DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Aug. 30, 2018) – Powered by a game-high two goals from junior Manuel Achondo (Santiago, Chile/Colegio Del Verbo Divino), the Mercy College men's soccer team opened their 2018 season with a 5-1 victory over 2017 NCAA Tournament participant Southern Connecticut State University on Thursday afternoon at Mercy Field.

The Mavericks (1-0) win their season opener for the first time since 2016 and defeat the Owls (0-1) for the first time since 2013.

Achondo scored twice on two shots on goal, while freshman Aaron Denk-Gracia (Mannheim, Germany/Liselotte-Gymnasium Mannheim), senior Freddy Marcel (Bay Shore, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) and junior Ignacio Mangada (Alicante, Spain/Campbellsville University) also scored. Senior Alejandro Alvarez (Pereira, Colombia/American International College) and junior Gaston Rozenblum (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuelas Tecnicas ORT) both dished out two assists and sophomore Jordan Williams (Newton, N.J./North Carolina Wesleyan College) made three saves to earn the win in his debut as a Maverick.

Blaise Haba scored the lone goal for Southern Connecticut and Jake Davis made two saves to take the loss after playing the first half.

Mercy wasted little time in getting on the board as Marcel scored an unassisted goal on a shot to the lower left that made it 1-0 just 2:14 into the game.

It remained 1-0 until the 28th minute when Achondo headed a ball off the post and into the net after a free kick from Rozenblum. Achondo later made it 3-0 in the 35th minute when he put away a rebound off a Rozenblum free kick that was initially stopped by Davis.

The Mavericks continued to pour it on when Mangada tallied his first goal as a Maverick with just six seconds remaining in the first half. Alvarez fed a cross in front of the goal and the junior fired it into the net to make it 4-0 heading into halftime.

The game remained 4-0 until the 63rd minute when Blaise Haba scored off a cross from Zak Wright to get Southern Connecticut on the board. Mercy put the finishing touches on the rout when Denk-Gracia recorded his first collegiate goal after a corner from Alvarez that made it 5-1.

Neither team would score the rest of the way and the Mavericks came away with an impressive 5-1 season-opening win.

Mercy held a 16-5 edge in shots, while Southern Connecticut maintained a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, September 1st when they host Dominican at 12 p.m.