Penate Game-Winner in 86th Minute Gives Men's Soccer a 2-1 Victory Over Saint Rose in Season Opener
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 1, 2016) – Powered by a game-winning goal from junior Ericson Penate (Reseda, Calif./La Mission JC) in the 86th minute, the Mercy College men's soccer team opened up its 2016 season with a 2-1 victory over College of Saint Rose on Thursday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (1-0) have now won back-to-back season openers against the Golden Knights (0-1) and pick up a win in Head Coach Pedro Velazquez's debut.
Penate tallied a goal on a game high nine shots in his Mercy debut, while junior Haxhi Verjoni (Cornwall, N.Y./Marlboro) found the back of the net on an assist from junior Facundo Bouciguez (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Florida Memorial). Sophomore Lucca Lacerda (Passos, Brazil/Monroe College) ended the game with a game high three shots on goal and junior Kwantarian Van der Lara (Conway, Ark./Marshalltown CC) played the full 90 minutes with four saves to pick up the win and improve to 1-0.
The visitors were led by Ryan Rooney who recorded the Golden Knights' lone goal, while Suleiman Haruna-Iya finished with a team high three shots on goal. Goalkeeper Christian Esposito made the start in net and stopped seven shots in a losing effort.
The Mavericks looked to get their season off on the right foot and started out strong against Saint Rose, recording their first shot on goal in the 3rd minute of action. Penate had the best scoring chance for Mercy early when he knocked one off the post in the 6th minute. However, the Golden Knights responded with a good scoring chance of their own as Rooney hit the crossbar just under a minute later.
Penate would find the crossbar in the 20th minute to give the Mavericks another chance, but the game remained scoreless. Mercy finally broke through with their first goal of the season in the 24th minute when Verjoni took a ball from Bouciguez following a Saint Rose foul and fired it into the back of the net, giving the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.
Mercy continued to maintain possession in the Golden Knights end of the field for most of the opening half. However, Saint Rose would take advantage of a misplay in front of the net that led to Rooney scoring to make it 1-1 in the 34th minute.
The score remained 1-1 heading into halftime as the Mavericks held a 15-5 edge in shots in the opening frame.
The second half saw Mercy with another great scoring chance as freshman Manuel Achondo (Santiago, Chile/Colegio Verbo Dirino) hit the crossbar in the 52nd minute. The contest remained 1-1 as the teams traded shots until Penate took a shot from the right side of the field and found the left side of the net in the 86th minute to give the Mavericks a 2-1 lead late.
The Mercy defense withstood a late Saint Rose charge to come away with the victory in their season opener and give Head Coach Pedro Velazquez a win in his head coaching debut.
The Mavericks held a 24-9 edge in shots and a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks return to action on Saturday, September 3rd when they host Le Moyne College at 12 p.m.
