DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 30, 2017) – Powered by a goal and an assist from graduate student Danny Gavin (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Washington) and two assists from junior Lucca Lacerda (Passos, Brazil/Monroe College), the Mercy College men's soccer team earned a 3-2 victory over ECC foe Queens College on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.

The Mavericks (6-3, 2-1 ECC) have now won three games in a row and beat the Knights (3-4-1, 0-2-1 ECC) for the first time since 2013.

Gavin and Lacerda both finished with a shot on goal, while seniors Patricio Laffaye (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Central Christian College) and Ericson Penate (Reseda, Calif./LA Mission JC) both scored. Senior Kwantarian Van der Lara (Stockholm, Sweden/Marshalltown CC) made six saves to earn the win.

Queens received goals from Pedro Lamarre and James Hayes. Goalkeeper Chidiebere Iloka made four saves in a losing effort.  

The score remained 0-0 until the 26th minute when Gavin recorded his first goal of the season off a pass from Lacerda to give Mercy a 1-0 lead. The goal came following a Queens foul just outside the box on the left side of the field. Lacerda took the free kick and fed Gavin who was sprinting toward the goal and fired the ball into the back of the net to get the Mavericks on the board.

Mercy increased their lead to 2-0 in the 35th minute when Gavin sent a long cross from right to left to Laffaye who headed the ball into the back of the net. The Mavericks headed into halftime up 2-0 with an 11-3 edge in shots.

The second half saw the Knights come out more aggressive and they got on the board in the 53rd minute when Lamarre scored following a pass from Paul Hayes that made it 2-1. Queens followed with another shot on goal, but the Mavericks responded right back with another goal as Penate headed in a nicely played cross from Lacerda that put Mercy ahead, 3-1.

The Knights would not go down without a fight and found the back of the net again in the 65th minute to make it a 3-2 contest. However, that would be as close as they got as Van der Lara and the Mercy backline held Queens off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game to earn the win.

Mercy held a 16-12 edge in shots and an 8-7 advantage in corner kicks.

Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, October 4th when they play at Bridgeport at 3 p.m.