DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 26, 2021) – The Mercy College women's soccer team hosts ECC foe Daemen for Senior Day on Saturday, October 30th at 11 a.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, October 30th 11 a.m.
Records: Mercy (7-3-4, 6-1 ECC), Daemen (7-4-1, 6-0-1 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Daemen
Daemen earned a 1-0 win over Mercy on September 28, 2019.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-1 win over Queens on Friday. The Mavericks were led by juniors Carli LoNigro and Dominique Bono and by senior Fernanda Castro who scored. Sophomores Marlene Avalos and Madison Rosa and senior Claudia McKail added assists and senior Melissa Torres had five saves to earn the win. The win over Queens clinched the Mavericks eighth straight appearance in the ECC Tournament. LoNigro was named to the ECC Honor Roll after scoring two goals last week. Mercy is 6-1 all-time against Daemen. Graduate student Nikki Bermudez has a team-high 11 points on a team-high five goals with one assist and has been named to the ECC Honor Roll four times. She currently ranks fourth in the ECC in goals. Sophomore Madison Rosa has an ECC-best six assists with eight points on the year. Senior Claudia McKail also has eight points on the year with three goals and two assists. McKail was tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll on October 4th. Bono and LoNigro both have six points on the year on three goals and junior Alexa Billingham and sophomore Kayla Camacho have five points apiece on two goals and one assist. Sophomore Skyler Schwenkler has two goals and seniors Sydney Cooper and Jessica Hoyt both have a goal and two assists on the year. Cooper was named to the ECC Honor Roll on September 13th after scoring the game-tying goal against Adelphi on September 9th. Torres is 6-2-4 in goal with 33 saves, five shutouts and a .825 save percentage. Torres was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on October 4th and was named to the ECC Honor Roll last Tuesday. She is second in the ECC with a 0.56 goals against average and set a school record with her 25th career shutout against Bridgeport on September 29th. Senior Veronica Scruggs is 1-1 in goal with four saves and one shutout in two starts.
Mercy is currently ranked ninth in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll released on October 26th. The Mavericks went 13-3-4 in 2019 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. Mercy has made five NCAA Tournament appearances since 2013 and has made the ECC Tournament in seven straight seasons. The Mavericks were picked first in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Third-year Head Coach Danny Leon Jr. has 10 returners from the 2019 team and has 13 student-athletes who will see their first game action as Mavericks during the 2021 season. Leading the returners is Cooper who was named Third Team All-Region and First Team All-ECC in 2019 after recording four goals and two assists. Torres returns in goal after receiving Second Team All-Region and ECC Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2019. Senior Fernanda Castro also returns after taking home First Team All-Region and First Team All-ECC accolades in 2019. Also returning from the 2019 team are seniors Veronica Scruggs, Hoyt, McKail and Juliana Conforti and juniors Carli LoNigro, Tyra Anderson and Billingham. Seeing their first game action as Mavericks after practicing with the team last year are Rosa, Camacho, Marlene Avalos, Schwenkler, Jennifer Silva, Toni Valadez, Alisa Jensen and Genesis Vargas. Making up the freshmen class are Kayla Saavedra, Stacy Avendano and Elizabeth Bowles. Leon Jr. also adds two transfers in Bermudez and Bono from New York Tech. Bermudez was named Second Team All-ECC and First Team All-ECAC in 2019 at New York Tech.
Scouting the Wildcats
Daemen enters Saturday's game on a two-game winning streak and is coming off a 2-1 win over Clarion on Tuesday. The Wildcats currently sit in first place in the ECC standings with their lone tie coming against Bridgeport on October 16th. Daemen was picked fourth in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 11-4-3 in 2019. The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament in 2019 despite missing the ECC Championship. Daemen is led by junior Tatyjana Scalisi who has a team-high 19 points on seven goals and five assists. She is currently second in the ECC in points and freshman Alyssa Diaz is second on the team in points with 12 by way of four goals and four assists. Sophomore Brooke Amato and junior Faye Panagopoulos both have five goals and an assist. Junior Tori DeLappi is 8-4-1 in goal with 64 saves, a .800 save percentage and three shutouts in 13 starts.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Saturday, November 6th when they play at D'Youville at 12 p.m.
