LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Oct. 2, 2019) – Despite a shot on goal from senior Maximiliano Rebolledo-Camus (Santiago, Chile/Saint George's College), sophomore Kevin Aguilar (Bronx, N.Y./Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) and redshirt freshman Steven Fernandez (Rego Park, N.Y./Iona College), the No. 8 Mercy College men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Georgian Court University on Wednesday afternoon.
The Mavericks (7-1-1) suffer their first loss of the season, while the Lions (3-5) have won two games in a row.
Rebolledo-Camus, Aguilar and Fernandez all had a shot on goal and senior Ignacio Mangada (Alicante, Spain/Campbellsville University) had a team-high three shots. Junior Joel Serrano (Arecibo, P.R./Marshalltown CC) played the full 90 minutes in goal and made one save to take the loss.
Georgian Court was led by Daniel Vicente who scored and by Yianni Kavarakas who made three saves to post the shutout win.
The Mavericks recorded the first shot of the game in just the second minute of action. The Mercy backline held the Lions without a shot on goal in the first half. Fernandez and Rebolledo-Camus both recorded shots on goal in the final ten minutes of the half, but Kavarakas made a pair of saves to send the teams into halftime scoreless.
The second half saw Serrano make a stop on a Vicente shot in the 68th minute to keep the game scoreless. The teams traded shots back-and-forth before a Mercy foul led to a Georgian Court free kick with less than five minutes left in regulation. Giovanni Ciocca-Vasino played the free kick from just short of midfield into the box where Vicente headed it into the back of the net to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
Mercy looked for the equalizer but an Archie Jones (London, England/Northbridge) shot was blocked and Kavarakas made a diving save on an Aguilar shot at the buzzer to preserve the win for Georgian Court.
Mercy held a 15-10 edge in shots and an 8-1 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, October 5th when they host Molloy at 3 p.m.
