DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 28, 2024) – The No. 23 Mercy University men's soccer team plays at Wilmington University on Wednesday, October 30th at 3:30 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 30th 3:30 p.m.
Records: #23 Mercy (7-2-5), Wilmington (6-7-2)
Location: Newark, Del.
Last Meeting vs. Wildcats
Wilmington earned a 4-1 win over Mercy on October 11, 2023.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy opens the 2024 season looking to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six seasons and qualify for the ECC Championship sixth time in seven seasons under ninth-year head coach Pedro Velazquez. The Mavericks went 9-4-5 last season, advancing to the Semifinals of the ECC Championship. Mercy was picked second in the ECC Preseason Poll and senior Eirik Elvestad was named ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Velazquez and the Mavericks return five of their top seven scorers from last year and return reigning ECC Defensive Player of the Year senior Julian Holland as well as 2022 ECC Defensive Player of the Year graduate student Benjamin Van Buren. Junior Johannes Hanken Tjostheim returns for the Mavericks after being named United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region, D2CCA Second Team All-Region and First Team All-ECC. The junior had 13 goals, four assists, 30 points and four game-winning goals last season. Hanken Tjostheim led the team in goals and points and tied for the ECC lead in goals. Junior Mateo Bacigalupo also returns after posting three goals and four assists in 2023. Holland was also named United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region and D2CCA First Team All-Region a year ago and posted three goals and three assists. Junior Jorgen Krohn-Pettersen and senior Antonio Sas both return after combining for five goals and one assist. Van Buren was named United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region and D2CCA First Team All-Region in 2022 after netting three goals and six points. Senior Martin Penafiel returns after recording a goal and three assists in 2023 and junior Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen is back after being named Third Team All-ECC a year ago. Schilbred-Eriksen dished out four assists in 17 games in 2023. Elvestad is back in goal for the Mavericks after being named ECC Goalkeeper of the Year for the second straight year. The senior went 9-4-5 in goal last season with 63 saves, a .750 save percentage, 1.18 goals-against average and six shutouts. Elvestad recorded his 100th career save last season and set the school record for career shutouts.
Mercy is coming off a 4-0 win over Daemen on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by junior Johannes Hanken Tjostheim, freshman Herman Borke and juniors Santiago Serrano and Mateo Bacigalupo who all scored. Hanken Tjostheim, Borke and senior Julian Holland were named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. Hanken Tjostheim and senior Antonio Sas were named to the ECC Honor Roll last week. Senior Eirik Elvestad was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for a second time on October 7th and Hanken Tjostheim was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Hanken Tjostheim and Holland were named to the ECC Honor Roll on September 30th. Holland was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on September 23rd and Hanken Tjostheim and Elvestad were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Hanken Tjostheim was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week on September 16th and graduate student Benjamin Van Buren was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week. Elvestad was named to the Honor Roll. Elvestad was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week on September 9th. Hanken Tjostheim has a team-high 17 goals and 39 points on the year and Bacigalupo has four goals and 10 points. Hanken Tjostheim currently is tied for the ECC lead in goals and is second in points. Sophomore Marcel Duffau has a goal and two assists and seniors Juan Jose Alvarez Acosta and junior Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen both have two assists on the year. Senior Martin Penafiel has three assists with one goal on the year. Junior Hugo Martin has three goals, and junior Santiago Serrano has two goals and four assists on the year. Holland has five assists with two goals and freshman Santiago Dutilh has one assist. Sas has a goal and two assists. Senior Franco Acri has two assists and Souhail has a goal and an assist. Borke has two goals and an assist and Nicolas Cerda has one goal. Elvestad is 6-2-4 in goal with 52 saves, a 0.96 goals-against average and .813 save percentage with six shutouts. Mercy is ranked No. 23 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Mavericks are also ranked third in the East Region Poll. Mercy is 2-2 in their last four meetings against the Wildcats.
Scouting the Wildcats
Wilmington is coming off a 6-0 win over Dominican on Saturday for their fourth straight win. The Wildcats were picked tied for third in the CACC Preseason Poll after going 8-6-4 last season, falling in the CACC Championship Quarterfinals. Wilmington is led by Theo Faillon who has a team-high 36 points on 16 goals and four assists. Michiharu Takanashi has 17 points on seven goals and three assists and Jhamaleek Porter has five goals and two assists. Tsubasa Abe has a team-high five assists with two goals and Charlie Phillips is 6-7-2 in goal with 55 saves, a .604 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Saturday, November 2nd when they host STAC at 12 p.m.
