Men's Soccer to Battle Mercy for ECC Championship Saturday

Date: Saturday, Nov. 3, 1:00 p.m. Location: Mercy Field | Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. Game Links: Watch Live | Live Stats Twitter: @LIUPostPioneers | @LIUPMSOC LIU Post Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats Mercy Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats THE FIRST LOOK It was an instant classic East Coast Conference semifinals when the No. 2 seed LIU Post Pioneers (12-4-1) advanced to the championship match, 5-4 on penalty kicks against the No. 3 seed Queens College Knights. Senior goalkeeper Oliver Hessner Hansen was outstanding in goal, making seven saves on the day to help the Pioneers advance. No. 1 seed Mercy (12-2-1) advanced to Saturday's championship with a convincing 5-2 victory against No. 4 seed Saint Thomas Aquinas College during the semifinal round. Junior Maximiliano Rebolledo-Camus scored a career-high four goals during the victory to lead the Mavericks. INSIDE THE SERIES Saturday marks the 29th meeting between the two schools with LIU Post holding a 16-7-5 advantage all time. During that span, the Pioneers are 5-6-2, however, at Mercy Field with the most recent victory coming on Oct. 25, 2014. During the last meeting, the Pioneers suffered a 3-2 setback in double overtime. Junior Manuel Achondo scored during the 90th minute to send the game into overtime for Mercy before Rebolledo-Camus tallied the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining in the second extra time period. The Mavericks held a 24-6 advantage in shot attempts during the contest, with Hessner Hansen making eight saves. SCOUTING REPORT LIU Post LIU Post will look to get out to a fast start after playing 110 minutes of action during Wednesday's semifinal. Because of the big advantage, Mercy was able to play 16 players during the semifinal round, while just 13 players saw time on the pitch for the Pioneers. LIU Post will look for quick strikes to build a lead as stamina will play a big role late in the contest. Graduate student Lukas Ostermann led LIU Post with two shots on goal for the day but was unable to find the back of the net in his pursuit for a new program record for single-season goals. Ostermann currently ranks second in Division II with 22 goals this season, while also ranking second with 50 points. The Pioneers are looking to buck their road troubles this weekend, as the Green and Gold are just 3-3 on the road this season and are 6-4-0 overall away from Pioneer Soccer Park. Mercy It is another very even matchup on paper between these two schools, as both sides have scored 40 goals this year, with the Mavericks conceding 19 goals and LIU Post conceding 17. Mercy will look to lean on its offensive attack which registers nearly six more shots per game than the Pioneers and has earned 19 more corner kicks on the year. Robolledo-Camus leads the Maverick attack with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points. Junior Ignacio Mangada also holds 20 points to his name, scoring eight goals and adding four assist. Defensively, Mercy's back line is led by freshman Aaron Denk-Gracia, junior Gaston Rozenblum, graduate student Christopher Birnie, and sophomore Francisco Ricci. Despite allowing just 19 goals this season, the Mavericks do tend to concede at least one goal during most matches, holding opponents scoreless just three times. Sophomore Jordan Williams is expected to start in goal for Mercy. Williams boasts an 11-2-1 record this season, recording all three shutouts for Mercy while compiling a .702 save percentage and a 1.17 goals-against average.