精东传媒

West Windsor, N.J. - 精东传媒 (精东传媒) men鈥檚 soccer鈥檚 earned its highest ranking of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 17, placing fifth in the National Junior College Athletic Association鈥檚 Weekly poll.

The driving force behind the ranking was an 11-0 shutout victory over Hagerstown Community College. Six Vikings scored that game, including Eiichi Yamaguchi, who netted a hat trick. Joao Almeida, Daiki Nagata and Yuriy Kryskiv also contributed two goals apiece.

More broadly, the ranking is the culmination of an 8-0 start to the 2019 campaign. In that span, the Vikings have allowed just seven goals. Starting goalkeeper Takumi Muraji has been instrumental in defending Mercer鈥檚 back line, allowing just three goals while making 16 saves thus far, while reserve goalie Eial Marzouk made seven saves in his single appearance so far.

鈥淥ur guys entered the season with a great deal of trust in one another,鈥� said Head Coach Widmarc Dalce. 鈥淲e鈥檙e performing well offensively, but our defense deserves a lot of credit, too.鈥�

Sophomore and team co-captain Simone Libreri has led Mercer鈥檚 efforts defensively, assisted by Sophomore Yuhei Matsushita and Freshman Kotaro Koga and Kazuki Nagano. Together, the group has also added five goals and six assists of their own.

鈥淩ight now, everything is clicking,鈥� Dalce said. 鈥淏ut we are not satisfied. There is still a long way to go until October.鈥�

Mercer men鈥檚 soccer will defend its undefeated record at home on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 4:00 p.m. against NJCAA Region 19 rival Harcum.

The men's soccer season earned fifth place in the NJCAA's Sept. 17 national ranking.