Mercer University
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North Fla.
Bears Secure 11th Win on Senior Day
10/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women's soccer team sent two deserving seniors out on a high note on Sunday afternoon, downing North Florida, 3-0 at Bear Field on Senior Day.
Seniors Patricia-Anne Upson and Danielle Hesse were both recognized prior to the start of Sunday's match for their steadfast contribution to the Bears' program over the last four years, and in the process the two helped the team match a program-best 11 wins on the year.
It is the fourth time Mercer has reached the 11-win plateau in its 27-year history and the team is now one win away from setting an all-time mark for wins. Mercer continued its strong play of late picking up its third-straight win while moving its unbeaten streak to 11 games. The Orange and Black are 9-0-2 since their last loss over a month ago against Georgia State.
Head Coach Tony Economopoulos has his team playing on all cylinders with two games remaining in the regular season. Currently, Mercer holds onto first place overall in the A-Sun standings, with a one-point lead (17) over both Florida Gulf Coast (16) and Kennesaw State (16).
The Bears got off to another early start posting the game's first goal just 52 seconds in. Sophomore Tess Patton scored the first of two goals for her on the day when she collected a loose ball inside the UNF box. Patton made a strong move through two defenders and drilled a shot that beat UNF starting keeper, Brittany Hahn to the far post.
It was the third time this season that Mercer has scored in under two minutes to open a game and the sixth time the team has scored in the first ten minutes.
Patton's second of the contest came in the 19th minute when she finished a nice Nadja Kolliesuah cross. Kolliesuah made a good individual effort to get the feed off and Patton was able to settle and volley in a shot from 16 yards out.
The Bears added to their lead in the 26th minute as junior Devon Fry recorded her first goal in a Mercer uniform. Fry, a Georgia transfer, found open space inside the Ospreys' box and headed home a try off a corner kick from Lauren Gassie.
Mercer continued to control the rate of play throughout the first half and walked into halftime with the 3-0 advantage.
The second half saw Mercer unload just two shots, but the team did a good job defensively to counter the North Florida surge. The Bears held an 11-7 lead in total shots on the day and allowed just one shot on goal defensively. It was the team's fourth-straight clean sheet.
The Bears control their own destiny in terms of hosting the semi-final and final round matches of the upcoming A-Sun Championships. To do so, Mercer needs wins in its final two games of the season at Stetson next Friday night (7 p.m.) and at FGCU next Sunday (1 p.m.).
