Men's Soccer Hosts VMI for SoCon Tournament Match
11/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MACON, Ga. – The third-seeded Mercer men's soccer team will host No. 6 VMI in a Southern Conference Tournament first-round match on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 11:00 a.m. at Bear Field.
THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams: No. 3 Mercer (10-6-2, 5-3-2 SoCon) vs. No. 6 VMI (0-18, 0-10 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Bear Field
Saturday, Nov. 7 – 11 a.m. | Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer
LAST TIME OUT
Mercer concluded the regular season with a 1-1 tie at Furman on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute off a goal from Will Bagrou. The Paladins equalized in the 88th minute, sending the game to overtime, and neither team found the back of the net in the extra 20 minutes of play.
SERIES HISTORY
Mercer holds a 6-0 advantage in the series with VMI, including a pair of 2-1 wins in October this year. The Bears and the Keydets faced off twice in 2014, and this will be the first time the teams have met three times in one season.
SCOUTING VMI
The Keydets went winless in the regular season, including being shutout in 11 matches. VMI was outscored by its opponents, 63-8, this year, including a 43-6 mark in SoCon play.
Grant Austin leads VMI with a total of five points off two goals and an assist, all of which have come in conference matches. David Harpen has tallied a goal and an assist, and five additional players have scored goals and five more have dished out an assist.
Alex Guerra has spent most of the time between the pipes for the Keydets, notching 121 saves and allowing 60 goals for a .669 save percentage and a 3.39 goals-against average. Guerra leads the SoCon and the nation in both total saves and saves per game (6.72), as the VMI defense has faced the most shots in the conference this season. Keydet opponents have taken 400 shots this season, and 193 of those have been on target.
MERCER NOTES
Last season, Mercer secured a first round bye for the SoCon Tournament before advancing to the championship match with a 1-0 double-overtime win over UNCG. The Bears ultimately fell in the title match, 1-0, to Furman. Mercer has played in three conference tournament finals under Head Coach Brad Ruzzo.
Jordan Duru and Will Bagrou have each netted a team-high five goals for the Bears this season. Duru has added a team-leading five assists to total 15 points, while Bagrou has tallied three assists and a total of 13 points. Bagrou has scored 17 goals in his career, tying him for ninth all-time on Mercer's career goals leaderboard. Duru is second in the SoCon in total assists this season and fifth in total points.
As a team, Mercer is second in the conference with 26 assists and 1.44 assists per game. The Bears are also third in the league in total goals (26) and total points (78).
In goal, Jeremy Booth has made 79 saves and allowed 21 goals for a .790 save percentage and 1.13 GAA. Booth has also anchored a Mercer defense that has notched six shutouts, good enough for second in the SoCon, just behind UNCG's seven clean sheets.
Booth leads the league in save percentage, while ranking second in the conference and 13th in the nation in total saves. Mercer's defense also ranks first in the conference in save percentage (.790).
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.
