PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The #17 Mercy University Men's Soccer Team plays at Pace University on Wednesday, October 14th at 7 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 14th 7 p.m.
Records: #17 Mercy (9-2-3), Pace (5-5-3)
Location: Pleasantville, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Pace
Mercy earned a 2-1 win over Pace on October 15, 2025.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-1 win at Staten Island on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by seniors Pau Ramon and John Hollis and junior Joel Martinez who all scored. Mercy is ranked No. 17 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll and is ranked No. 7 in the first NCAA Regional Rankings. With a win, Mercy would have their most wins since 2022. Head Coach Pedro Velazquez recorded his 100th career win against AIC on September 16th. Hollis and junior Aalon Wilson-Wright were named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. Junior Philip Hauge was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on October 5th, graduate student Sean Green was named Goalkeeper of the Week and Lund-Iversen and junior Joel Martinez were named to the Honor Roll. Senior Pau Ramon was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on September 28th and senior Jacob Darwesh Lund-Iversen and graduate student Sean Green were named to the Honor Roll. Hollis and Lund-Iversen were named to the ECC Honor Roll on September 21st. Lund-Iversen was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week on September 14th, and senior John Hollis was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Junior Philip Hauge was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on September 7th, junior Harry Cooke was named Goalkeeper of the Week and Lund-Iversen was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Lund-Iversen was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week on August 31st and senior Mario de Roque Zazón was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks have been led by Lund-Iversen who has a team-high 28 points on 11 goals and six assists. He leads the ECC in points and goals. De Roque Zazón has three goals and Hauge has two goals. Senior John Hollis has a team-high nine assists with four goals and junior Herman Borke has three assists. Senior Diego Guzmán, junior Juan Gonzalez and freshman Marvin Spets each have two assists and junior Marcos Landivar has one assist. Dutilh and Lysoe each have one goal on the year and Pau Ramon has two goals and an assist. Martinez has three goals and Wilson-Wright has two goals and an assist. Graduate student Sean Green is 5-1-2 in goal with 28 saves, a .800 save percentage and 0.82 goals-against average. Cooke is 4-1-1 with 23 saves, a .767 save percentage and 1.30 goals-against average.
Mercy opens the 2026 season looking to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in eight seasons and qualify for the ECC Championship for the eighth time in nine seasons under Head Coach Pedro Velazquez. The Mavericks went 7-6-5 last season, qualifying for the ECC Championship. Mercy was picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll. Velazquez and the Mavericks look to win their first ECC Championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. Leading the returners for Velazquez is senior Mario de Roque Zazón who was named Second Team All-ECC last season after playing in 18 games with three goals, five assists, and 11 points. Senior Pau Ramon returns after receiving Third Team All-ECC honors in 2025 after starting all 18 games with three goals, one assist, and seven points. Junior Santiago Dutilh and senior John Hollis return after combining for four goals and four assists a year ago and junior Herman Borke is back after scoring one goal last season. Junior Marcos Landivar had one assist in 10 games last season and junior Juan Gonzalez returns after starting all 18 games last season on defense for the Mavericks. Senior Diego Guzmán and sophomore Erlend Skalstad also return after playing all 18 games last season and graduate students Mathias Joergenrud and Charles Lorenz, juniors Philip Hauge, Nanakofi Boadu, Caleb James, and Estefano Marchiori, and sophomores Henrik Bratli Aanensen, Petter Sommerli Lind, Nicolai Lysoe, and Christopher Nicolas-Martinez also return.
Velazquez also welcomes nine transfers and three freshmen to the team ahead of the 2026 season. Graduate student Sean Green joins Mercy from Lees-McRae College where he went 5-6-4 in goal with 61 saves, a .813 save percentage and 0.92 goals-against average in 2025. Junior Fredrik Balmforth joins the team from D'Youville University where he played in 29 games with two goals in two seasons. Senior Jacob Darwesh Lund-Iversen transfers from Maryville University where he played in 21 games with five goals and two assists in 2025. Junior Nicholas Tellez transfers in from Herkimer Community College and junior Aalon Wilson-Wright comes from Tiffin University where he played in 16 games and scored two goals in 2025. Junior Joel Martinez played at Mount Aloysius College where he recorded 12 goals and 12 assists in 34 games in two seasons. Junior Liam Brandt played two years at Nazareth University and junior Harry Cooke joins Mercy after two seasons at D'Youville. Freshman Dean Yamin started his career at Pace University before coming to Mercy.
The Mavericks also welcome freshmen Marvin Spets, Vicente Klett and Francisco Sanhueza who look to contribute immediately.
Hollis, Guzmán, and Hauge will serve as captains for the Mavericks this season.
Scouting the Setters
Pace is coming off a 6-0 loss to Bentley on Saturday. The Setters went 6-9-3 last season and were picked ninth in the NE10 Preseason Poll. Pace has been led by Daniel Santos who has a team-high 10 points on three goals and four assists. Jevan Khan has six points on three goals and Joshua Zapata has two goals. Joe Zweben is 4-2-3 in goal with 54 saves, a .771 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average.
Next Game
Mercy hosts D'Youville for Senior Day on Saturday, October 17th at 2 p.m.
