SPARKILL, N.Y. – The #4 seeded Mercy University Men's Soccer Team plays at #1 seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College in an ECC Men's Soccer Championship Semifinal matchup on Sunday, November 1st at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Sunday, November 1st 12 p.m.
Records: #4 Mercy (12-4-3, 4-3-1 ECC), #1 St. Thomas Aquinas (9-4-4, 6-0-2 ECC)
Location: Sparkill, N.Y.
Championship Central
Tickets
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
All Games
$10 – General Admission for adults
$5 – Students w/ID, Senior Citizens and Children 5 and Up
Children under 5 are free of charge
*Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Cash will not be accepted so walkup tickets at the venue still must be purchased through the ECC website.
Last Meeting vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
Mercy dropped a 3-2 decision to STAC on September 19, 2026.
Scouting the Mavericks
The Mavericks are coming off a 1-0 double-overtime win over #5 seed Queens in the First Round of the ECC Championship on Thursday. Mercy was led by sophomore Nicolai Lysoe who scored the game-winning goal and by graduate student Sean Green who made a game-high seven saves. Mercy is ranked No. 18 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll and is ranked No. 7 in the latest Regional Rankings. Mercy is making their fifth straight ECC Championship appearance and eighth appearance in 10 seasons under Head Coach Pedro Velazquez. The Mavericks look to win their fourth ECC Tournament Championship, having previously won in 2004, 2019 and 2022. Mercy has advanced to the semifinals for the third time in four seasons. The Mavericks look to advance to the Final for the first time since 2022 and for the fifth time in program history. Lund-Iversen was named ECC Offensive Player of the Year and Lund-Iversen and seniors John Hollis and Pau Ramon were named First Team All-ECC and juniors Joel Martinez and Herman Borke and graduate student Sean Green received Third Team All-ECC. Velazquez recorded his 100th career win against AIC on September 16th. Velazquez became the all-time winningest coach in program history with his 107th career against Queens on October 29th.
The Mavericks have been led by Lund-Iversen who has a team-high 33 points on 13 goals and seven 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 14 assists with four goals and junior Herman Borke has three assists. Hollis leads Division II in assists and has set a new single-season school record for assists. Senior Diego Guzmán has three assists and juniors Juan Gonzalez and Marcos Landivar have two assists. Dutilh and Ramon both have two goals and an assist and Lysoe has three goals. Martinez has four goals and Wilson-Wright has two goals and two assists. Spets has two goals and three assists and graduate student Sean Green is 8-3-2 in goal with 54 saves, a .818 save percentage and 0.88 goals-against average. Cooke is 4-1-1 with 23 saves, a .767 save percentage and 1.30 goals-against average.
Mercy opened 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 Spartans
STAC is coming off a 3-1 win at Adelphi on Tuesday, extending their winning streak to five games. The Spartans went 7-8-2 last season, falling in the ECC Championship Semifinals. STAC was picked fourth in the ECC Preseason Poll. STAC looks to advance to the final for the first time since 2021 and looks to win their first-ever ECC Championship. STAC won their third ECC Regular Season Championship and first since 2023. The Spartans are ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings. The Spartans have been led by Nico Gallegos who has a team-high 14 points on six goals and two assists. Jalen Moni has 14 points on seven goals and Guilherme Alegria has three goals and two assists. Dante Muntane is 6-3-3 in goal with 49 saves, a 1.09 goals-against average and .790 save percentage and Luis Hipten is 3-1-1 with 26 saves, a 1.00 goals-against average and .839 save percentage. Moni, Jorge De La Vibora, and Joaquim Cardoso were named First Team All-ECC, Jerry Tagliavia and Dante Muntane were named Second Team All-ECC and Alegria and Eitan Zeitoune were named Third Team All-ECC.
Next Game
The winner of Sunday's game plays in the final at the highest remaining seed on Sunday, November 8th.
