Albany, N.Y. - Sophomore goalkeeper Nicole
Augustine (Kingston, N.Y. / Kingston) made seven saves as the Mercy
College women's soccer team fell to the Panthers of Adelphi
University, 5-0, on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Division
II Women's Soccer Championship at the College of St. Rose in
Albany.
The Mavericks finish the 2013 season at 13-5-1, while Adelphi
improves to 14-2-4 and will advance to play the No. 4 St. Rose on
Sunday.
The Panthers got on the scoreboard first as forward Victoria
Antonino scored on a quick feed from Olivia Czavar for a 1-0 lead
in the second minute. The Mavericks attempted to answer as senior
Crystal Mena (Newport Beach, Calif. / Santiago Canyon
College) made a cross to junior Jessica Carrillo (San Diego,
Calif. / Hilltop) but the one-touch effort by Carrillo went just
wide. The Panthers pushed the lead to 2-0 on a goal by Aimee
Goldstein in the eighth minute.
Mercy got the ball back into the box as junior Abby Zielinski
(Lancaster, Pa. / George Mason Univ. ) took a shot, which was
blocked by a Panthers defender. The Mavericks defensive was working
extremely hard under the pressure and in the 35th minute, Augustine
was pulled out of the goal to stop an initial shot. The goal was
left wide open, and as the Panthers took a shot off the rebound the
ball was kicked off the line by senior Hannah Ritchie (Ventura,
Calif. / Ventura College). Adelphi would score one more time to
lead 4-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Mercy looked to close the sizeable gap. The
Mavericks had a chance in the 61st minute as sophomore Dawn Hickey
(Bohemia, N.Y. / Connetquot) was fouled in the 18-yard box and
Mercy received a free kick. Senior Jennifer Vega took the free kick
and sailed it just high above the crossbar. Mercy got another
chance in the 80th minute as Carrillo made a cross into the box for
senior Jackie Karras (Nesconset, N.Y. / Smithtown East), but the
shot was saved by the Panthers goalkeeper.
Adelphi scored one more time with just eight seconds remaining to
win and advance.
For Mercy, the Mavericks' strong second-half defense can be
credited to several players, in particular junior MacKenzie
Cochrane (Mission Viejo, Calif. / Fresno State) and seniors Carla
Hager (Palmdale, Calif. / Antalope Valley College) and Caitlin
McKenna (Massapequa Park, N.Y. / Massapequa).
The Mavericks finish the season 13-5-1. The Mavericks went 5-0
against East Coast Conference opponents at Mavericks field. Mercy's
signature win of the regular season come in double overtime at
Dowling on Oct. 9. Mercy earned the No. 2 seed in the ECC
championship and reached the finals, where they faced the
University of Bridgeport.
The Mavericks had four All-ECC selections in Carrillo, Mena,
Zielinski, and Vega. Head Coach Jonathan Feinstein earned ECC Coach
of the Year honors. During the season, the Mavericks earned ECC
Offensive Player of the Week honors twice, ECC Defensive Player of
the Week once, and ECC Rookie of the Week three times. Mercy took
home all three awards during week seven and received numerous ECC
honor roll accolades during the season. Carrillo led the Mavericks
in goals, with seven, and total points, with 19. Vega ranked second
in goals, with five, total points, with 15, and tied for second in
assists, with five.
Provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
