Men's Soccer Vaults to No. 18 in NSCAA Division II National Rankings
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 24, 2013) – The Mercy College men's soccer team has vaulted to No. 18 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire Division II Men's National Poll and retained its No. 3 ranking in the East region.
NSCAA national poll
East region poll
The Mavericks moved up six spots from their No. 24 ranking last week after maintaining their perfect start to the season with two wins to open conference play. Mercy shut out NYIT, 3-0, on Long Island despite playing a man down for the final 30 minutes of the game and defeated St. Thomas Aquinas College, 3-1, at home to top the East Coast Conference table.
Sophomore Christian Diaz (Watsonville, Calif. / Univ. of Vermont) and senior Nick Papas (Castleton, N.Y. / Hudson Valley CC) were named the ECC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for their performances in the victories, with junior Danny Leon Jr. (Flushing, N.Y. / Benjamin Cardozo) also making the Honorable Mention list. Diaz led the conference with nine points on four goals and one assist, scoring braces in each game and converting 67 percent of his shots for goals. He scored the game-winning goal at NYIT and the early equalizer versus STAC and is now tied for the conference lead with six goals on the season. Papas made 17 saves while posting a .944 save percentage in the two games, stopping 11 shots – including an 82nd-minute penalty – at NYIT and another six against STAC. He leads the conference with a .966 save percentage and 0.20 goals against average. Both players also rank among the national leaders in multiple statistical categories.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will look to continue their perfect start at Bloomfield College (1-4) today at 7 p.m.
