DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 1, 2021) – The Mercy College men's soccer team plays at ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday, October 3rd at 1 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Sunday, October 3rd 1 p.m.

Records: Mercy (4-3-1, 1-1-1 ECC), St. Thomas Aquinas (5-2-1, 2-1 ECC)

Location: Sparkill, N.Y.

Last Meeting

Mercy earned a 1-0 win over the Spartans on October 16, 2019.

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy is coming off a 2-1 loss to Bridgeport on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Pau Echarri who scored and by senior Archie Jones who had an assist. Graduate student Felipe Baeza made a season-high five saves in the loss. The Mavericks have won the last four meetings against the Spartans and have not lost two games in a row since 2016. Mercy is ranked sixth in the latest United Soccer Coaches East Region Poll. One-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week junior Matthias Kuhn has a team-high seven points on three goals and one assist and Jones is second on the team with six points by way of two goals and two assists. Senior Rainiero Salas has two goals and one assist on the year and was tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll on September 13th. Echarri has two goals on the year and senior Javier Mangado has a goal and an assist. Senior Abraham Lopez scored the game-winning goal in Mercy's win over Saint Rose on September 15th and junior Marco Passera has one goal on the year. Breitenbach and Penafiel both have a team-high-tying two assists on the year and senior Tormod Simonsen has one assist on the year. Graduate student Felipe Baeza is 2-2-1 in goal for the Mavericks with 15 saves and a .682 save percentage in five starts. Freshman Eirik Elvestad made the start against Staten Island and is 2-1 in goal with three saves and two shutouts.

The Mavericks are looking to defend their ECC Championship from 2019 and look to make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. In 2019, Mercy went 14-4-3 and won their first ECC Tournament Championship since 2004. The Mavericks were picked first in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll and junior Kuhn was named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Leading the returners is Kuhn who was named Third Team All-ECC as a freshman. Jones, Saul Melendez Kevin Aguilar, Salas, Vasco Baptista, Hamza Khan and David Sassano return from the team in 2019. Jones had four goals and five assists in 2019 and Salas had a goal and two assists. Head Coach Pedro Velazquez also welcomes nine transfers that have joined the team over the last two years. Simonsen, Mangado and Lopez and juniors Benjamin Van Buren, Passera, Jens Ovreseth, Breitenbach and Isaí Carrillo all joined the team during the 2020-21 academic year and Baeza transferred in for this year. Simonsen transferred from Seton Hill University where he had a goal and an assist in 11 starts in 2019. Mangado transfers from Wheeling University where he had a goal and two assists in 2019 in 14 starts. Lopez joins the team from Harding University where he made five starts and played in 20 games in two years. Van Buren transfers in from Division I USC Upstate where he started 12 games in 2019. Passera played at Spring Hill College in 2019 where he had an assist in 13 games and Ovreseth comes from Davis & Elkins College where he had two goals and four assists in 2019. Breitenbach posted six goals and three assists in 2019 for Barton College prior to joining Mercy. Carrillo joins the team from Notre Dame de Namur University where he started 16 games in 2019 with one assist. Baeza joins the team in 2021 from Division I USC Upstate where he went 5-4-2 in goal with 35 saves in 2020-21.

Scouting the Spartans

St. Thomas Aquinas enters Sunday's game with a 5-2-1 record overall and 2-1 record in ECC play. The Spartans are coming off a 3-1 win over Queens on Wednesday. St. Thomas Aquinas was picked sixth in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 4-11-1 in 2019. The Spartans are led by senior Anthony Sanchez who has a team-high five goals and 11 points. Junior Jorge Umana has a team-high five assists and is second on the team with nine points. Freshman Cole Allen has three goals and seven points. Senior Asier Vegas is 4-1 in goal with 19 saves and a .792 save percentage and freshman Felix Davies is 1-1-1 in goal with 14 saves and a .700 save percentage.

Next Game

Mercy resumes action on Saturday, October 9th when they host UDC at 12 p.m.