DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 31, 2023) – For the eighth year, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2022-23 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 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2022-23 athletic year being unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 1 – Women's Soccer Wins ECC Championship and NCAA Tournament Game
Coming in at No. 1 in our 2022-23 Top-10 Moments is women's soccer who won their third ECC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and won an NCAA Tournament game.
The Mavericks entered the 2022 season coming off a year in which they went 12-5-4 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Mercy was picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll and received votes nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
After their season-opening game against Southern New Hampshire was canceled, the Mavericks opened their 2022 season on August 28th against Franklin Pierce. Graduate student Nikki Bermudez had a game-high two shots on goal, but the Mavericks dropped a 1-0 decision to the Ravens. Mercy lost their season opener for the first time since 2019.
Mercy bounced back in a huge way on August 31st, cruising to a 7-2 win over Southern Connecticut State in their home opener. Freshman Ancksu Dixon exploded for two goals and two assists and junior Kayla Camacho had two goals. Bermudez, graduate student Jessica Hoyt and junior Skyler Schwenkler also scored. Freshman Kamy Anaya made three saves in the first 69:58 minutes of action to earn her first collegiate win.
Head Coach Danny Leon Jr. and the Mavericks made it two wins in a row when they earned a 5-1 win at Wilmington on September 3rd. Bermudez scored a game-high two goals and Camacho added her third goal of the season. Graduate student Claudia McKail added her first goal of the season and junior Toni Valadez netted her first collegiate goal. The win moved Mercy to 2-1 on the year.
The Mavericks hosted Adelphi on September 6th and junior Jennifer Silva scored the game-winning goal in the 44th minute, off a graduate student Sydney Cooper free kick, to give Mercy a 1-0 win over the Panthers. The goal was Silva's first of her collegiate career. Anaya made five saves to earn the shutout win. Following the win, Bermudez was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week, Dixon was tabbed Rookie of the Week and Cooper was named to the Honor Roll.
Mercy opened ECC play at Daemen on September 10th. Dixon and sophomore Isabella Messina both scored goals as the Mavericks earned a 2-0 win over the Wildcats to move to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in ECC play. Mercy opened ECC play with a win for the ninth straight season. Camacho had a game-high two assists in the win. Following the pair of wins, Anaya was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and Camacho and Dixon were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Leon Jr. and the Mavericks resumed action on September 13th with a home game against Holy Family. Camacho had a game-high three points on a goal and an assist and Bermudez also scored as the Mavericks earned a 2-1 win to earn their fifth straight win. Junior Madison Rosa added her third assist and Anaya made six saves.
The Mavericks were ranked No. 25 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Poll ahead of their matchup with D'Youville on September 17th. Four different Mavericks scored as Mercy earned a 4-0 win over the Saints to move to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in ECC play. Mercy started 6-1 for the first time since 2018. Bermudez had a game-high four points on a goal and two assists and Camacho, Hoyt and McKail also scored. Bermudez and Camacho were named to the ECC Honor Roll following the win over D'Youville.
Mercy moved up to No. 21 nationally ahead of their game with Queens on September 21st. Cooper and Bermudez both scored as the Mavericks earned a 2-0 win over the Knights to move to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in ECC play. Dixon and McKail both added assists in the win.
Leon Jr. and the Mavericks played at defending ECC Champion Molloy on September 24th and dominated throughout, earning a 5-1 win over the Lions. Hoyt and Dixon both scored two goals and Silva also scored in the win. Anaya made a career-high eight saves to earn the win in goal. Mercy extended their win streak to eight games with the win and the four-goal margin of victory was the Mavericks greatest margin of victory over the Lions in program history. After the win over Molloy, Dixon was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week, Anaya was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week and Hoyt was named to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks inched up to No. 15 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Poll after the win over Molloy. Mercy made it nine wins in a row on October 5th when they earned a 2-0 win over Le Moyne. Camacho and freshman Emma Best both scored, and Rosa and Silva added assists in the victory. Mercy improved to 9-1 on the year and 6-0 at home.
Mercy capped off the week with a convincing 4-0 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on October 8th. Camacho netted two goals in the win and junior Marlene Avalos and Silva also scored to lead the Mavericks. Mercy won their 10th game in a row for the first time since 2017 and the Mavericks started ECC play 5-0 for the second straight year. Mercy also recorded double-digit wins in a season for the sixth straight season. Camacho was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week and Silva was tabbed to the Honor Roll after the win.
Leon Jr. and the Mavericks saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end on October 10th with a 2-1 loss to Bentley. Dixon scored her sixth goal of the season and Schwenkler and Rosa added assists in the loss.
The Mavericks bounced back in a big way as they earned a 6-0 win at Staten Island on October 15th to move to 11-2 overall and 6-0 in ECC play. Mercy started 6-0 in ECC play for the first time since 2014 and secured their ninth straight ECC Championship berth. Camacho and Dixon both had two goals and an assist and Silva, and senior Dominique Bono also scored. After the win, Dixon was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week and Camacho was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy sat at No. 19 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and was one of 10 teams under consideration for a spot in the NCAA Tournament in the first East Region Regional Rankings. The Mavericks dominated Lincoln on October 19th, earning an 11-0 victory to move to 12-2 overall and 7-0 in ECC play. Bermudez had a game-high seven points on three goals and one assist, Dixon had a game-high four assists and Camacho had a goal. Bono and Messina also scored and Best had two goals. Hoyt, Cooper, and Rosa also netted goals in the win. After the big win, Bermudez and Dixon were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll.
