10/8/22             
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's soccer has possibly its most important soccer match in its short history this Saturday, October 8^th, when the Falcons host the Vikings of Mercer County CC at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, PA in what is the de facto Region XIX DII championship game. Since these are the only two competing teams in Division II in the region, the winner of this match will earn the #1 seed in the District tournament. The loser will still qualify for the district tournament, as Region XIX gets two bids.
 
The match is set for a 1:00pm ET kickoff, and attendance is open to the public at no charge. There will also be a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network (lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE) or via the Region XIX Sports Network app on smartphones or tablets.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (4-0-0) is off to its best start in program history, having won four games in a row for the first time, ever. The Falcons won 3-0 on the road in their last game at Sussex County CC last Tuesday. In that game, Lackawanna took an early lead thanks to a wonderful strike from Robert Jarvis Humphreys (Soufriere, Dominica) just outside the box, and then doubled its lead on a long-ball that bounced high over the keeper and dropped to Anthony D'Angelis (Holtsville, NY), who walked it in for a 2-0 halftime lead. Lackawanna College added one more when Willis Smith (Oxford, England) fizzed a right-footed laser into the bottom right corner from the top of the box to make it 3-0 early in the second. You can read the full match recap HERE.
 
The Falcons have outscored their opponents 13-4 in four games this year, averaging just over three goals per contest. The Falcons average just shy of 20 shots per contest, and usually put a little over 50% of those shots on target. Nine of the 13 Falcons goals have had assists attached to them this season.
 
Humphreys leads the team with six goals on the season, three coming in a first-half hat-trick performance against Delaware County CC. Humphreys has 28 shots on the year, 15 of which have been on target. He had a goal and an assist in the win over Sussex, putting five of his six attempted shots on goal.
 
Kevin Andrade (Scranton, PA) has a pair of goals this year, as well as an assist. D'Angelis also has a pair of goals this year, including the goal he scored against Sussex last week. Smith, along with Ahmed Kaid (Staten Island, NY) and Darlyn Uceta (Philadelphia, PA) all have scored a goal for the Falcons this year. Kaid is tied with Jose Gonzalez (Scranton, PA) for the team lead in assists this season with two, apiece.
 
Jahdale Givans (Bronx, NY) is the main stopper at the back, with two clean sheets on the year, and 14 saves to his credit so far this season. Givans also has an assist, coming in the win against Delaware County CC.
 
The Falcons are coached by Zachary Shiposh, in his first season with Lackawanna College. Shiposh, a Clarks Summit native, brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience from all over the world. Shiposh played at St. John's University in New York, gaining valuable high-level collegiate experience, and then transitioned into playing and coaching in soccer hotbeds like Brazil and Germany. He has several coaching certifications, and was the Falcon assistant in the spring 2022 semester before being elevated to head coach. 
 
About The Opponents
Mercer County CC (11-2) comes into the contest having won its last two games. The only losses for the Vikings this year have come at the hands of Division I opponents Harcum College and nationally ranked Monroe College. Mercer has scored 48 goals this season, averaging over 3.5 goals per contest. There is a lot of balance in the Viking offense, with five different players scoring four or more goals this season. The Vikings are just as impressive on defense, posting eight clean sheets in their eleven victories this season, including their last two wins, 4-0 over Frederick CC in Maryland, and a 5-0 victory over the Borough of Manhattan. In that win over Manhattan, the Vikings were efficient, scoring five goals on seven shots on target, while stopping all seven shots on target on defense.
 
Teddy Nkamanyi is the leader for the Vikings in goals scored, with nine on the season. Nkamanyi has scored two goals in three separate games, the latest coming with a two-goal, one-assist performance against the US Military Academy Prep School in a 6-0 win. After a torrid start where he scored eight goals in eight games, Nkamanyi has only scored one goal in his last four appearances. Against Manhattan, Nkamanyi was held off the scoresheet.
 
Samuel Destine is second on the team with seven goals scored this year. Destine has scored two goals in two separate games this year, including the last game against Manhattan, where he put up two of the five for the Vikings. Destine had three goals in his first six games, but has scored four goals in his last four appearances.
 
Filippo Dapelo is third on the team with six goals scored this season, but has not appeared in a match since September 17^th. To that point, Dapelo had scored six goals in eight games, including a hat-trick against CCBC Catonsville back on August 27^th. Dapelo's last game came against Fort Kent Maine back on September 17^th.
 
Kenneth Rivera-Romero is fourth on the team with five goals and an assist so far this season. Rivera-Romero started the season hot, scoring in five of his first six games this season, but has cooled down since then. He's only appeared in two of the last six matches for the Vikings, and did not play in the win over Manhattan.
 
Yehonatan Sabag is the team-leader in assists, with three helpers, and also has three goals on the season so far this year. Sabag picked up two of his three assists against CCBC Catonsville earlier this season. He scored a pair of goals in the win against Army Prep. He recorded a shot in the win over Manhattan.
 
Rodrigo Suarez Camacho is the main stopper for the Vikings, allowing 12 goals in his 12 appearances this season. Suarez Camacho has been the keeper for every game except the Manhattan contest, after being forced to leave the Frederick CC match 13 minutes early. Camacho has had a hand in seven of the eight clean sheets for the Vikings. Mario Martell is the keeper who came in against Frederick and started against Manhattan, getting his own clean sheet in that match-up.
 
The head coach for the Vikings is Widmarc Dalce, in his tenth season and eleventh year overall at Mercer County CC. Dalce, a former Haitian international and member of the Haitian Olympic squad from 1991 through 1993, is a graduate of Mercer County CC, where he was a part of the 1996 national championship team. Dalce was an All-Region selection, and went on to play at American International College. Dalce, after spells as an assistant with Rider University women's soccer and as the head coach for boys soccer at high school in Allentown, spent two seasons as a member of the MCCC bench before ascending to head coach. Dalce has helped lead the Vikings to now seven seasons with ten or more wins, including a 20-4-1 year in 2017, their last appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament.
 
Match Details
The match between Lackawanna College and Mercer County CC is scheduled for a 1:00pm ET start at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Saturday, October 8^th. Attendance is free and open to the public. The winner of this game will earn the right to represent Region XIX as the top-seed in the upcoming District tournament, and would therefore be the de facto Region XIX Champion. There will also be a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network (lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE) or via the Region XIX Sports Network app on smartphones or tablets.
 
The Falcons get back in action on Tuesday, October 11^th, when they travel to Harrisburg, PA for a match with Harrisburg Area CC. It'll be the second game of a scheduled doubleheader, with the women's teams scheduled to play first at 3:00pm ET, and the men's teams to follow at 5:00pm ET.