MCCC Men's Soccer Nationally Ranked

 

 

Mercer men’s soccer heads into the Region 19 playoffs with a 14-2-1 record and having won ten games in a row.  The Vikings also broke into the national rankings (18^th) in NJCAA Division II this week.

 

One reason for the Vikings success this season is that they have a very balanced team effort.  Offensively, freshman Adrian Franco (Madrid, Spain/Zola School) leads Mercer with nine goals.  Sophomores Joao Delgado (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Dr. Alfredo Cardoso) and Lesedi Hlabeli (Guateng, South Africa/Redford House Blue Hills) and freshman Dan Franco (Madrid, Spain/Zola School) each have seven goals.  Sophomore Francesco Quintavalla (Parma, Italy/Convitto Nazionale Maria Luigia) leads Mercer in assists with nine on the season and sophomore Manuel Alonso (A Cruna, Spain/IES Rafael Dieste) has eight assists for the Vikings.

 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Vikings are led by sophomore backs Diego Orquiz (Chihuahua, Mexico/Valle de Mexico) Joao Lourenco (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Cesec Murilo Mendes) and freshman back Nassim Carpio (Parma, Italy/Instituto San Tomasso D'Aquino). 

 

Mercer has eight shutouts this season, which is fifth best in the nation.  Sophomore goalie Elias Ramos (Telde, Spain/Juan Polido Castro) and freshman Ignacio Pacheco (Cordoba, Argentina/ Zorilla De San Martin) have 30 saves in 18 games to help bolster the Vikings defense.

 

Mercer is also several players deep at almost every position.  Freshman midfielder freshman Federico Spinola (Bareggio, Italy/Pershing County HS) has six goals and five assists. Freshman Deniz Karcher (Heidenheim, Germany/Max Planck Gymnasium) has four goals and three assists and freshman Dylan Maher (Wicklow, Ireland/Woodbrooke College) has three goals.  Freshmen midfielders Camilo Osorio (Manizales, Colombia/Gimnasio Campestre La Consolata) and Riku Yasua (Ogaki-City, Japan/Chukyo) have been strong defensively. 

 

Sophomore forward Gamby Alou (Lansdale, Pa/North Penn) and freshman forwards Philip Owczarek (Landshut, Germany/Hans-Carossa Gymnasium) and Dmytro Naum (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) each have two goals.  Sophomore forwards Carlos Cuellar (Manta, Ecuador/Nazaret Private Educational Unit) and Bastian Strunk (Weingarten, Germany/Albert G. Ravensburg School) are consistently setting up plays for the Vikings offense. 

 

The defense is further bolstered by, and freshmen backs Takumi Hirose (Minuma-Ku, Japan/Sano Nihon University) and Henrique Fronza (Sao Leopoldo, Brazil/Colegio Siondal).

 

Last season, Mercer won the Region 19 Championship and advanced to the Northeast District Championship, falling one game shy of advancing to the NJCAA Division II National Championship, after a 2-0 loss at Schoolcraft.

 

This season the Vikings started off slow, but the team has continued to gel and improve as the season has gone on and has the depth to make another late season run like they did in 2023.  The Region 19 Playoffs will begin on November 2^nd as the Vikings will look to repeat as Region 19 Champions.

 

For the latest on MCCC men’s soccer visit: https://www.mccc.edu/athletics_men_soccer.shtml