DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Aug. 3, 2022) – For the seventh year, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2021-22 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy College Athletics will release a Top-10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Wednesday and Friday for the next five weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2021-22 athletic year being unveiled on Friday, August 5th.
No. 2 – Women's Soccer Advances to the Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament
Coming in at No. 2 in our 2021-22 Top-10 Moments is women's soccer who advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history.
After not having a season in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Mavericks were picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll. Mercy went 13-3-4 in 2019 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. The Mavericks entered 2021 having made the NCAA Tournament five times since 2013 and the ECC Championship seven straight seasons.
The Mavericks opened their 2021 season on September 3rd against Southern Connecticut State with a 1-0 win over the Owls. Nikki Bermudez scored the game-winning goal in the 38th minute in her Mercy debut, off an assist from Alexa Billingham, to give the Mavericks their first season-opening win since 2018.
Two days later, Mercy faced American International and earned a 0-0 draw after Melissa Torres made seven saves. Head Coach Danny Leon Jr. and the Mavericks earned another tie on September 9th against Adelphi by a score of 1-1. Sydney Cooper scored Mercy's lone goal in the 74th minute to help lead the Mavericks to another draw.
Mercy dropped their first game of the season on September 15th, 2-1, to Wilmington in their home opener. Billingham scored the Mavericks only goal as Mercy fell to 1-1-2 on the year. Mercy bounced back later in the week with a 3-0 win over Staten Island in their ECC opener on September 18th. Kayla Camacho, Skyler Schwenkler and Nikki Bermudez all scored in the win as they Mavericks won their eighth straight ECC opener.
Leon Jr. and the Mavericks won their second straight game on September 21st with a 3-1 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas to improve to 2-0 in ECC play for the first time since 2018. Claudia McKail, Nikki Bermudez, and Dominique Bono all found the back of the net as Mercy moved to 3-1-2 on the season.
The Mavericks later made it three wins in a row on September 25th when they took down Roberts Wesleyan by a score of 2-0. Schwenkler and Bermudez netted goals again and Jennifer Silva and Jessica Hoyt each had an assist.
Mercy extended their winning streak to four games on September 29th when they earned a 1-0 victory over Bridgeport at Mercy Field. McKail recorded the game-winning goal in the 6th minute of action and Torres earned her 25th career shutout in the win. The 25 career shutouts set a new school record, surpassing the previous record of 24 set by Nicole Augustine. Following the win over the Purple Knights, Torres was tabbed ECC Defensive Player of the Week.
The Mavericks faced their tallest task to date as they played at No. 7 Southern New Hampshire on October 5th. Bermudez tallied her team-leading fifth goal of the season and Torres made four saves as Mercy played the nationally-ranked Penmen to a 1-1 draw.
Mercy got back in the win column on October 9th when they earned a convincing 12-0 victory over Lincoln at Mercy Field. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 6-1-3 overall and 5-0 in ECC action. The 12 goals are the most scored in program history and the 12-goal margin of victory is the largest in program history. Madison Rosa led the way with a game-high five points on a goal and three assists. After the win over the Lions, Rosa was tabbed ECC Rookie of the Week.
Leon Jr. and the Mavericks stepped back into non-conference play on October 12th where they earned a 0-0 draw at Assumption. Torres made three saves to earn the shutout, moving Mercy to 6-1-4 on the year.
The Mavericks suffered their first ECC loss of the season and first loss since September 15th when they dropped a 1-0 decision to Molloy on October 16th. Mercy lost their second game in a row on October 18th when they fell 2-1 in overtime to Holy Family. With the loss, the Mavericks fell to 6-3-4 on the year.
Mercy ended the two-game losing streak with a convincing 3-1 win over ECC foe Queens on October 22nd. Fernanda Castro, Bono and Carli LoNigro all scored and Torres made five saves to earn the win. With the win, the Mavericks secured their eighth straight berth into the ECC Championship.
In a matchup for second place in the ECC, the Mavericks hosted Daemen on October 30th for Senior Day. Prior to the game, Mercy honored Torres, Hoyt, Cooper, Castro, McKail, Juliana Conforti, Veronica Scruggs, Casey Shimborske and Kaitlyn Denning. Bono stepped up and delivered the game-winning goal in the 59th minute, off an assist from Camacho, as the Mavericks celebrated Senior Day with a 1-0 win over the Wildcats. The win moved Mercy to 8-3-4 overall and 7-1 in ECC play. The Mavericks also moved into second place in the ECC standings with the win. Following the win over Daemen, Torres was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week.
