Mercer University
UNC Greensboro
Men's Soccer Edges UNCG, 3-2
10/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team outlasted UNCG, 3-2, on Tuesday night at Bear Field.
The Bears improved to 7-4 on the season and 3-0 in Southern Conference play, marking the second time under Head Coach Brad Ruzzo that Mercer has opened league play with a 3-0 mark.
UNCG (1-8-2, 1-1-1 SoCon) scored first to take a 1-0 lead when Tommi Gardarsson's header went in goal in the 10th minute.
Mercer answered quickly, as Will Bagrou slotted the ball into the left corner of the net from the right side, knotting the score at 1-1 in the 12th minute. Bagrou gave the Bears a 2-1 lead in the 42nd minute after receiving a pass from David Murtaugh and then tapping the ball in from just outside the post.
The Spartans tied the game back up at 2-2 in the 59th minute when Austin Miller found the back of the net on a penalty kick.
The game remained tied and looked poised to go to overtime when Max Poore scored off a penalty kick to give the Bears a 3-2 advantage, one they would hold on to for the final 5:57 of the game. The goal marked Poore's third of the season, all of which have come from penalty kicks.
Mercer outshot UNCG, 26-14, and the Bears had eight corner kicks to the Spartan's five. Additionally, Greg Ranjitsingh made five saves, including four in the first half alone.
It was a very physical game from start to finish, with a total of six yellow cards and one red card issued. UNCG's Quin Lema got a red card in the 67th minute, leading the Bears to play man-up for the remainder of the game.
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. when they host Furman.
For all the latest information on Mercer men's soccer, please visit MercerBears.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Mercer soccer on Twitter at @Mercer_MSoccer or www.twitter.com/Mercer_MSoccer.
