DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 22, 2022) – The No. 23 Mercy College men's soccer team plays at Molloy University on Saturday, September 24th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, September 24th 12 p.m.
Records: No. 23 Mercy (7-1-1, 3-0 ECC), Molloy (3-2-4, 2-0-1 ECC)
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Molloy
Mercy earned a 2-0 win at Molloy on October 16, 2021.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-1 win over Queens on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Luis Silva and seniors Vasco Baptista and David Breitenbach who all scored. Baptista, freshman Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen and junior Daniel Dalmau added assists. Mercy looks to continue their best start since 2019 when they started 8-1-1. The Mavericks are looking to start 4-0 in ECC play for the first time since 2019. Mercy is 9-6-2 in their last 17 meetings against Molloy dating back to 2005 and have won the last five meetings. Mercy is ranked No. 23 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 scored the game-winning goal in the win over D'Youville on Saturday. He has a team-high-tying three goals. Silva also has a team-high three goals and has scored all three goals in the last two games. Freshman Nicolás Cerda was named ECC Rookie of the Week on September 6th and has two goals. Breitenbach also has two goals 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 seven points on the year on two 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 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 seven points on two goals and three assists. Sophomore Eirik Elvestad is 6-0-1 in goal with 13 saves, a .722 save percentage and 0.77 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 earned a 2-1 win over UDC on Wednesday to remain unbeaten in ECC play. The Lions were picked in a tie for first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 9-7-5 last season. Molloy won the ECC Championship last season and brings back eight players who started at least 10 games last season. Returning for the Lions is ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year senior Orlando Zambrano. Molloy is led by sophomore Gio Fabiano who has a team-high five goals and 10 points. Junior Ryan Dobson has three goals and junior Jonas Jacobsen has two goals and an assist. Freshman Adam Lesniewski has a team-high three assists and senior Nick Conklu is 3-1-3 in goal with two shutouts, 29 saves, a 1.13 goals-against average and .763 save percentage.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Saturday, October 1st when they play at UDC at 12 p.m.
