Three Score as Men's Soccer Defeats Caldwell 4-1 in Home Opener
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 12, 2015) – Powered by a two-goal outing from freshman Lucca Lacerda (Passos, Brazil/Monroe College) and goals from graduate student Juan Gatti (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Monroe CC) and redshirt freshman Romello Fraser (Brooklyn, N.Y./School for Human Rights), the Mercy College men's soccer team opened up their 2015 home slate with an impressive 4-1 victory over Caldwell University on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks level their record at 2-2 with the victory, while the Cougars remain winless on the year at 0-4.
Lacerda tallied his first two collegiate goals on the day on four shots on goal and also added an assist, while Fraser concluded the contest with six shots. Gatti also finished with an assist on the afternoon and junior Gonzalo Prando (Jefferson Valley, N.Y./Lakeland), redshirt sophomores Daniel Watson (Birmingham, England/Monroe College) and Jose Carvajal (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) and freshman Donovan Cesar (Jamaica, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) also tallied assists on the day. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Julio Sanchez (Henderson, Colo./Otero JC) made seven saves in picking up his first win as a Maverick.
Christian Castro led the way for Caldwell with a goal on three shots. Goalkeeper Michael Hartmann made eight saves in earning the defeat.
Mercy came out of the gates on the aggressive as Cesar recorded the game's first shot less than a minute in and the Mavericks would continue to apply pressure to the Cougars backline throughout the game. Fraser got Mercy on the board first in only the 10th minute of action as Lacerda played a ball to Carvajal who then crossed it to the center where it was then put in by the midfielder to put the home team up 1-0 early.
The two teams would go back-and-forth for the next 20 minutes with each goalkeeper making a stop before Castro took a direct kick from just outside the box and was deflected into the net to even things up at 1-1 in the 34th minute.
Following the Caldwell goal, the Mavericks continued to apply pressure but Hartmann came up with a pair of saves right before halftime and the two teams headed into the intermission knotted up at 1-1.
The second half saw Mercy get on the board in a blink of an eye as Lacerda tapped home a direct kick from Watson following a Cougar yellow card to put the Mavericks up 2-1 less than a minute into the period.
Just minutes later Mercy had two great scoring chances as shots by Cesar and Fraser both hit the crossbar. However, Lacerda would not be denied in the 54th minute as he took a cross from Gatti and used one touch to put in the back of the net for his second goal of the day, giving the Mavericks a 2-1 lead.
Mercy continued to fire away at Hartmann and Gatti got on the board with a goal in the 86th minute, taking a pass from Cesar and Prando and firing it from the center on one touch to give the Mavericks a commanding 4-1 lead. Mercy sealed the win as Sanchez made six saves in the second half to post a second-half shutout and the Mavericks maintained a 23-16 edge in shots and 5-2 advantage in corners on the day.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will now return to action on Tuesday, September 15th as they travel to Philadelphia University for a 4 p.m. start.
