DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 12, 2018) – Powered by goals from freshmen Claudia McKail (Santa Clarita, Calif./Canyon) and Anicia Reyes (San Diego, Calif./Santana), the No. 8 Mercy College women's soccer team defeated Wilmington University, 2-1, in their home opener on Wednesday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (2-1) get back in the win column after dropping their last game on September 2nd, while the Wildcats (1-4) have dropped three games in a row.
McKail recorded her first collegiate goal and Reyes picked up her second goal of the year. Sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Torres (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada) made three saves to earn the win.
Wilmington was led by Daryan Fennal who scored the Wildcats goal and Rebecca Dolhansky dished out an assist. Kate Tubo made five saves to take the loss.
Mercy came out with the game's first two shots on goal in the 17th and 20th minutes but Tubo stopped both to keep the game scoreless. McKail fired her first shot on goal of the game in the 36th minute but Tubo came up with one of her five stops to continue the game at 0-0. The Wildcats produced the final two shots on goal of the first half, which required a team save and a Torres stop to maintain a 0-0 score heading into halftime.
The second half saw junior Mackenzie Warner (Athens, Pa./Corning CC) fire a shot on goal in the 47th minute. The action continued to go back-and-forth until Wilmington committed a foul in the box in the 66th minute, leading to a Mercy penalty kick attempt. McKail took the penalty kick and fired it into the left side of the net to put the Mavericks up 1-0.
The Mavericks did not hold the lead for long as the Wildcats tied the game up in the 75th minute on a Fennal goal. Dolhansky fed a cross in front of the goal and Fennal one touched it into the middle of the goal to make it 1-1.
Mercy came right back in the 78th minute when Reyes found the back of the net, beating the goalkeeper one-on-one in the right corner after getting past the Wilmington defender to put Mercy ahead 2-1. The Mavericks held on the rest of the way to secure a victory in their home opener.
Mercy held a 19-8 edge in shots and Wilmington held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Head Coach Jim O'Brien and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, September 15th when they open up ECC play at St. Thomas Aquinas at 11 a.m.
