BATISTA’S FOUR-GOAL DAY PUSHES MEN’S SOCCER PAST MERCY, 4-2

Box Score vs. Mercy - October 6, 2009

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 6, 2009) – Senior midfielder Jose Batista (Rego Park, N.Y.) notched a career day on Tuesday afternoon with four goals for the Molloy College men’s soccer team as the Lions upended the Mavericks of Mercy College, 4-2, at Mercy Field in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The victory improves Molloy to 4-5-1 overall and 1-1 in East Coast Conference play. It also put away a two-game skid. As for Mercy, it went to 2-6 and 0-2 against league opposition.

Batista got the scoring going with 15:04 elapsed in the opening half when he beat Mavericks sophomore goalie Martin Walsh (Dublin, Ireland), and sent a shot from the close right wing into the top-left 90 of the net. Mercy responded less than a minute later to knot the contest at 1-up. Freshman forward Ferney Forero (Ossining, N.Y.) faked out Molloy sophomore keeper Carlos Barros (Mineola, N.Y.), and kicked a 20-yarder into the mesh on an unassisted effort. Barros made a season-best 10 saves on the afternoon.

Soon after, in the 19th-minute, Batista got his second goal of the game when he found the back of the mesh on a pass from junior forward Emmanuel Gamez (Freeport, N.Y.). Once again, no more than a minute after, the duo paired up again to extend the lead to 3-1. Batista wrapped up the scoring for the Lions in the 30th-minute when he got a through ball from senior forward John-Paul Hughes (Manchester, England). Batista then proceeded to kick a shot past Walsh, which iced any type of comeback by the hosts.

Although the Mavericks still got a goal from graduate midfielder Vjekoslav Lubric (Pleasantville, N.Y.) before the end of the period, the second stanza saw no scores from either team. Overall, Mercy owned a 24-22 edge in shots, while Molloy held a 3-2 margin in corner kicks. Batista had a game-best 10 shots for the Lions.

Head Coach Danny Longo and his squad continues its three-game road trip this Saturday when Molloy heads to Brookville, N.Y. for an afternoon matinee with ECC nemesis C.W. Post. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.