DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 9, 2021) – The No. 2 seed Mercy College women's soccer team hosts No. 3 seed Daemen in an ECC Women's Soccer Championship Semifinal matchup on Thursday, November 11th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Thursday, November 11th 12 p.m.
Records: No. 2 Mercy (9-3-4), No. 3 Daemen (9-5-1)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Daemen
Mercy earned a 1-0 win over Daemen on October 30, 2021.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 2-1 win over D'Youville on Saturday that gave the Mavericks a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship. Sophomore Kayla Camacho and senior Claudia McKail scored and graduate student Nikki Bermudez added an assist. The Mavericks have qualified for the ECC Tournament for the eighth straight year and are looking to advance to the Championship Game for the first time since 2017. Mercy has won the ECC Championship twice in 2014 and 2017 and is looking to make their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The winner of Thursday's game will face the winner of No. 1 Molloy/No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday, November 14th in the Championship Game at the highest remaining seed. The Mavericks are 7-1 all-time against Daemen with the lone loss coming at Daemen in 2019. 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 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 is second on the team in points with 10 by way of four 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 has an ECC-best six assists with 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 eight points on three 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 sophomore Skyler Schwenkler has two goals. 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. Senior Melissa Torres is 8-2-4 in goal with 38 saves, six shutouts and a .826 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 0.55 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 Wildcats
Daemen enters Thursday's game coming off a 2-1 win over Queens on Saturday. The Wildcats finished third in the ECC after going 7-1-1 in ECC play with the lone loss coming to Mercy on October 30th. Daemen is 4-1-1 in their last six games and is making their second appearance in the ECC Championship in three seasons. The Wildcats are looking for their first-ever ECC Championship. 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 fourth in the ECC in points and freshman Alyssa Diaz is second on the team in points with 16 by way of six goals and four assists. Junior Faye Panagopoulos is third on the team with 13 points on five goals and three assists and sophomore Brooke Amato has 11 points on five goals and one assist. Junior Tori DeLappi is 9-5-1 in goal with 71 saves, a .798 save percentage and three shutouts in 15 starts.
