Men's Soccer Hosts Wofford in SoCon Home Opener
10/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team will continue Southern Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 3, when the Bears host Wofford. The match will be Mercer's first home game during league play and is set to kick off at 2:00 p.m.
THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams: Mercer (5-4, 0-1 SoCon) vs. Wofford (6-1-1, 1-0 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Bear Field
Saturday, Oct. 3 – 2 p.m. | Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer
LAST TIME OUT
Mercer fell in overtime, 2-1, to UNCG to open SoCon play. Ian Antley scored his first goal of the season with a penalty kick in the second half.
SERIES HISTORY
Wofford holds a 4-2 advantage in the series history. The teams split last year's meetings, with each team winning the match at home; both games were decided by just one goal.
SCOUTING WOFFORD
The Terriers opened SoCon play with a 3-2 double-overtime win over ETSU on Sept. 29. Wofford tallied a 5-1-1 record in non-conference action, falling to No. 20 N.C. State in the Terriers' only game against a ranked opponent.
Matthew Aurednik and Nestor Jaramillo lead Wofford with nine points each this season. Aurednik has scored a team-high four goals and dished out an assist, while Jaramillo has notched three goals and three assists. Jonathan Deal leads the Terriers with four assists and has added a goal for a total of six points. Aurednik's four goals ties him for the SoCon lead in total goals this season and Dean's assists put him at the top of the league's total assists and assists per game (.50) categories.
Goalkeepers Garrett Closs and Joe Wichmann have split time between the posts for the Terriers this season. Closs has played 357 minutes in four games, while Wichmann has logged 395 minutes in five games. Additionally, Closs has made 22 saves and allowed four goals for a .846 save percentage and 1.01 goals-against average; and Wichmann has registered 15 saves and allowed four goals en route to a .789 save percentage and a 0.91 GAA.
MERCER NOTES
Conner Antley leads the Mercer attack with three goals and six points this season. He is fifth in the SoCon in total goals, as four players are tied for first with four goals each. All three of Antley's goals have been game-winning scores, which puts him at the top of the SoCon standings and ranks him fifth nationally. Jourdan Gooden has notched two goals and two assists to tie Antley's team-leading six points.
Will Bagrou and Jordan Duru have each tallied a goal and two assists for a total of four points and are tied for third on the team. Additionally, eight more players have either scored a goal, dished out an assist or both, meaning a total of 12 players have played a hand in Mercer's scoring this season.
Jeremy Booth has notched 43 saves and allowed 12 goals while between the pipes for the Bears this season. He has a .782 save percentage, a 1.33 goals-against average and has recorded four shutouts thus far. Booth is currently second in the SoCon in total saves and 11th nationally. He is also second in the league in save percentage and saves per game (4.78).
Mercer's defense leads the league with four shutouts so far this season. The Bears' shutouts all came during the month of September, including three consecutive clean sheets to close out non-conference play.
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.
