Rockville Centre, N.Y. – Powered by the game-winning goal in the 21st minute from sophomore Marlene Avalos (San Diego, Calif./Otay Ranch) and a game-high six saves from senior Melissa Torres (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada), the No. 6 seeded Mercy College women's soccer team earned a 1-0 victory over No. 3 seeded Southern New Hampshire University in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Darcy Field.
The Mavericks (11-4-4) advance to the Second Round for the second straight year and remain unbeaten against the Penmen (13-4-1) in three all-time meetings in the NCAA Tournament. Mercy will now face the winner of Molloy/Bridgeport in the Second Round on Saturday, November 20th at 3 p.m. at Molloy.
Avalos recorded her second goal of the season and Torres made a game-high six saves to earn the shutout win.
Southern N.H. was led by Alyssa Anderson who had a team-high two shots on goal. Z Kaplan made two saves to take the loss.
Torres made two saves in the first 16 minutes of action to keep the game scoreless. The game remained scoreless until the 21st minute when Avalos drew a foul in the box and connected on the ensuing penalty kick to give Mercy a 1-0 lead.
The Mavericks forced Kaplan to make two saves in the remainder of the first half, heading into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The Penmen came out on the attack in the second half and forced Torres to make four saves in the half. However, the senior was up to the challenge and the Mercy defense withstood a late Southern N.H. charge to earn the 1-0 win.
Southern N.H. held a 6-4 edge in shots and Mercy held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.
Release provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
