DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 3, 2022) – The No. 24 Mercy College men's soccer team hosts Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday, October 5th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 5th 12 p.m.
Records: No. 24 Mercy (8-2-1), Southern N.H. (5-2-2)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Southern N.H.
Mercy dropped a 6-2 decision to Southern New Hampshire on September 13, 2014.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 4-2 win over UDC on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by seniors Marco Passera and David Breitenbach, junior Daniel Rodriguez and sophomore Luis Silva who all scored. Mercy looks to continue their best start since the 2019 season. Mercy is ranked No. 24 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-tying four goals and has scored all four goals in the last four games. Freshman Nicolás Cerda was named ECC Rookie of the Week on September 6th and has two goals and an assist. Breitenbach also has a team-high-tying 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 a team-high-tying nine points on the year on three goals and three assists. Junior Carlos Fernandes has a goal and an assist on the year and freshman Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen has a team-high-tying five assists. Sophomore Martin Penafiel also has an assist. Baptista recorded his first collegiate goal in the win over Daemen on September 10th and has a team-high-tying nine points on two goals and five assists. Sophomore Eirik Elvestad is 7-1-1 in goal with 20 saves, a .690 save percentage and 1.06 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 Penmen
The Penmen earned a 3-0 win over New Haven on Saturday in their last game. Southern New Hampshire was picked third in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 11-6-1 last season, falling in the NE10 Semifinals. The Penmen are looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016. Southern New Hampshire is currently ranked fourth in the East Region according to the United Soccer Coaches. The Penmen are led by Luca Shubitidze who has a team-high nine points on three goals and a team-high three assists. Philipp Hermann is second on the team with six points on a team-high-tying three goals. Michael Garcia and Paul Makaj both have four points on two goals and Jaime Selva is second on the team with two assists. Preston Neal is 3-1-2 in goal with 11 saves, a .786 save percentage and 0.50 goals-against average and Jackson Rivers is 2-1 with 12 saves, a .923 save percentage and 0.33 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Saturday, October 8th when they host STAC at 12 p.m.
