 on goal) to the Skyhawks' eight (two on goal) and committing just four fouls.
Sophomore forward Christian Diaz (Watsonville, Calif.) broke out with a pair of goals and an assist, while junior forward Roberto Dashi (Nyack, N.Y.) tallied one goal and added two assists. Junior winger Ryan Flynn (Valley Stream, N.Y.) also posted a goal and an assist, with freshman forward Michael Ledesma (Miami Beach, Fla.) scoring the other goal and juniors Andrew Levy (Bayside, N.Y.) and Chuong Tran (West Nyack, N.Y.) dishing out an assist each.
Mercy wasted no time in taking control of this game as the Mavericks put two shots on goal in the opening eight minutes. Stonehill was yet to get a single shot off when Diaz opened the scoring in the 29th minute, breaking onto a through ball from Dashi and slotting it into the lower right corner of the net.
Dashi made it 2-0 just four minutes later as he slid onto Chuong's pass into the box and touched it past the diving keeper.
The Skyhawks managed to get behind the Mercy defense on a handful of counter attacks, but still could not put a shot on target and Diaz notched his second goal of the game in the 43rd minute, running onto a through ball as he side-stepped a defender to touch it into the lower far post.
Stonehill finally forced senior goalkeeper Nick Papas (Castleton, N.Y.) to make his first save of the game coming out of the break, but even that was on a long-range effort that the veteran stopper was able to secure with little effort.
The Mavericks kept up the pressure in attack and after several close chances, broke through again in the 83rd minute when Flynn cut a pass back from the end line and Dashi rolled it back to Ledesma, who was waiting in the center and blasted it home from 10 yards.
Mercy added a fifth strike in the 88th minute when Flynn beat his defender to run onto a ball from Diaz and slotted it under the keeper to the near post, sealing the victory.
Papas needed to make only two saves to preserve his career-record-tying third shutout of the season as sophomore center back Gabriel Luna (Watsonville, Calif.) led the back line in stifling the Skyhawks' attack.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will open conference play next week at New York Institute of Technology (2-0) on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
