Men's Soccer Hosts VMI on Senior Day
10/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team will host VMI on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Bear Field. Prior to kickoff, Mercer will recognize its seniors in a Senior Day ceremony at midfield.
THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams: Mercer (8-6-1, 3-3-1 SoCon) vs. VMI (0-15, 0-7 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Bear Field
Saturday, Oct. 23 – 12 p.m. | Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer
LAST TIME OUT
Mercer rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie UNCG, 2-2, in the second half, but the Spartans added another goal late in the period to edge the Bears, 3-2, on Tuesday night.
SERIES HISTORY
Mercer holds a 5-0 advantage in the series history with VMI, including a 2-1 win earlier this month in Lexington, Va. Kobe Perez scored Mercer's first goal of the game in the 7th minute after receiving a cross from Will Bagrou and firing a shot off from eight yards out from the goal. Bagrou added a second goal for the Bears in the 83rd minute after receiving a pass from Alexander Andersson and dribbling through a pair of defenders before aiming for the lower left corner of the goal. Bagrou's shot went past one VMI defender before the goalkeeper dove and failed to stop the ball as it went into the net. The Keydets scored a goal in the 84th minute, but Mercer held on to the lead for a 2-1 win.
SCOUTING VMI
The Keydets have yet to register a win or a tie this season, and have been shutout in nine of their games, including three Southern Conference matches. Overall, VMI has been outscored, 44-7, and outshot, 329-96, this season.
David Harpen and Grant Austin have eachtallied a goal and an assist for a team-leading three points. Five additional players have scored a goal to tie for third on the team with two points. Travis Borkey has fired off 12 shots, including seven on goal, to lead the Keydets in both categories, while Hunter Morgan has also registered 12 shots.
VMI keeper Alex Guerra leads both the nation and the league in total saves (105) as well as saves per game (7.0). Guerra has allowed 42 goals this season to register a 2.81 goals-against average in addition to his .714 save percentage.
MERCER NOTES
Mercer has won four of its last five Senior Day matches, including last season's thrilling 1-0 victory over ETSU to clinch the program's first Southern Conference regular season title.
Bagrou leads Mercer with four goals this season, ranking him eighth in the SoCon. He has also tallied three assists to total 11 points, which puts him at eighth in the league standings.
Conner Antley, Jordan Duru and Kobe Perez have each scored three goals and are tied for second for the Bears. Duru and Perez have added three assists apiece to total nine points and Antley has dished out an assist for a total of seven points. Antley leads the conference and ranks 28th in the nation with three game-winning scores.
In goal, Jeremy Booth has made 66 saves and allowed 19 goals for a .776 save percentage and 1.23 GAA. Booth has also anchored a Mercer defense that has notched a league-leading five shutouts, tying the Bears with Furman and UNCG.
Booth is second in the SoCon in save percentage, total saves and saves per game (4.40). He is also ranked 11th nationally in total saves and 36th in saves per game.
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.
