Flushing, N.Y. – Powered by the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute of action from sophomore Martin Penafiel (Santiago, Chile/Colegio Verbo Divino), the No. 3 seed Mercy College men's soccer team earned a 3-2 overtime win over No. 2 seed Queens College in an East Coast Conference (ECC) Men's Soccer Championship Semifinal on Thursday night at Queens College Soccer Field.
The Mavericks (12-2-4) advance to Sunday's Final where they will play at top-seed Molloy at 12 p.m. Mercy defeats Queens (13-6) for the second time this season and advances to the Final for the third time in four seasons.
Penafiel netted his second goal of the season and freshman Mateo Bacigalupo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Colegio Cardenal Newman) recorded his third goal of the season. Senior Vasco Baptista (Alges, Portugal/Escola Secudaria Miraflores) added his fourth goal of the season and sophomore Luís Silva (Esposende, Portugal/Knox College) dished out his second assist of the season. Sophomore Eirik Elvestad (Oslo, Norway/Blindern VGS) made five saves to earn the win.
Queens was led by Jose Mendez and Angel Leon Zavala who both scored. Dario Cruz made six saves to take the loss.
Mercy recorded the first two shots on goal of the game, but Cruz stopped both to keep the game scoreless. The game remained scoreless until the 38th minute when Bacigalupo headed in a Silva cross to give Mercy a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 heading into halftime.
The score stayed 1-0 until the 47th minute when Mendez tied the score at 1-1. Elvestad made three saves to keep the score 1-1, but Leon Zavala found the back of the net in the 80th minute to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
The Knights looked to have the game won, but the Mavericks continued to battle and Baptista headed in a ball with just over a minute left to tie the game at 2-2. The score stayed 2-2 at the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime.
The first overtime period saw Carlos Fernandes (Lisbon, Portugal/Spring Hill College) draw a foul in the box in the 92nd minute and Penafiel connected on the ensuing penalty kick to give Mercy a 3-2 lead. The Mavericks' backline would not surrender a shot on goal in the remainder of both overtime periods to earn the 3-2 win, advancing to Sunday's Final.
Queens held a 17-15 edge in shots and Mercy held a 9-7 edge in shots on goal. Mercy held a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Pedro Velazquez and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, November 6th when they play at No. 1 seed Molloy in the ECC Championship Final at 12 p.m.
Provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
