Puello and Cesar Goals Lead Men's Soccer to 2-0 Victory Over Dowling
Box Score SHIRLEY, N.Y. (Oct. 21, 2015) – Senior Luigi Puello (Queens Village, N.Y./Francis Lewis) and freshman Donovan Cesar (Jamaica, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) each recorded a goal as the Mercy College men's soccer team came away with a 2-0 victory over Dowling College in an East Coast Conference (ECC) matchup on Wednesday night at Golden Lions Field.
The Mavericks (5-8-1, 3-4-1 ECC) snap a five-game winless streak with the win and are now only two points behind NYIT for the fourth and final playoff spot with two conference games left to play. The Golden Lions (3-8-1, 3-4-0 ECC) have now dropped two in a row and fall a point behind Mercy in the conference standings.
Puello scored the first goal of his collegiate career, while Cesar added his second of the year off an assist from freshman Lucca Lacerda (Passos, Brazil/Monroe College) who now has a team-high 10 points on the season. Mercy also received shots on goal from graduate students Junior Sanguina (Valhalla, N.Y./SUNY Purchase) and Juan Gatti (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Monroe CC) and junior Adil Gowani (Huntington Station, N.Y./Nassau CC). Sophomore Kwantarian Van der Lara (Conway, Ark./Marshalltown CC) made the start in net and stopped three shots to pick up his first win and shutout as a Maverick.
Dowling was led by Bobby Cranor, Mike Gronenthal and Alex Hales who each recorded a shot on goal, while goalkeeper Chris Friedl made five saves in a losing effort.
After a tough loss to first place LIU Post on Saturday, the Mavericks came out and played one of their strongest games of the year with playoff implications on the line for both teams.
Both teams opened up the contest with a pair of shots that went high and wide before Van der Lara was forced to make the first of his three saves on a header shot by Bobby Cranor at the 23:21 mark of the first half.
Mercy came right back on the offensive as Fraser and Gatti sent shots wide before Puello gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead as he scored in the 35th minute on a scramble in front of the box following a Dowling yellow card.
The Golden Lions concluded the half with two shots, making Van der Lara come up with another stop with just 29 seconds left before halftime. However, the Mavericks held the home team off the board and headed into the break up 1-0.
After Dowling held a 6-5 edge in shots after one half of action, Mercy would dominate the play in the second half with a 10-1 advantage in shots.
The Mavericks came out of the intermission re-energized and forced Friedl to make five saves in the first 13 minutes of the half, but were unable to tack on another goal.
Mercy's aggressiveness would pay off in the 70th minute as Lacerda set up for a free kick and crossed it to Cesar who headed into the back of the net to give the Mavericks a 2-0 lead.
Mercy controlled the action the rest of the way and Van der Lara made a stop with just under a minute left to preserve the shutout and give the Mavericks an impressive bounce back win on the road.
The Mavericks outshot the Golden Lions 15-7 on the night, while Dowling held a 4-2 edge in corners.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will look to get another win as they host Queens College on Saturday, October 24th at 3 p.m.
