Corral Records Game-Winner as Men's Soccer Concludes Regular Season With 3-2 Overtime Victory Over Bridgeport
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 29, 2016) – Led by the game-winning goal from freshman Santiago Corral (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Instituto Francesco Faa Di Bruno) in the 91st minute of action, the Mercy College men's soccer team concluded the regular season with a 3-2 overtime victory over University of Bridgeport in ECC action on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (9-4-3, 3-4-2 ECC) conclude the regular season with two straight overtime wins and await a possible postseason berth, while the Purple Knights (3-11-2, 3-4-2 ECC) are eliminated from ECC Tournament contention with the loss. The win over Bridgeport is the first for Mercy since the 2011 season.
Also, scoring for Mercy was senior Gonzalo Prando (Jefferson Valley, N.Y./Lakeland) and junior Haxhi Verjoni (Cornwall, N.Y./Marlboro). Sophomore Lucca Lacerda (Passos, Brazil/Monroe College) added two assists and Verjoni added one of his own. Junior goalkeeper Kwantarian Van der Lara (Conway, Ark./Marshalltown CC) made one save in earning the victory.
Erlend Skagestad led Bridgeport with a goal and an assist, while Jhonah-George Felipe contributed a goal. Fabio Junior made the start in net and made five saves in 65:05 minutes of action before earning a red card after a second yellow card. Juan Munoz took over and made two saves with three goals allowed to take the loss.
Mercy came out on the offensive in the first half, forcing Junior to make three saves in the first 22 minutes of action. Van der Lara made his lone save of the day in the 26th minute to keep the score knotted up at 0-0. The score remained 0-0 heading into halftime as Junior made four saves in the half and the Mavericks held a 9-5 edge in shots.
The score remained 0-0 until the 70th minute when Felipe scored off an assist from Skagestad to give the Purple Knights a 1-0 lead, despite playing a man down.
Verjoni tied things up in the 75th minute when he received a ball from Lacerda and then tapped the ball over the goalkeeper's head. Lacerda followed just over 30 seconds later with a shot that hit the post and redshirt sophomore Romello Fraser (Brooklyn, N.Y./School for Human Rights) forced Munoz to make a stop, but the score stayed tied at 1-1.
Mercy took their first lead of the game in the 87th minute when Prando headed the ball into the back of the net off a free kick by Lacerda to make it 2-1 in favor of the Mavericks. Bridgeport, realizing their season was on the line, found the game-tying goal in the 88th minute when Skagestad found the back of the net to make it 2-2. Neither team could break the tie in regulation so overtime was needed.
The Mavericks wasted little time in putting an end to the Purple Knights season as Verjoni sent a cross from the right side of the field to in front of the net where Corral headed the ball into the net to give Mercy a 3-2 win just 28 seconds into the overtime period.
Mercy held a 22-11 edge in shots on the day, while Bridgeport maintained a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.
