BUFFALO, N.Y. — Powered by six different Mavericks scoring, the No. 15 Mercy University Women's Soccer Team earned a 6-2 win at ECC foe D'Youville University to secure the ECC Regular Season Championship on Saturday afternoon at Dobson Field.
The Mavericks (13-2-2, 5-0-2 ECC) secure their first ECC Regular Season Championship since 2022, the first under Head Coach Jack Nicholson and the fourth in program history. Mercy improves to 5-0-1 all-time against the Saints (2-10-3, 1-5-1 ECC). The Mavericks finish unbeaten in ECC play for the first time since 2022. The 13 regular season wins are the most for the Mavericks since 2019. Mercy has secured the No. 1 seed in next week's ECC Women's Soccer Championship and will host a semifinal matchup on Sunday, November 9th.
Mercy established a dominant presence early in the match against the Saints, with senior Ancksu Dixon (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) scoring in the 8th minute, assisted by sophomore Hailey Metzger (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur). Freshman Camila Salvador (Santiago, Chile/Santiago College) extended Mercy's lead shortly after in the 9th minute, bringing the score to 2-0. Mercy continued their offensive momentum with Metzger scoring in the 18th minute, thanks to graduate student Madison Rosa's (Dublin, Calif./Dublin) assist, pushing the score to 3-0. Sophomore Sophia Campites (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) capped the first half with a fourth goal in the 34th minute, assisted by senior Anna Deutscher (Heidenheim, Germany/Monroe CC). D'Youville's Laoise O'Haodha managed to put her team on the scoreboard with a goal in the 44th minute, concluding the half at 4-1 in Mercy's favor.
Mercy extended their lead early in the second half with a goal by Rosa in the 56th minute, assisted by freshman Rosa Pistone (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West), to bring the score to 5-1. Freshman Casey Szczotka (Mattituck, N.Y./Mattituck) added to Mercy's advantage with a goal in the 70th minute, making it 6-1. D'Youville responded with a goal from Madayia Simons in the 82nd minute, narrowing the deficit to 6-2. Despite several shot attempts by Mercy, including two shots saved by Amanda Kit, the game concluded with Mercy securing a decisive victory.
Rosa contributed significantly with one goal and one assist. Metzger also delivered a strong performance, scoring one goal and providing one assist, which included the game-winning goal. Salvador added to the team's efforts with one goal, converting one of her three shots into a score. Dixon and Szczotka scored and Campites recorded her first collegiate goal. Sophomore Anneliese Becker (Stafford, Va./Mountain View) played the first half in goal to earn the win. Freshman Peighton McKenna (Islip, N.Y./Islip) played the second half in goal to preserve the win.
Laoise O'Haodha scored one goal and contributed with two shots, one of which was on goal. Madayia Simons also added a goal, capitalizing on her only shot, which was on target. In goal, Amanda Kit made three saves over 45 minutes, facing 11 shots and allowing two goals. Alegra Black recorded one save and faced eight shots, conceding four goals across her 45 minutes of play.
Mercy held a 19-3 edge in shots, a 10-2 edge in shots on goal and an 11-0 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Jack Nicholson and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, November 9th when they host an ECC Championship Semifinal at 1 p.m.
