Men's Soccer Sophomores

 

 10/23/26

 

MCCC Men’s Soccer recognized their seven sophomore players on ‘Sophomore Day” on October 20^th in a 2-0 win vs Monroe University.  Mercer’s seven second year players were Brandon Banton, Bonheur Kitongo, Emilio Muguruza Carnevalli, Rutger Noordegaaf, Luca Pisani, Miguel Tafur and Jesse Van Den Berg.

 

Brandon Banton is a Sports Management from Kingston, Jamaica.  Though quiet, Brandon helped welcome and lead the new players to the team as they arrived over the summer Brandon earned All Region and All Conference All-Academic honors for Spring 2026.

 

Bonheur Kitongo is a Business Administration major from Erie, PA.  Bo is a high energy player who leads by his hard effort every time he steps on the field.

 

Emilio Muguruza Carnevalli is a Business Administration major from Madrid, Spain.  Emilio is a midfielder who earned All-Region and All-Conference Academic honors in the 2025-26 academic year and is a team captain.  Emilio takes his leadership as a captain seriously and expects a serious effort from all of his teammates.

 

Rutger Noordegraaf is a Business Administration major from Rhoon, Netherlands. Rutger is a back who has helped anchor Mercer’s defense. Rutger is a player who keeps his composure and encourages his teammates to do the same.

 

Luca Pisani is a Cybersecurity major from Gallarte, Italy. Luca is a back who earned All-Region and All-Conference All-Academic honors in the 2025-26 academic year and is a team captain.   Luca does not back down from physical play and will work hard to win every ball and play.

 

Miguel Tafur is a Business Administration major from Hightstown, NJ.  Miguel is a midfielder who earned All-Region and All-Conference Academic honors in the 2025-26 academic year including President’s List honors last fall.  Miguel has helped lead players on and off the field.

 

Jesse Van Den Berg is a Business Administration major from Rhoon, Netherlands.  Jesse is a forward who earned All-Region and All-Conference Academic honors in the 2025-26 academic year.  Jesse has earned Conference Player of the Week both seasons.  This past Saturday, Jesse scored his 25^th career goal this past weekend.

 

In the 2-0 win, sophomore Banton scored his first goal of the season off an assist from fellow Van sophomore Muguruza Carnevalli.  Sophomore Van Den Berg scored the second Mustang goal of the game.

 

It was a winning day for the sophomores not just on the field but off as well!

 

Good luck and thank you to our sophomores!

 

For more on these sophomore players and MCCC Men’s Soccer visit:https://www.mccc.edu/athletics_men_soccer.shtml