Papas Heroics Preserve Fourth Straight Shutout, First ECC Win for No. 24 Men's Soccer in 3-0 Victory at NYIT
Box Score OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Sept. 18, 2013) – A series of heroic displays in net from senior goalkeeper Nick Papas (Castleton, N.Y. / Hudson Valley CC) preserved the No. 24 Mercy College men's soccer team's fourth straight shutout to start the season as the Mavericks beat East Coast Conference rival New York Institute of Technology, 3-0, despite playing a man down for the final 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoon.
Mercy stays perfect at 4-0 to start the season and takes control of the ECC at 1-0, while NYIT suffers its first loss and falls to 3-1 (0-1).
The Bears took control from the opening kickoff, quickly pushing deep into the Mavericks' defensive third and peppering the goal with a slew of crosses and shots, two of which Papas had to save in the opening five minutes. Mercy held firm at the back, however, and took a 1-0 lead immediately following a counter attack in just the 10th minute. Senior right back Luis Perez (Jackson Heights, N.Y. / Monroe College) trailed a corner kick, called for the drop pass and sent a deep looping cross to the back post, from where sophomore forward Christian Diaz (Watsonville, Calif. / Univ. of Vermont) volleyed it into the net.
NYIT continued to press Mercy's defense back into the box, already forcing Papas to make a third save and sending two more shots off target before Mercy could put an attack. It turned out to be another efficient one, however, as the Mavericks went up 2-0 when junior forward Roberto Dashi (Nyack, N.Y. / Clarkstown South) headed a ball down to Diaz, who calmly chipped it inside the far post for his second strike of the game in just the 28th minute.
Still, NYIT stayed in control of the increasingly physical match while a pair of Mavericks were issued yellow cards, but yet again Mercy managed to come up with a goal against the run of play to take a commanding 3-0 lead at the 38-minute mark. Diaz brought down a clearance from the back just past midfield and touched it toward the right sideline to junior midfielder Danny Leon Jr. (Flushing, N.Y. / Benjamin Cardozo), who spotted junior goalkeeper Liam Waddy (Northampton, England) well off his line and sent a perfect floating shot just under into the upper-left corner of the net from over 40 yards out.
The teams traded possession through the remainder of the half, with each getting off one shot on target, and came out similarly to start the second half, as neither could gain much of an edge in the opening 15 minutes.
The Mavericks took a big hit at the 60-minute mark, however, as sophomore center back Gabriel Luna (Watsonville, Calif. / Hartnell College) was shown a red card and sent off, leaving Mercy down a man for the remaining 30 minutes. Head Coach Chris Smith was forced to pull a winger off in favor of another defender to maintain the four-man backline, and the Bears took advantage, pressing as hard as they had all game and trying to space the field as wide as possible.
Mercy's defense did all it could to stymie the relentless attack, blocking a series of deep attempts while Papas cleaned up every loose ball and cross that made its way into the box, but disaster nearly struck in the 82nd minute when a penalty kick was awarded to NYIT on a handball call. With a 350-minute shutout streak on the line and facing the most difficult prospect a keeper can in the sport, Papas read the shot and made a diving stop to his right to deny 2012 All-ECC First Team senior midfielder Vinny Caccavale (West Islip, N.Y.), leaving Mercy just eight minutes from a fourth consecutive shutout to open the season.
NYIT managed another pair of chances on goal as the game wound down, but on both occasions Papas came up with the save and as the final whistle blew, Mercy came away with its fourth straight shutout and first conference win of the season.
The Bears ripped a total of 21 shots to the Mavericks' nine as Papas made a career-high-tying 11 saves, while Waddy stopped just three at the other end.
Smith and the Mavericks will look to continue their streak as they host another ECC foe in St. Thomas Aquinas College (2-1-1, 1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m.
