The Mercer men’s soccer team closed out a weekend of play on Sunday, October 7 with a decisive 7-0 victory over non-conference opponent Georgian Court University. The Vikings have seen continued success throughout the season, winning each of the 6 games that they have played since September 26 to maintain a 16-2 overall record.
Stand out offensive performances came from Freshmen Yuhei Matsushita and Matheus Martins, who scored two goals each, combining their efforts to put away over half of the team’s seven goals during the October 7 shutout. Matsushita and Martins also supported the team with three combined assists.
Matsushita said, “I am very happy to help the team with goals, but this season hasn’t finished, so I will do my best to contribute to the team [throughout].”
Freshman Goalkeeper Eial Marzouk, who had not given up a single goal in the three games prior to Mercer’s match against Georgian Court, continued the streak with yet another shutout.
According to the Georgian Court athletics website, the team’s loss to Mercer comes just after GCU was voted into the top 25 in the most recent United Coaches NCAA Division II National poll.
Because GCU is a university and Mercer is a junior college, the two teams generally play in entirely separate athletic conferences against different opponents. This particular match was for the purpose of development and for additional play, with both teams utilizing a wide variety of players from their respective rosters.
GCU Head Coach Dino Raso said, “We use our development squad to test out ALL of our players. We do not go into any game with victory as the main objective.”
Raso continued, “Our development games are used as a vehicle to give ALL players a chance to play which can mean that the start of our games can be a little disjointed, and I think that was the case against Mercer.”
GCU Assistant Coach John Adair said, “As a group, it showed [us] that there is always progress to be made…Our guys understand that while they have made positive steps in their development, there is always room to improve.”
Team Captain Diego Leite said, “We have a lot of talent on our team, but I think that the main point that has been leading us to victory is that we play for each other, as a family. I feel like we want the victory more than everybody else.”
Mercer’s last two losses came against Essex and Monroe. Mercer lost 3-0 to in-conference opponent Essex County in a September 22 home game.
Mercer Head Coach Widmarc Dalce said, “What we do better now, and something that we keep doing every day, every training, every game, is trying to move players into different positions on the field to see where they fit better to help the team…and it seems to be working very well.”
Diego Leite said, “We need to improve our communication on the field and play more compact, but we are working hard every day in order to achieve our goals.”
Region 19 playoff play began on Saturday, October 20. The NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer National Championship game will be played Saturday, November 17 in Daytona, Florida. Seeding has yet to be determined.
