DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2021) – The No. 2 seed Mercy College women's soccer team plays at No. 1 seed Molloy College in an ECC Women's Soccer Championship Final matchup on Sunday, November 14th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Sunday, November 14th 12 p.m.
Records: No. 2 Mercy (10-3-4), No. 1 Molloy (16-2)
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y. (RVC Athletic Complex)
Last Meeting vs. Molloy
Molloy earned a 1-0 victory over Mercy on October 16, 2021 in Rockville Centre.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 2-0 win over No. 3 seed Daemen in the ECC Championship Semifinals on Thursday. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Kayla Camacho and senior Claudia McKail who scored and by sophomore Marlene Avalos who had an assist. Mercy has made the ECC Tournament for the eighth straight year and is making their first appearance in the Final since 2017. Mercy has won the ECC Championship twice in 2014 and 2017 and is looking to make their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Mercy is 2-1 all-time in the ECC Championship Final with the lone loss coming in 2013 to Bridgeport. The two teams last met in the postseason in 2019 when they tied 1-1 in Dobbs Ferry in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Molloy advanced to the Third Round after winning penalty kicks 3-1. Mercy is ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings with seven teams from the East Region making the NCAA Tournament. First Team All-ECC selection graduate student Nikki Bermudez has a team-high-tying 12 points on a team-high five goals with two assists and has been named to the ECC Honor Roll four times. Senior Claudia McKail also has a team-high-tying 12 points by way of five goals and two assists. McKail was tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll on October 4th after scoring the game-winning goal against Bridgeport on September 29th. Junior Dominique Bono is tied for third on the team with eight points on four goals. She was named to the ECC Honor Roll last Monday. Sophomore Madison Rosa is second in the ECC with six assists and has eight points on the year. Junior Carli LoNigro has six points on the year on three goals and was named to the ECC Honor Roll on October 25th. Camacho has 10 points on four goals and two assists and was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. Junior Alexa Billingham has five points on two goals and one assist and First Team All-ECC performer sophomore Skyler Schwenkler has two goals. ECC Defensive Player of the Year Sydney Cooper and senior 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. Second Team All-ECC recipient Melissa Torres is 9-2-4 in goal with 39 saves, seven shutouts and a .830 save percentage. Torres was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season last week. She is second in the ECC with a 0.52 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.
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 eight 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 Lions
Molloy is coming off a 5-0 win over No. 4 seed Roberts Wesleyan in the ECC Championship Semifinals on Thursday. The Lions are currently on a nine-game winning streak and are 8-1 at home this season. Molloy won their first ECC Championship in 2019 and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time. The Lions are currently ranked third in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings and are 1-1 all-time in the Final. Molloy is currently ranked No. 16 in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Lions have allowed just eight goals in their 18 games and have scored 54 goals. Seniors Dana Poetzsch and Jackie Carty were tabbed ECC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year. Junior Lexi Verni was named ECC Offensive Player of the Year and leads the ECC in goals (12) and points (27) with five game-winning goals. Poetzsch, a First Team All-ECC selection, also has an ECC-best 27 points on 11 goals and five assists with five game-winning goals. First Team All-ECC honoree Annie Coogan has four goals and five assists and junior Joanna Graca has an ECC-best seven assists. Sophomore Sarah Tappeto was named First Team All-ECC, has three goals and four assists and freshman Nicole Fabris has five goals and one assist. Carty was named ECC Goalkeeper of the Year and is 14-2 in goal with 55 saves, a .873 save percentage and 10 shutouts.
