DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 16, 2021) – The No. 6 seed Mercy College women's soccer team plays No. 3 seed Southern New Hampshire University in an NCAA Tournament First Round matchup on Thursday, November 18th at 3 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Thursday, November 18th 3 p.m.
Records: No. 6 Mercy (10-4-4), No. 3 Southern N.H. (13-3-1)
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y. (RVC Athletic Complex)
Ticket Information
Tickets are available for purchase via the HomeTown Ticketing application, available on both the Apple and Google Play stores. They can also be purchased directly at molloylions.com/tickets. No cash sales will be available. Tickets are single admission. Those looking to attend both games on Thursday will need to purchase tickets to each individually. All tickets will be scanned at the entrance to John A. Darcy Field.
Prices
General Admission: $10
Visiting Students with Valid ID: $5
Seniors: $5
Children under 5: Free
Last Meeting vs. Southern N.H.
The two teams played to a 1-1 tie on October 5, 2021 at Southern N.H.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 1-0 loss to Molloy in double overtime in the ECC Championship Game. Senior Melissa Torres made a game-high four saves in the loss. Mercy is making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history and fourth straight appearance. The Mavericks made their deepest run in the tournament in 2017 when they advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history. Mercy will be facing Southern N.H. for the third time in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years. In 2017, the Mavericks earned a 3-1 win over the Penmen in Dobbs Ferry and the teams played to a 0-0 tie in 2019 in Dobbs Ferry with Mercy advancing on penalty kicks. The Penmen last beat Mercy on September 6, 2019. The Mavericks have reached the Second Round of the tournament in three of the previous five appearances they have made. 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 last 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 senior 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 performer senior Melissa Torres is 9-3-4 in goal with 43 saves, seven shutouts and a .827 save percentage. Torres was a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week this season. She is second in the ECC with a 0.54 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 six 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 Penmen
Southern N.H. is coming off a 2-1 loss to Southern Connecticut in the NE10 Quarterfinals on November 7th. The Penmen have lost three of their last four games entering the tournament. Southern N.H. won the NE10 Regular Season Championship and are ranked No. 21 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Penmen have earned their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh overall. Southern New Hampshire is 1-3-3 all-time in the tournament. Southern N.H. was picked third in the NE10 Coaches' Poll and are led by sophomore Alyssa Anderson who has a team-high 18 points on a team-high seven goals and a team-high-tying four assists. Junior Jordan Butters is second on the team with 14 points by way of five goals and four assists and graduate student Allyson Patterson has six goals and one assist. Sophomore Z Kaplan is 7-0-1 in goal with 30 saves and a .857 save percentage and senior Hannah Rose is 6-3 with 17 saves and a .773 save percentage.
