DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Aug. 30, 2018) – The defending ECC Champion and 2017 Final Four participant Mercy College women's soccer team opens up their 2018 season against Southern New Hampshire University on Friday, August 31st at 1 p.m. at University of Bridgeport.
Schedule
The Mavericks under first-year head coach Jim O'Brien will look to qualify for the ECC Tournament for the sixth straight year and make an NCAA Tournament appearance for the fourth time in six years. Mercy earned their first-ever East Region Championship a year ago and made the school's first-ever appearance in the Final Four a year ago.
O'Brien will look to the leadership of captains Rebecca Conway, Kendall Wright and Trista Seara. Conway was named ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team last year. Wright has appeared in 57 games over three years and started 23 games last year. Seara was named First Team All-Region last year and Second Team All-ECC as a sophomore after posting eight assists last year.
"Rebecca Conway has served me well as our lone captain during my transition here at Mercy College. I felt that many are deserving of an opportunity in this important leadership role. Kendall Wright has been leading by example in so many ways and I have been impressed by her maturity throughout the spring and now during preseason training. Trista Seara has tremendous energy and is always a positive influence with her team. Both will be great for our coaching staff and student athletes alike," stated O'Brien.
Senior Haley Noble returns after being named Second Team All-ECC last year after posting six goals and seven assists for 19 points in 17 games. Senior Corinna Ferrante also comes back after posting seven goals and 16 points in 23 games last year. Junior Jess Brandt, a Second Team All-ECC selection last year, enters her third season as a Maverick after recording four goals and six assists last season.
Returning in goal is sophomore Melissa Torres, a Third Team All-ECC performer last year, who went 13-3-1 last year with 74 saves and a 0.64 goals against average in 22 games.
Junior Natalia Elizarraras, Third Team All-ECC selection last year, comes off a season in which she had three goals and three assists in 23 appearances last season. Senior RaeAnn Ioannou will look to improve upon her three goals and one assist from last year in her final season as a Maverick. Senior Destiny Guerra and sophomores Kaitlyn Denning and Casey Shimborske will also look to contribute for O'Brien.
O'Brien will also look to newcomers Fernanda Castro, Juliana Conforti, Sydney Cooper, Jessica Hoyt, Claudia McKail, Anicia Reyes, Taylor Roach, Veronica Scruggs and Mackenzie Warner to contribute immediately. Castro was named the best defensive player twice at Bonita Vista High School and Conforti scored 49 goals throughout her high school career at Northport High School.
Cooper joins the squad from Los Alamitos High School in Long Beach, California, while Hoyt comes from Kings Park High School. McKail joins the Mavericks from Canyon High School and scored 40 goals in her high school career. Reyes was an MVP honoree as a sophomore at Santana High School, while Scruggs comes from Bethpage, New York.
