Penate Scores Twice as Men's Soccer Battles No. 4 LIU Post to 3-3 Tie
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 8, 2016) – Powered by two goals and an assist from junior Ericson Penate (Reseda, Calif./LA Mission JC), the Mercy College men's soccer team earned a 3-3 tie with No. 4 LIU Post on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (7-3-2, 2-3-1 ECC) earn their second tie of the season against a 2015 NCAA Tournament participant, while the Pioneers (9-0-1, 2-0-1 ECC) fail to earn a win for the first time this season.
Penate scored his team-leading seventh and eighth goals of the season on a team high four shots on goal. Junior Haxhi Verjoni (Cornwall, N.Y./Marlboro) added his fourth goal of the year and sophomore Donovan Cesar (Jamaica, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) contributed his team-leading sixth assist of the year. Junior Kwantarian Van der Lara (Conway, Ark./Marshalltown CC) made eight saves to preserve the tie.
LIU Post received goals from Alex Billington, Charlie Ledula and Erik Berthagen. Goalkeeper Jesper Malmstrom made three saves in net for the Pioneers.
Mercy faced a tall task in taking on the number four team in the country, but Penate would not wait long to show that the Mavericks were ready to battle. The junior opened up the scoring in the 7th minute of action firing a shot from well outside the box into the upper right corner to give Mercy a 1-0 lead.
Just over eight minutes later Penate would strike again, taking a pass from Cesar and shooting another long shot into the lower left corner, making it 2-0 in favor the Mavericks.
The Pioneers would come right back with a pair of shots, but both were stopped by Van der Lara and the score remained 2-0. Verjoni made it 3-0 in the 35th minute when he fired a long distance shot with the goalkeeper out of the net that found its way in after he received a pass from Penate from just past midfield. The score remained 3-0 heading into halftime despite the Pioneers outshooting the Mavericks 10-5 in the half.
The contest remained 3-0 in favor of Mercy until the 60th minute when Billington got the Pioneers on the board with a penalty kick goal, after a Mavericks red card, to make it 3-1. With the momentum on their side and Mercy playing down a man, LIU Post quickly answered with another goal just under a minute later as Ledula scored to make it 3-2.
The Pioneers evened the score up at 3-3 in the 71st minute when Berthagen scored off a Harry Pearse corner kick. Neither team could find the back of the net again in regulation so the two teams went to overtime.
The first overtime period saw Van der Lara make two saves in the frame to help send the game into a second overtime. LIU Post held a 4-0 advantage in shots in the second overtime period, but the Mavericks would keep them off the board to give Mercy a tie with the number four team in the country.
The Pioneers held a 28-10 edge in shots and a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Head Coach Pedro Velazquez return to action on Saturday, October 15th when they play at Queens at 3 p.m.
