Rockville Centre, N.Y. – Powered by the game-winning goal in the 51st minute from senior Claudia McKail (Santa Clarita, Calif./Canyon), following an assist from graduate student Nikki Bermudez (Oceanside, N.Y./New York Tech), the No. 6 seeded Mercy College women's soccer team earned a 1-0 victory over No. 2 seeded Molloy College in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Saturday afternoon at Darcy Field.
The Mavericks (12-4-4) defeat the Lions (18-3) for the first time this season after dropping two prior meetings, including a 1-0 loss in the ECC Championship last Sunday. Mercy advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and the third time in program history. Mercy will play the winner of Saint Rose/Jefferson in the East Region Final on either December 2nd or 3rd at the Atlantic Region host site.
McKail netted her team-leading sixth goal of the year and Bermudez had her third assist of the year. Senior Melissa Torres (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada) made six saves to post another shutout win.
Molloy was led by Joanna Graca who had a team-high three shots on goal. Jackie Carty made eight saves to take the loss.
The Mavericks had the best first scoring chance in the 2nd minute of action when a Kayla Camacho (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream) shot was stopped in front of the goal by Carty. Carty made another save in the 11th minute on an Alexa Billingham (Nesconset, N.Y./Sachem North) shot before Torres made two stops of her own to keep the game scoreless.
Carty made three more saves in the remainder of the half and Torres made one more stop to send the game into halftime scoreless. Mercy had a great opportunity when McKail sent a ball into the upper part of the net, but Carty jumped and deflected it out to force a corner.
Mercy wasted little time in scoring in the second half, recording the game's lone goal in the 51st minute to make it 1-0. Bermudez sent a cross into the box from the right to the left and McKail made a move, firing the ball past Carty into the lower right corner of the net to give Mercy the lead.
Torres made three saves in the second half to keep Molloy from scoring and the Mavericks defense withstood a late Molloy push to earn the win.
Molloy held an 11-10 edge in shots and corner kicks were tied at 2-2.
Release provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
