DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 16, 2022) – The No. 23 Mercy College men's soccer team hosts East Stroudsburg University on Tuesday, October 18th at 3 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Tuesday, October 18th 3 p.m.
Records: No. 23 Mercy (9-2-3), East Stroudsburg (6-7-1)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 0-0 draw at Staten Island on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Eirik Elvestad who made three saves. Last week, Elvestad was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen was tabbed Rookie of the Week. Mercy looks to continue their best start since the 2019 season and surpass their win total from all of last year. Mercy is ranked No. 23 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll and third in the East Region. Senior Benjamin Van Buren was named to the ECC Honor Roll on September 19th and has been named ECC Defensive Player of the Week once. Van Buren scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute of Mercy's season-opening win over Saint Rose on August 25th and scored the game-winning goal in the win over D'Youville on Saturday. He has three goals. Sophomore Luis Silva has a team-high six goals and 12 points and has scored all six goals in the last six games. Freshman Nicolás Cerda was named ECC Rookie of the Week on September 6th and has two goals and an assist. Senior David Breitenbach has four goals and nine points and freshman Mateo Bacigalupo has one goal on the season, recording the game-winning goal in Mercy's win over New Haven on August 28th. He was named to the ECC Honor Roll on August 29th. Junior Daniel Rodriguez has 10 points on the year on three goals and three assists. Junior Carlos Fernandes has a goal and an assist on the year and Schilbred-Eriksen has a team-high six assists. Sophomore Martin Penafiel also has two assists. Baptista recorded his first collegiate goal in the win over Daemen on September 10th and has 11 points on three goals and five assists. Senior Marco Passera has scored two goals. Elvestad is 8-1-3 in goal with 33 saves, a .767 save percentage and 0.87 goals-against average. Freshman Simon Steffensen is 1-1 in net with eight saves, a .727 save percentage and 1.20 goals-against average. Mercy enters the 2022 season looking to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons and qualify for the ECC Championship for the fourth time in five seasons under seventh-year head coach Pedro Velazquez. The Mavericks went 9-5-2 last season and missed qualifying for the ECC Championship due to a tiebreaker. Mercy has posted a winning record in each of Velazquez's five seasons as head coach. The Mavericks are looking to win their first ECC Championship since 2019 and were picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll. Mercy's leading returning scorer is Dalmau who had nine points on four goals and one assist in 2021. Breitenbach also returns after posting two goals and three assists. Penafiel returns after recording two goals and two assists and Van Buren and Kevin Aguilar return on defense.
Scouting the Warriors
East Stroudsburg is coming off a 1-0 win over Lock Haven on Wednesday. The Warriors were picked to finish fourth in the PSAC East Division Preseason Poll after going 7-8-2 last season. East Stroudsburg has made the NCAA Tournament 24 times in program history and have won 20 PSAC Championships. The Warriors are led by Colby Raymond who has a team-high seven points on three goals and an assist. Ethan Flickinger and Pieter Neerhof both have three goals and Nathan Bradway has two goals and two assists. Stelios Melekos has a team-high three assists and Brayden Evans is 4-3 in goal with 40 saves, a .800 save percentage and 1.18 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, October 26th when they play at Bridgeport at 4 p.m.
