Penate Scores Team-Leading Sixth Goal of Season as Men's Soccer Hosts NYIT
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 28, 2016) – Despite the sixth goal of the season from junior Ericson Penate (Reseda, Calif./LA Mission JC), the Mercy College men's soccer team suffered a 3-1 setback to NYIT in an East Coast Conference (ECC) matchup on Wednesday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (6-2-1, 2-2 ECC) drop their second straight game to an ECC foe, while the Bears (5-3-1, 1-1 ECC) snap a two-game losing streak.
Penate, sophomore Lucca Lacerda (Passos, Brazil/Monroe College) and freshman Santiago Corral (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Instituto Francesco Faa Di Bruno) all recorded shots on goal, while redshirt sophomore Romello Fraser (Brooklyn, N.Y./School for Human Rights) picked up an assist. Junior goalkeeper Kwantarian Van der Lara (Conway, Ark./Marshalltown CC) made four saves in a losing effort.
NYIT received goals from Ion Barbarin Garcia, Krishen Patel and Martin Sundell. Ben Wilson and Louis LaFemina dished out an assist and Jonathan Rico made two saves to pick up the victory.
The contest remained scoreless for 21 minutes before Patel found the back of the net off a cross from LaFemina to make it 1-0 in favor of the visitors. The Mavericks would not back down and answered just over four minutes later when Penate received a throughball from Fraser and tapped the ball over the goalkeeper's head to even up the score at 1-1.
The score remained tied at 1-1 until the 31st minute when Garcia finished off a corner by Wilson with a header to give the Bears a 2-1 lead.
NYIT headed into halftime up 2-1 with an 8-3 edge in shots, while Mercy held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The second half saw the Mavericks have a pair of good scoring chances in the 63rd minute when Lacerda fired a shot that was stopped by Rico before Corral fired the rebound wide.
NYIT added onto their lead in the 83rd minute when Sundell fired a shot from well outside the box that found the top right corner of the goal to make it 3-1. The Bears held on for the victory as they ended the day with a 17-8 edge in shots, while the Mavericks maintained a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks will look to get back in the win column when they play at St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday, October 1st at 2 p.m.
