DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 16, 2023) – The No. 24 Mercy University men's soccer team hosts Dominican University in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, October 17th at 2:30 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Tuesday, October 17th 2:30 p.m.
Records: #24 Mercy (7-2-4), Dominican (1-11)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Dominican
Dominican earned a 2-1 win over Mercy on November 4, 2021.
Scouting the Mavericks
The Mavericks earned a 1-0 win over ECC foe Molloy on Saturday in their last game. Mercy opens the 2023 season looking to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons and qualify for the ECC Championship for the fifth time in six seasons under eighth-year head coach Pedro Velazquez. The Mavericks went 12-3-5 last season winning their fifth ECC Championship and advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Mercy returns three of their top five goal scorers and eight student-athletes who started at least 10 matches in 2022. The Mavericks were picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll and return their leading goal scorer from last year in Third Team All-ECC selection junior Luis Silva who had six goals and two assists last season. Second Team All-ECC recipient senior Daniel Rodriguez also returns after starting 19 games last season with four goals and five assists. Sophomore Mateo Bacigalupo returns after scoring three goals in his freshman campaign. Third Team All-ECC honoree junior Martin Penafiel netted two goals and two assists last season and ECC Preseason Defensive Co-Player of the Year junior Eirik Elvestad returns in goal after going 11-2-5 last season with 64 saves, a .790 save percentage and 0.95 goals-against average. He was named ECC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year and All-Region last season. Returning on defense is reigning ECC Rookie of the Year sophomore Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen who had six assists last season. Sophomore Johannes Hanken Tjostheim has been named ECC Offensive Player of the Week three times and has a team-high 21 points on an ECC-best 10 goals with one assist. Senior Carlos Fernandes has been named to the ECC Honor Roll three times and is second on the team with 10 points on three goals and a team-high four assists. Fernandes scored the game-winning goal in Mercy's win over Southern Connecticut State on September 9th. Bacigalupo has three goals and three assists on the year and freshman Diego Guzman, sophomore Jorgen Krohn-Pettersen, junior Juan José Alvarez Acosta and Silva also have a goal. Junior Julian Holland has three goals and two assists on the year and has been named ECC Defensive Co-Player of the Week twice. Graduate student Phillimon Bédard-Khalid and Rodriguez both have three assists and Schilbred-Eriksen has two assists. Sophomore Nicolás Cerda and Penafiel each have an assist. Elvestad is 7-2-4 in goal with 43 saves, a .768 save percentage and 1.01 goals-against average. The junior has been named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week twice and recorded his 100th career save at Queens. Elvestad also now has a school-record 17 career shutouts. Silva was named to the ECC Honor Roll on September 25th after scoring the game-winning goal against Queens. Schilbred-Eriksen was tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll last week. The Mavericks are ranked third in the latest United Soccer Coaches East Region poll and are ranked No. 24 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll released last week. Mercy is 4-5-1 in their last 10 meetings against Dominican, but have won four of the last five meetings.
Scouting the Chargers
Dominican is coming off a 9-0 loss to Holy Family on Saturday. The Chargers were picked tied for ninth in the CACC Preseason Poll after going 1-12-5 last season. Dominican is led by sophomore Guilherme Pirana who has a team-high 10 points on a team-high four goals with two assists. Freshman Noa Ahlfors is second on the team with seven points on three goals and one assist. Senior Jacob Owen has three goals and junior Simon Ostrowski and Griffin Van Cott both have two assists. David Arteaga is 1-7 in goal with 66 saves, a .742 save percentage and 3.07 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Saturday, October 21st when they host Dist. Columbia at 1 p.m.
