DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 5, 2021) – The Mercy College women's soccer team plays at ECC foe D'Youville on Saturday, November 6th at 12 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Saturday, November 6th 12 p.m.

Records: Mercy (8-3-4, 7-1 ECC), D'Youville (5-7-2, 2-4-2 ECC)

Location: Buffalo, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. D'Youville

Saturday's meeting is the first between the two schools.

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy is coming off a 1-0 win over Daemen last Saturday on Senior Day. The Mavericks were led by junior Dominique Bono who scored and by sophomore Kayla Camacho who had an assist. Senior Melissa Torres made three saves to earn the shutout win. The Mavericks have secured a spot in the ECC Tournament for the eighth straight year and with a win or tie would secure a top two seed in the ECC Tournament. The top two seeds in the ECC Tournament will host a Semifinal matchup on Thursday, November 11th. Mercy was ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings with seven teams from the East Region making the NCAA Tournament. 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. Bono is currently second on the team with four goals and has eight points on the year. She was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. 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. Junior Carli LoNigro has six points on the year on three goals and was named to the ECC Honor Roll last week. Camacho has six points on two goals and two assists and junior Alexa Billingham has five points 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 7-2-4 in goal with 36 saves, six shutouts and a .837 save percentage. Torres was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. She is tied for first 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 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 Saints

D'Youville enters Saturday's game off a 5-0 win over Lincoln on Thursday. The Saints have recorded ECC wins over Lincoln and St. Thomas Aquinas in their first season as members of the ECC. D'Youville was picked ninth in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 10-6-2 in 2019. The Saints also went 0-4 during the spring of 2021 and are led by senior Maggie Leeds who has a team-high 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Freshman Jillian Bernas has 11 points on four goals and three assists and junior Jordan Pachla has a team-high six assists. Senior Laurie Poeller is 5-7-2 in goal with 89 saves, a .795 save percentage, 1.66 goals against average and one shutout on the year.