DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 7, 2021) – The Mercy College field hockey team plays at No. 8 Saint Anselm on Saturday, October 9th at 1 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, October 9th 1 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-7, 1-5 NE10), #8 Saint Anselm (8-3, 6-2 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H.
Last Meeting vs. Saint Anselm
Saint Anselm earned a 4-0 win over Mercy on October 23, 2019.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Nicole Cotton who scored and by sophomore Ally Schreck who had an assist. Senior Lauren Viscione made eight saves and sophomore Victoria Devlin had a defensive save. Mercy is playing their fourth ranked opponent this season and are 1-2 in their previous games. The Mavericks beat No. 9 AIC on September 24th in overtime. Mercy is 1-6 all-time against Saint Anselm with the lone win coming in 2013. Cotton leads the team with three goals and six points and junior Katie Kreider is second on the team with two goals and four points. Schreck and freshman Kasey Volz are third on the team in points with three by way of a goal and an assist. Sophomore Rachel Palladino and junior Lily Sherry also have goals. Rosenfeld and Sacco both have a team-high two assists and sophomore Rieley Fitzgerald each have an assist. Viscione is currently 1-7 in goal with 67 saves and a .705 save percentage in eight starts.
The Mavericks are looking to qualify for the NE10 Tournament for the first time in just their second year as members of the conference. Mercy won three NE10 games in their inaugural season as members in 2019 and will look to increase that number in 2021. The Mavericks have been picked 14th in the NE10 Preseason Coaches' Poll but look to prove the coaches wrong. First-year Head Coach Marissa Spinazzola returns Sacco who was named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team in 2019 after leading the team with three goals and three assists for nine points. Sherry also returns after appearing in 16 games in 2019, recording the game-winning goal against Pace. Also coming back is Kreider who scored two goals in 2019, Cotton and senior Savanna James also return after scoring goals in 2019. Senior Briannagh Smith returns after starting in 11 games in 2019 with one assist. Viscione and senior Cydney Wolff are back in goal for the Mavericks. Viscione made 154 saves in 2019 with two shutouts and a .782 save percentage in 16 starts. Also returning from the 2019 team are juniors Christy Falisi and Taylor Durkin. Spinazzola will also rely upon sophomores Kate Ringstad, Rosenfeld, Rory McComb, Ally Schreck, Kirk, Palladino, Kyra Reyes, Fitzgerald, Devlin and freshmen Volz, Jessica Evans and Alexandra Giordano.
Scouting the Hawks
Saint Anselm enters Saturday's game ranked No. 8 nationally and is coming off a 2-0 win over Southern N.H. on Wednesday. The Hawks started the season 3-2 but have won five of their last six games. Saint Anselm was picked first in the NE10 Coaches' Poll after making the national championship game in 2019. The Hawks are led by junior Maeve Murphy who has a team-high 12 points by way of five goals and two assists. Senior Sarah Bagley has 11 points on five goals and one assist and senior Carly Lacasse has four goals and one assist. Sophomore Mackenzie McConnell is 5-2 in goal with 35 saves and a .875 save percentage and freshman Sidney Falterer is 3-1 in goal with 16 saves and a .696 save percentage.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Tuesday, October 12th when they play at Adelphi at 7 p.m.