The Mavericks sat at No. 20 nationally and third in the NCAA Regional Rankings ahead of their regular season finale against Roberts Wesleyan on October 29th. Prior to the game, Mercy honored seniors Bermudez, Tyra Anderson, Alexa Billingham, Bono, Cooper, Hoyt and McKail. Anaya made two saves in the game as the Mavericks earned a 0-0 draw against the Redhawks. Mercy ended the regular season 12-2-1 overall and 7-0-1 in ECC play, earning the program's first-ever outright ECC Regular Season Championship. The Mavericks earned their third ECC Regular Season Championship and went unbeaten in ECC play for the first time. Mercy secured the top seed in the ECC Tournament and would host No. 4 seed Daemen in a Semifinal matchup on November 2nd.
Rosa had a goal and an assist and Dixon also scored as the Mavericks earned a 2-0 win over Daemen to advance to the Final for the second straight year and fifth time in program history. Mercy would host No. 2 seed Molloy in a rematch of the Final from 2021 on November 5th.
The Mavericks faced Molloy on November 5th in the Final and would secure their third ECC Championship and first since 2017 after winning in penalty kicks. Shannon Kilian made three saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless at halftime. Kilian stopped five more shots to open the second half. Mercy had great scoring chances in the 71st and 72nd minutes when shots by Dixon and Best were stopped by Molloy defenders, a Dixon shot hit the crossbar and a Silva shot was stopped by Kilian. The game remained scoreless after regulation, sending the game into overtime.
Neither team recorded a shot on goal in the first overtime and the game went to the second overtime scoreless.
Kilian stopped a Silva shot in the 101st minute, but the game stayed scoreless, sending the contest into penalty kicks.
Molloy made their first penalty kick and Bermudez connected on hers to make it 1-1. Sarah Tappeto and Silva both made each team's second attempt to bring the score to 2-2. Anaya then stopped a Lexi Verni attempt and Rosa scored on her attempt to give Mercy a 3-2 lead. Molloy tied it at 3-3 before Avalos put Mercy ahead 4-3 with her make. Eleni Sofroniou netted her goal to make it 4-4 before Dixon stepped up and delivered the game-winning penalty kick to give Mercy the 5-4 win penalty kicks and their third ECC Championship. Anaya was named the ECC Championship's Most Outstanding Player following the game and the Mavericks secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Mavericks secured the No. 4 seed in the East Region in the NCAA Tournament and would face No. 5 seed Adelphi in a First Round matchup on November 11th at Saint Rose. Mercy earned their seventh berth into the NCAA Tournament and fifth straight appearance. The Mavericks were facing Adelphi for the second time this season after defeating them 1-0 at home earlier in the season. Mercy came out with the first two shots on goal of the game before Bermudez fed Dixon for the first goal of the game in the 22nd minute to make it 1-0. Anaya closed the half with two saves to keep Mercy ahead 1-0 at halftime.
Anaya made her final save in the 62nd minute to keep Adelphi from scoring. McKail added to the Mavericks lead in the 86th minute to make it 2-0 after another Bermudez assist. Dixon put the finishing touches on the win with her second goal of the game with less than 30 seconds left to give Mercy the 3-0 win.
The win moved Mercy to 14-2-2 overall and the Mavericks advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. Mercy would face Saint Rose in the Second Round on November 13th.
Hoyt recorded a shot on goal and Anaya made three saves as the Mavericks dropped a 5-0 decision to top seed Saint Rose on November 13th, ending their season in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season. Mercy ended the season 14-3-2 with their most wins in a season since 2017. The Mavericks ended the season receiving votes in the final United Soccer Coaches Poll.
Following another successful season, the awards began to pile up for the Mavericks. Bermudez was named ECC Offensive Player of the Year, Cooper was named Defensive Player of the Year, Anaya was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year, Dixon was named Rookie of the Year and Leon Jr. was named Coach of the Year. Bermudez, Cooper, Anaya, Dixon, Camacho, and Hoyt were named First Team All-ECC and Silva was named Second Team All-ECC. McKail, Anderson, Rosa and Schwenkler were named Third Team All-ECC to cap off a school-record 11 All-Conference recipients.
Cooper and Bermudez were also named D2CCA First Team All-Region and Anaya, Dixon and Camacho were tabbed Second Team All-Region. Cooper was also named United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region and Bermudez, Camacho, Anaya, and Dixon were tabbed to the Second Team. Bermudez was also named D2CCA Third Team All-American.
The Mavericks also excelled in the classroom with Bermudez, Cooper, Hoyt, Bono, Camacho and Schwenkler being named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District. Bermudez was also named Second Team Academic All-American and was tabbed ECC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Leon Jr. and the Mavericks had a strong 2022 campaign and will look to continue that success in 2023.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2022-23 Season
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, the Mercy College Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Monday, July 10th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 1 – July 31st
No. 2 – Men's Lacrosse Wins Fourth Straight ECC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and Hosts NCAA Tournament Game
No. 3 – Men's Soccer Wins ECC Championship and Hosts NCAA Tournament Game
No. 4 – Women's Lacrosse Wins ECC Championship
No. 5 – Women's Basketball Wins Most Games Since 1989 and Hosts First-Ever ECC Tournament Game
No. 6 – Volleyball Posts First Winning Season Since 2005 and Qualifies for ECC Tournament
No. 7 – Field Hockey Posts First Winning Season in Program History
No. 8 – Baseball Qualifies for ECC Tournament for Third Straight Year and Wins First ECC Tournament Game Since 2010
No. 9 - Softball Qualifies for ECC Tournament for Third Straight Year
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Sweeps Bridgeport for First Time Since 2005
