Men's Soccer To Face Furman in Mid-Week Matchup
10/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team continues Southern Conference action on Tuesday, Oct. 5, when the Bears host the Furman Paladins at 7:00 p.m.
THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams: Mercer (6-4, 1-1 SoCon) vs. Furman (3-3-2, 2-0 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Bear Field
Tuesday, Oct. 6 – 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer
LAST TIME OUT
Mercer notched its first win in conference play with a 2-1 overtime victory over Wofford. After a scoreless first half, Wofford scored in the 70th minute and Mercer equalized in the 84th minute. Jordan Duru scored the golden goal in overtime to end the game and give the Bears the 2-1 win.
SERIES HISTORY
Mercer holds a 4-3 advantage in the series with Furman. The Paladins went 2-1 against the Bears last season, as Mercer won 3-0 in Macon and Furman won 2-1 in Greenville during the regular season. The teams also faced off in the SoCon Tournament Final, which Furman won, 1-0, with a goal in the 82nd minute.
SCOUTING FURMAN
The Paladins have opened SoCon play with a 2-0 record after notching a 1-3-2 mark in non-conference action. Both of Furman's SoCon wins have been shutouts, as the Paladins blanked VMI, 3-0, and registered a 3-0 win over UNCG.
Lewis Hawke leads Furman with seven points off a team-high three goals and has added an assist. Bobby Edet and Eli Pinner have each scored two goals and dished out an assist for a total of five points. Kevin Pahl has tallied a team-high three assists to rank fourth in total points for the Paladins.
Sven Lissek has spent a majority of time in goal for the Paladins this season, making 11 saves and allowing five goals for a .688 save percentage and 0.77 goals-against average. Lissek leads the league in goals-against average and is sixth in save percentage.
MERCER NOTES
Conner Antley leads the Mercer attack with three goals and an assist for a team-high seven points. All three of Antley's goals have been game-winning scores, which puts him at the top of the SoCon standings and ranks him 12th nationally.
Will Bagrou, Jordan Duru and Jourdan Gooden have each notched two goals and two assists to tie for second with six points. Duru ranks second in the conference with two game-winning goals. 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 49 saves and allowed 13 goals while between the pipes for the Bears this season. He has a .790 save percentage, a 1.29 goals-against average and has recorded four shutouts thus far. Booth leads the SoCon in save percentage and is currently second in the league in total saves and ninth nationally. He is also second in the league and 18th nationally in 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.
