DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 2, 2024) – Powered by two goals from junior Johannes Hanken Tjostheim (Aalesund, Norway/Spring Hill College) and a goal and an assist from junior Santiago Serrano (Bogota, Colombia/Rogers State University), the No. 23 Mercy University men's soccer team earned a 3-1 Senior Day win over ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
In a ceremony prior to the game, the Mavericks honored seniors Simon Steffensen (Aalborg, Denmark/Aalborghus Gymnasium), Joey Dos Santos (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck), Joaquin Gonzalez Mendoza (Guadalajara, Mexico/University of Hartford), Julian Holland (Tokyo, Japan/Iowa Western CC), Jorgen Krohn-Pettersen (Stavanger, Norway/Spring Hill College), Franco Acri (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Concord University), Hanken Tjostheim, Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen (Bergen, Norway/Tertnes Videregaaende Skole), Juan Jose Alvarez Acosta (Medellin, Colombia/St. Andrews University), Martin Penafiel (Santiago, Chile/Colegio del Verbo Divino), Antonio Sas (San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina/Alliance University), Juan Campillo Casas (Medellin, Colombia/Passaic County Technical Institute), Benjamin Van Buren (Anderson, S.C./USC Upstate) and Eirik Elvestad (Oslo, Norway/Blindern VGS) for their contributions to the program.
The Mavericks (9-2-5, 5-0-3 ECC) end the regular season with three straight wins and go unbeaten in ECC play for the second straight year. Mercy defeats the Spartans (6-8-3, 1-4-3 ECC) for the first time since 2019. The Mavericks have secured the #2 seed in next week's ECC Championship and will host the winner of #3 Roberts Wesleyan/#6 UDC in a Semifinal on Sunday, November 10th at 1 p.m.
Mercy was led by Hanken Tjostheim who had a game-high two goals. He has now tied the single-season school record with 22 goals and recorded his 100th career point. He had 20 points at Spring Hill College and has 80 points in two seasons as a Maverick. Serrano netted his third goal of the year and added his fifth assist of the year. Junior Matteo Azambuja (Paris, Franco/Eastern New Mexico University) added his second assist of the year and Elvestad played the first 61:55 minutes in goal with one save to earn the win. Steffensen played the final 28:05 in goal and made two saves to preserve the win.
STAC was led by James Ray who scored and by Johan Morales who made two saves to take the loss.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game following a Ray goal. Hanken Tjostheim tied the score at 1-1 in the 34th minute when he fired home his own rebound. Hanken Tjostheim later gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead following a through ball from Serrano in the 41st minute and Serrano capped off the scoring in the 42nd minute when he fired home a through ball from Azambuja, giving Mercy a 3-1 lead at halftime.
Elvestad and Steffensen combined for three saves in the second half to keep STAC off the scoreboard and Mercy earned the 3-1 Senior Day win.
Mercy held a 10-7 edge in shots and a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Mercy held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks.