In the first NCAA Regional Rankings the Mavericks were ranked eighth with seven teams qualifying for the NCAA Tournament from the East Region. Mercy concluded the regular season with a 2-1 win over D'Youville on November 6th with Camacho and McKail both scoring goals. The Mavericks ended the regular season with a 9-3-4 record overall and 8-1 mark in ECC play. Mercy also secured a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2017.
The Mavericks secured the No. 2 seed in the ECC Championship and would host No. 3 seed Daemen in a Semifinal matchup on November 11th. Prior to the matchup with the Wildcats, Mercy moved up to No. 7 in the NCAA Regional Rankings. Camacho was presented with the ECC Elite 19 Award for women's soccer prior to the game on November 11th. Camacho and McKail delivered goals for the Mavericks as Mercy earned a 2-0 win over Daemen to advance to the ECC Championship Game for the first time since 2017.
Mercy would play at top seed Molloy in the ECC Championship Final on November 14th. Prior to the game, Cooper was named ECC Defensive Player of the Year and Leon Jr. was tabbed Coach of the Year. Cooper, Bermudez and Schwenkler were tabbed First Team All-ECC and Torres received Second Team All-ECC honors.
The Mavericks battled against Molloy, but fell 1-0 in double overtime to the Lions, despite a game-high four saves from Torres. Mercy saw their four-game winning streak come to an end and now awaited a possible NCAA Tournament berth.
The NCAA Tournament committee recognized the Mavericks outstanding season to date and rewarded them with the No. 6 seed in the East Region. Mercy would now face No. 3 seed Southern New Hampshire in a First Round matchup at Molloy on November 18th. The NCAA Tournament appearance was the sixth in program history and fourth straight.
Mercy was facing a Southern New Hampshire team that they had faced earlier in the year. The two teams had met in the NCAA Tournament two prior times with the Mavericks winning both. Torres made two saves in the first 16 minutes of action to keep the game scoreless. The game remained scoreless until the 21st minute when Marlene Avalos drew a foul in the box and connected on the ensuing penalty kick to give Mercy a 1-0 lead.
The Mavericks forced Z Kaplan to make two saves in the remainder of the first half, heading into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The Penmen came out on the attack in the second half and forced Torres to make four saves in the half. However, the senior was up to the challenge and the Mercy defense withstood a late Southern N.H. charge to earn the 1-0 win.
Mercy advanced to the Second Round for the second straight year and would now face Molloy on November 20th. The two prior meetings in 2021 between the Mavericks and Lions were both decided by a goal and this time would be no different. The Mavericks had the best first scoring chance in the 2nd minute of action when a Camacho shot was stopped in front of the goal by Jackie Carty. Carty made another save in the 11th minute on a Billingham shot before Torres made two stops of her own to keep the game scoreless.
Carty made three more saves in the remainder of the half and Torres made one more stop to send the game into halftime scoreless. Mercy had a great opportunity when McKail sent a ball into the upper part of the net, but Carty jumped and deflected it out to force a corner.
Mercy wasted little time in scoring in the second half, recording the game's lone goal in the 51st minute to make it 1-0. Bermudez sent a cross into the box from the right to the left and McKail made a move, firing the ball past Carty into the lower right corner of the net to give Mercy the lead.
Torres made three saves in the second half to keep Molloy from scoring and the Mavericks defense withstood a late Molloy push to earn the win.
With the win, the Mavericks advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and the third time in program history. Mercy would play Saint Rose in the Sweet 16 on December 2nd at Concord University in West Virginia. Torres made a game-high five saves, but the Golden Knights came away with a 3-0 win to end the Mavericks season. Mercy's season came to an end with a 12-5-4 record and received votes in the final United Soccer Coaches Poll.
Cooper was named D2CCA First Team All-Region and Bermudez was tabbed Second Team All-Region. Cooper and Bermudez were both also named Second Team All-Region by the United Soccer Coaches.
Leon Jr. and the Mavericks will look to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season in 2022 with several key returners and a strong recruiting class.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2021-22 Season
Every Wednesday and Friday for the next five weeks, the Mercy College Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Wednesday, July 6th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Friday, August 5th.
No. 1 - August 5th
No. 2 - August 3rd
No. 3 - Women's Lacrosse Wins ECC Championship and Qualifies for NCAA Tournament
No. 4 - Women's Basketball Makes ECC Championship and Wins Most Games Since 1997
No. 5 - Baseball Qualifies for ECC Championship for Second Straight Season
No. 6 - Volleyball Makes ECC Championship for Second Straight Season
No. 7 - Softball Makes ECC Championship for Second Straight Year
No. 8 - Men's Soccer Nearly Qualifies for ECC Championship
No. 9 - Field Hockey Wins at No. 9 American International
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Sweeps Molloy for First Time Since 2005
