DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 1, 2022) – The Mercy College men's soccer team plays at Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday, September 3rd at 2 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, September 3rd 2 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-0-1), Southern Connecticut State (1-0-1)
Location: New Haven, Conn.
Last Meeting
Mercy earned a 2-0 win over the Owls on September 4, 2021 in Dobbs Ferry.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-3 draw at Adelphi on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by senior Benjamin Van Buren, junior Carlos Fernandes and freshman Nicolás Cerda who all scored. Junior Daniel Rodriguez dished out a game-high two assists and sophomore Martin Penafiel also had an assist. Sophomore Eirik Elvestad made two saves in 90 minutes of action. Van Buren has a team-high two goals on the season and was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. He scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute of Mercy's season-opening win over Saint Rose on August 25th. 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 Monday. Rodriguez has a team-high five points on the year on a goal and a team-high three assists. Elvestad is 1-0-1 in goal with three saves, a .429 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average. Freshman Simon Steffensen made the start against New Haven and had five saves to earn the shutout win. The Mavericks are off to their best start since 2019 when they also started 2-0-1. Mercy looks to start 3-0-1 for the first time since 2019. 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 junior Daniel Dalmau who had nine points on four goals and one assist in 2021. Senior David 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 Owls
Southern Connecticut State is coming off a 1-1 tie at Bridgeport on August 28th. The Owls opened their 2022 season on August 25th with a 2-0 win at Dominican. Southern Connecticut State was picked eighth in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 4-12-1 last season. The Owls are led by Zico Groenveld who has a team-high four points on two goals. Joshi Munoz also has a goal and Yannick Hilpert has one assist. Alex da Cunha returns for the Owls on defense after being named Third Team All-NE10. Leroy Best had a team-high three goals last season and Devin Juan is 1-0-1 in goal with four saves, a .800 save percentage and 0.50 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, September 7th when they host American International at 3 p.m.
