Mercer University
Fla. Gulf Coast
Early Red Card Dooms Bears against No. 24 FGCU
10/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MACON, Ga. – A controversial red card against sophomore Richie Edmondson hampered the Mercer men's soccer team's attempt to beat its second ranked foe of the season. In the end, No. 24 FGCU scored two goals by way of Mercer playing with 10 men to take a 3-1 road win on Saturday evening at Bear Field.
The loss drops Mercer (7-4-1, 2-3-0 A-Sun) back below .500 in conference play with four A-Sun games left this season. FGCU (10-2-2, 6-0-0 A-Sun) kept its perfect A-Sun record intact with its eighth-straight win.
The two teams each tallied 10 shots in the game, while Mercer held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The Eagles got on the board first in the 15th minute, when junior Josey Portillo fired a shot from just outside the 18 that went right under the crossbar and in to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
In a game that featured seven cards, none would be more magnified and controversial than the one handed out to Edmondson in the 42nd minute of the game. Edmondson came across Portillo's right leg in an attempt to make a tackle and was sent off for the aggressive nature of the takedown, leaving Mercer a man down for the remainder of the match.
FGCU doubled its lead in the 79th minute when sophomore forward William Morse cleaned up a rebound attempt after a spectacular save by Mercer keeper Brett Petricek to put the Eagles ahead, 2-0.
The Bears did not cave in; however, continuing to mount offensive opportunities until one finally went in the back of the net. Sophomore Joey Heavner received a pass from senior Ian Cameron off a free kick restart and sent in a shot that got past a screened FGCU goalkeeper Adam Glick to make the score 2-1.
The Eagles put the game away moments later, however, when senior defender Caleib Lynch found a soft spot in a stretched Mercer defense and hammered home a cross to cap the scoring in the match, 3-1.
Petricek made three saves in a losing effort, while Glick also tallied three stops to earn the win.
Mercer hits the road next weekend when it travels to Jacksonville, Fla. for a pair of pivotal A-Sun Conference matches. The Bears take on UNF on October, 21 at 7 p.m. and Jacksonville on October 23 at 7 p.m.
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