DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 20, 2018) – Powered by a game-high-tying two goals from senior Haley Noble (Torrance, Calif./Torrance), the No. 7 Mercy College women's soccer team earned their sixth straight ECC Tournament berth with a 5-2 victory over ECC foe NYIT on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (11-2-1, 6-1-1 ECC) can clinch a top two seed in the tournament with a win in their season finale next weekend against Lincoln. Mercy can still earn the No. 1 seed with a win but will need Bridgeport to lose or tie against Roberts Wesleyan next weekend. The top two seeds of the tournament will host Semifinal matchups on October 30th. The Bears (8-5-2, 4-3-2 ECC) are eliminated from ECC Tournament consideration with the loss.
Noble now has a team-high eight goals on the year and surpasses assistant coach Heidi Serna for the most points in program history with 76. Freshman Anicia Reyes (San Diego, Calif./Santana) tallied her sixth goal of the year and senior Rebecca Conway (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) contributed her second goal of the year. Juniors Natalia Elizarraras (Whittier, Calif./Los Altos) and Jess Brandt (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) both dished out two assists. Sophomore Melissa Torres (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada) made seven saves to earn the win.
NYIT was led by Jess Hawley who scored two penalty kick goals and Jessie Sabal made five saves to take the loss.
The opening half saw the Bears with the majority of the scoring chances, but Torres made four saves and a team save kept NYIT off the board. Mercy finally got on the board in the 40th minute when an NYIT defender kicked the ball into the net after a RaeAnn Ioannou (Plainedge, N.Y./Plainedge) cross for an own goal to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. It remained 1-0 heading into halftime, despite the Bears holding a 7-2 edge in shots.
After an NYIT foul early in the second half, Brandt took a free kick and placed it in the box where Conway headed it into the net to put Mercy up 2-0. The Bears came back with a shot that hit the crossbar and Torres made another stop to keep it 2-0. NYIT finally broke through in the 60th minute when Hawley connected on a penalty kick after a Mercy foul in the box to make it 2-1.
The Bears would tie the game up at 2-2 in the 62nd minute following another Mercy foul in the box that led to a Hawley penalty kick goal again. Reyes would put the Mavericks ahead for good in the 67th minute when she headed in a corner kick taken by Elizarraras to give Mercy a 3-2 lead.
Noble would conclude the scoring for the Mavericks with back-to-back goals in the 74th and 87th minutes off assists from Brandt and Elizarraras to put away the win for Mercy.
NYIT held a 17-14 edge in shots and Mercy held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Jim O'Brien and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, October 27th when they host Lincoln for Senior Day at 12 p.m.
