LYNDHURST, N.J. (Sept. 20, 2017) – Powered by two goals from senior Ericson Penate (Reseda, Calif./LA Mission JC), the Mercy College men's soccer team earned a 4-1 victory against Felician University on Wednesday night at Lyndhurst Recreation.
The Mavericks (4-3) move back over .500 on the year and bounce back from their loss last time out, while the Golden Falcons (3-4) see their two-game winning streak come to an end.
Penate recorded his first two goals of the year on two shots on goal, while sophomore Maximiliano Rebolledo-Camus (Santiago, Chile/Saint George's College) finished with his team-leading fifth goal of the year and an assist. Sophomore Manuel Achondo (Santiago, Chile/Colegio Verbo Divino) contributed his first goal of the year and senior Haxhi Verjoni(Cornwall, N.Y./Marlboro) and junior Lucca Lacerda (Passos, Brazil/Monroe College) both assisted on goals. Senior Kwantarian Van der Lara (Stockholm, Sweden/Marshalltown CC) played the full 90 minutes in net to earn the win.
Felician received a goal from Kevin Valdivia and an assist from Gabe Viana. John Burns made the start in goal and played the first 71:05 with two saves to take the loss.
Mercy looked to get back in the win column, but it was the Golden Falcons who scored first in the 9th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Viana fed a cross from the left and Valdivia put the ball into the back of the net on a jumping header to give Felician the early advantage.
The Mavericks responded by forcing Burns to make two saves and a Romello Fraser (Brooklyn, N.Y./School for Human Rights) shot hit the post before Rebolledo-Camus got Mercy on the board in the 26th minute to tie the game up at 1-1. Lacerda sent a corner kick to the far post where Rebolledo-Camus was waiting and headed the ball in. It remained 1-1 heading into halftime with Mercy holding an 8-4 edge in shots.
The second half was dominated by the Mavericks with Mercy firing all ten shots in the frame and scoring three goals. Achondo put the Mavericks ahead for good in the 65th minute when he received a service from Verjoni and headed it into the goal to give Mercy a 2-1 edge.
Penate wasted no time in adding on to the lead when he fired a free kick from 45 yards out that found its way under the crossbar and into the goal to put the Mavericks ahead 3-1 in the 68th minute. Penate put the finishing touches on the win with his second of the day on a give-and-go with Rebolledo-Camus in the 74th minute making it 4-1 in favor of Mercy. The Mavericks backline would hold its own the rest of the way and Mercy came away with the 4-1 road victory.
Mercy held an 18-4 edge in shots and a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks look to make it two wins in a row when they play at NYIT on Saturday, September 23rd at 2:30 p.m.
