DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 4, 2022) – The No. 3 seed Mercy College men's soccer team plays at No. 1 seed Molloy University in the ECC Men's Soccer Championship Final on Sunday, November 6th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Sunday, November 6th 12 p.m.
Records: No. 3 Mercy (12-2-4, 4-1-3 ECC), No. 1 Molloy (8-4-7, 6-0-2 ECC)
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Tickets
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
All Games
$8 -General Admission (ticket price raised to $10 starting at midnight the day of the game)
$4 – Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12 (ticket price raised to $5 starting at midnight day of the game)
Children under 5 free for all games
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Cash will not be accepted so walkup tickets at the venue still must be purchased through the ECC website (QR code will be available at the gate).
Last Meeting vs. Molloy
Molloy earned a 2-1 win over Mercy on September 24, 2022.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-2 overtime win at Queens in the ECC Semifinals on Thursday. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Martin Penafiel who scored the game-winning goal and by freshman Mateo Bacigalupo and senior Vasco Baptista who also scored. Sophomore Eirik Elvestad made five saves in goal to earn the win. Elvestad was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week, freshman Mateo Bacigalupo was tabbed Rookie of the Week and Baptista was named to the Honor Roll on Monday. Sophomore Penafiel was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week last week. On October 11th, sophomore Elvestad was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen was tabbed Rookie of the Week. Mercy has qualified for the ECC Championship for the fourth time in five seasons. The Mavericks are making their first appearance since 2019 and are looking for their fifth ECC Championship. In 2019, Mercy won their last ECC Championship. The Mavericks have advanced to the Final for the third time in four seasons. Mercy is 9-7-2 against Molloy in their last 18 meetings, but the Mavericks have won five of the last six meetings. Mercy is ranked No. 13 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll and fourth in the latest NCAA Super-Region 1 Regional Rankings. 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 is second on the team with 14 points. Freshman Nicolás Cerda was named ECC Rookie of the Week on September 6th and has two goals and an assist. Senior David Breitenbach has five goals and 11 points and freshman Mateo Bacigalupo has three goals on the season, recording the game-winning goal in Mercy's win over New Haven on August 28th and against Bridgeport on October 26th. He was named to the ECC Honor Roll on August 29th. Junior Daniel Rodriguez has a team-high-tying 13 points on the year on four goals and five assists. Junior Carlos Fernandes has a goal and an assist on the year and Schilbred-Eriksen has six assists. Sophomore Martin Penafiel also has two goals and two assists. Baptista recorded his first collegiate goal in the win over Daemen on September 10th and has a team-high 15 points on four goals and a team-high seven assists. Senior Marco Passera has scored two goals. Elvestad is 11-1-4 in goal with 47 saves, a .783 save percentage and 0.83 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 Lions
Molloy is coming off a 3-3 draw against Roberts Wesleyan on Thursday. The Lions advanced to the Final after winning penalty kicks 5-4. Molloy is making their second straight ECC Final appearance and look to win their second straight ECC Championship. The Lions won their first ECC Regular Season Championship this season. Molloy is led by Gio Fabiano who has a team-high 18 points on nine goals. Ryan Dobson is second on the team with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. J.P. Rodriguez ranks third on the team with 12 points on five goals and two assists and Danny Muir has a team-high six assists. Nick Conklu is 8-3-6 in goal with 67 saves, a .779 save percentage and 1.07 goals-against average.
