DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – Despite goals from seniors John Hollis (Bradford, England/West Virginia Wesleyan College) and Jacob Darwesh Lund-Iversen (Oslo, Norway/Maryville University/Pima CC), the Mercy University Men's Soccer Team dropped a 3-2 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas College in their ECC opener on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (5-2-1, 0-1 ECC) see their four-game winning streak come to an end and fall to the Spartans (2-2-2, 1-0 ECC) for the first time since 2021.
Junior Harry Cooke (Saint Albans, England/D'Youville University) made an early save for Mercy to keep the game scoreless. The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when Jorge De La Vibora scored after he put home a rebound of a Sebastian Ortega shot that was initially stopped by Cooke.
The Mavericks tied the game at 1-1 in the 32rd minute when Hollis scored following a Lund-Iversen pass. STAC regained the lead in the 35th minute when Ortega scored on a penalty kick, following a Mercy foul in the box, making it 2-1. The Spartans headed into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
Cooke made two more saves to open the second half before Eitan Zeitoune scored for STAC to make it 3-1 in the 63rd minute. Mercy inched closer when Lund-Iversen scored in the 80th minute on a penalty kick after a STAC handball in the box.
Mercy forced STAC goalkeeper Luis Hipten to make two saves in the final 10 minutes but could not find the equalizer and the Spartans earned the 3-2 win.
Mercy was led by Lund-Iversen who had a goal and an assist. The senior now has a team-high nine goals and 21 points on the year. Hollis recorded his third goal of the season and Cooke made a game-high five saves to take the loss.
STAC was led by Ortega who had a goal and an assist. Hipten made three saves in 89:09 minutes of action to earn the win.
STAC held a 12-9 edge in shots and an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. Mercy held a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, September 23rd when they play at Wilmington at 3:30 p.m.
