Mercer to Battle ETSU for SoCon Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Long time, no see. Fourteen days after playing for the regular season title in Macon, Mercer and ETSU will meet again in the Southern Conference Championship title match with even greater stakes – an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Second-seeded Mercer (13-6-0) and No. 1 ETSU (12-4-2) will meet for the third time this year at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 at the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro to determine the tournament champion. Both squads cruised through the tournament's semifinal round – Mercer defeated Wofford, 2-0, and ETSU downed UNCG, 5-2 – after receiving first-round byes due to their seeds.

Mercer will try to change its recent fortune against the Bucs, have lost both of the regular-season meetings this year; a 2-0 defeat in Johnson City, Tennessee on Oct. 1 and a stunning 3-2 loss at Bear Field on Oct. 29. The previous matches between the programs have featured late theatrics, nearly all by ETSU, which has scored three goals in the 82nd minute or later against Mercer.

It will be the second appearance in the SoCon Championship title match for both teams; Mercer reached the contest in 2014 and ETSU in 2015, both ending in losses to Furman. Both programs joined the SoCon three years ago with ETSU rejoining the league and Mercer making its debut.

SOCON CHAMPIONSHIP
Date: Saturday, Nov. 12 | 5 p.m.
Teams: No. 2 Mercer (13-6-0) vs. No. 1 ETSU (12-4-2)
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Soccer Stadium
Broadcast: ESPN3 | Watch ESPN
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/livestats
Tickets: UNCG's Ticket Office (336-334-3250) | $10 Adults; $5 Children 5-12; Free 4 & under
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

SERIES HISTORY | SCOUTING ETSU
The Bears and Bucs are rather familiar with one another by now as they prep for their third meeting of the season. Mercer leads ETSU in the all-time series, 7-4-2, and will look to tack on another win in the two teams' first postseason meeting. ETSU blew past host UNCG, 5-2, in the semifinals as five different Bucs scored to help them advance to the title match.

The Bucs won big in the All-SoCon postseason awards by placing nine players on the first, second and freshman teams. Head coach Bo Oshoniyi was tabbed as Coach of the Year while goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland and defender Joe Pickering were named Goalkeeper of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Forward Fletcher Ekern, midfielder Serge Gomis and defender Chase Clack joined Sutherland on the All-SoCon First Team.

ETSU hasn't lost since a 1-0 defeat at Wofford on Oct. 4, going 7-0-1 since.

LAST TIME OUT
A pair of goals by midfielder Kobe Perez and a stout team defensive performance lifted second-seeded Mercer to a 2-0 win over No. 3 Wofford in the SoCon Tournament semifinals Thursday night at UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro.

Mercer limited the Terriers to three total shots, only one of which was on goal and came in the 17th minute. Wofford entered the match ranking second among SoCon teams in total shots (256) and goals (33). Perez's pair of goals came in a span of 16 minutes in the 42nd and 58th minutes, bookending the halftime intermission.

COACH RUZZO'S TAKE
On Saturday's SoCon Title Match versus ETSU:
"ETSU is obviously a good team," said head coach Brad Ruzzo following Mercer's 2-0 win over Wofford in the SoCon semifinals Thursday. "[ETSU head coach] Bo [Oshoniyi] has done a good job with them. They beat us 12 days ago for the regular season championship, so we know they are a good team.

"We've got to get back and recover our bodies first and then create a plan to beat them. I think it's going to be a good game; they know that and we know that as well. We've got some work to do."

NOTABLES

Mercer and ETSU have reached the SoCon Championship title match twice in the last three years. Neither walked away victories in their first appearances; Mercer in 2014 and ETSU in 2015.
The Bears are 3-1-1 all-time in at the SoCon Championship, having outscored their opponents 10-1 in the process.
Mercer has outshot ETSU 29-22 in two meetings this year, but the Bucs have had the last laugh by outscoring Mercer 5-2.
ETSU and Mercer are the only two SoCon programs all-time to have a SoCon Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Mercer has seven shutouts this season, the second-most among SoCon teams.
Kobe Perez's two-goal performance Thursday was the third time a Bear has had multiple goals in a match this season; Will Bagrou owns the other two efforts.
2016 SoCon Player of the Year Will Bagrou highlighted four Mercer players who were named to the All-SoCon First Team on Tuesday, including Conner Antley, Ian Antley and Jordan Duru. Bagrou and Duru are three-time first team selections while Ian Antley has earned first team honors twice. Conner Antley was named to the All-SoCon Second Team a year ago.
Goalkeeper Jeremy Booth earned All-SoCon Second Team honors for a second straight year. The redshirt junior is 12-6 in goal this season with a .729 save percentage and 1.05 goals against average. He's notched five clean sheets as well.
Roberto Arteaga and Jacob Chadwell were selected to the SoCon All-Freshman Team, rounding out the seven Bears to earn postseason conference honors Tuesday.
Six of the SoCon's nine fastest goals are by Mercer players this season. Bagrou (0:26, 1:30), Jake Mezei (1:26) and Conner Antley (1:32) own the four fastest scores.
Bagrou is tied for third among SoCon players in points (20) and goals scored (8).
Conner Antley, Max Poore and Duru rank in the top-10 of SoCon players in points as well with 13, 10 and 10, respectively.
Mercer has the second most goals (33) of all conference teams, trailing only UNCG (37).

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Soccer, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_MSoccer (Twitter) and /MercerMSoccer (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

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Players Mentioned

Conner Antley

Ian Antley

Roberto Arteaga

Will Bagrou

Jeremy Booth

Jacob Chadwell

Jordan Duru

Jake Mezei

Kobe Perez

Max Poore

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