Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. - Powered by the game-winning goal in the 50th minute of action from senior Heidi Serna (West Covina, Calif./South Hills), the No. 2 seeded Mercy College women's soccer team defeated No. 3 seeded Molloy College, 1-0, in an ECC Women's Soccer Championship Semifinal on Wednesday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (15-3) record their tenth shutout victory of the season, while the Lions (8-8-2) see their season come to an end. Mercy advances to the ECC Championship Game for the first time since 2014 and will play at No. 1 seed LIU Post on Saturday, November 4th at 1 p.m.
Serna scored her fourth game winning goal of the season and now has seven goals on the year, while sophomores Jessica Brandt (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) and Trista Seara (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) added assists. Redshirt sophomore RaeAnn Ioannou (Bethpage, N.Y./Plainedge) also recorded two shots on goal for the Mavericks. Freshman goalkeeper Melissa Torres (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada) made seven saves in 90 minutes of action to pick up the win.
Molloy was led by Dana Poetzsch, who recorded three shots on goal. Goalkeeper Jackie Carty made seven saves for the loss.
The Mavericks began the contest with many early scoring opportunities, as they were able to record five shots and three corner kicks in the first 19 minutes of play. Despite seven shots from the Mavericks and four shots from the Lions, neither team were able to find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes of action. The Mavericks and Lions entered halftime with a score of 0-0.
The second half saw the Mavericks keep the offensive pressure early, as Brandt was able to fire off a shot on goal in the first two minutes of play. Just three minutes later Serna found the lower right of the net off of passes from Brandt and Seara, giving the Mavericks the 1-0 lead early in the half. The Lions continued the fight, as they recorded five shots throughout the second half. However, they were not able to get past the Mercy backline and Torres in net, eventually leading to another Mercy shutout victory.
Mercy held a 13-9 edge in shots and a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Head Coach Jonathan Feinstein and the Mavericks look to claim the East Coast Conference Championship title when they face No. 1 seed LIU Post on Saturday at LIU Post at 1 p.m.
Provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
