DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 15, 2022) – The No. 24 Mercy College men's soccer team hosts D'Youville University on Saturday, September 17th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, September 17th 12 p.m.
Records: No. 24 Mercy (5-1-1, 1-0 ECC), D'Youville (1-4, 0-1 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting
Mercy earned a 14-0 win over D'Youville on November 6, 2021.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 2-0 win over Jefferson on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by junior Daniel Rodriguez and senior David Breitenbach who both scored. Freshman Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen and senior Vasco Baptista added assists and sophomore Eirik Elvestad made four saves. Mercy looks to get off to their best start since 2019 when they started 7-0-1. The Mavericks are looking to start 2-0 in ECC play for the first time since 2019. The Mavericks are 1-0 all-time against D'Youville with the lone meeting coming last season. Mercy is ranked No. 24 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. Senior Benjamin Van Buren was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday 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 has a team-high-tying two goals. Freshman Nicolás Cerda was named ECC Rookie of the Week last week and has a team-high-tying two goals. 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. Rodriguez has a team-high seven points on the year on a team-high-tying two goals and a team-high-tying three assists. Junior Carlos Fernandes has a goal and an assist on the year and Schilbred-Eriksen has a team-high-tying three assists. Sophomore Martin Penafiel also has an assist. Baptista recorded his first collegiate goal in the win over Daemen on Saturday and has an assist. Elvestad is 4-0-1 in goal with eight saves, a .667 save percentage and 0.80 goals-against average. Freshman Simon Steffensen is 1-1 in net with seven saves, a .700 save percentage and 1.50 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 Saints
D'Youville dropped a 1-0 decision to Queens on Saturday. The Saints were picked ninth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 5-10-3 overall last season and 0-8-1 in ECC play. D'Youville is led by sophomore Felipe Santos who has a team-high three goals and six points on the year. Senior Avery Grondin and freshman Felipe Pugas both have a goal. Freshman Arthur Da Silva has a team-high two assists and sophomore Ethan Picard is 1-4 in goal with 25 saves, a .641 save percentage and 3.57 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, September 21st when they host Queens at 3 p.m.
