Mercer University
13-6-1
ETSU
12-4-3
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Mercer Wins SoCon Title, Advances to NCAA Tournament
11/12/2016 9:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer
SOCON BRACKET | PHOTO GALLERY | MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Mercer will return to Macon as the 2016 Southern Conference champion after prevailing over top-seeded ETSU in a penalty shootout (4-1) following 110 minutes of scoreless play Saturday evening at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
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Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jeremy Booth came up with a pivotal save on ETSU's second penalty kick attempt to eventually set up Max Poore with the championship-clinching score a round later. The penalty shootout came after neither team could find the net through a full 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of extra time.
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Mercer (13-6-1) earns the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the win and will await its fate Monday when the NCAA Selection Show airs on NCAA.com at 1 p.m.
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It is the program's third conference championship all-time and first since joining the SoCon in 2014. The Bears last won a conference championship in 2001 when they captured the Atlantic Sun title. The championship victory also avenged a pair of regular-season losses to the Buccaneers (12-4-3) – including a 3-2 loss on the final day of the regular season that decided the regular-season conference title.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Nickolas Tripodi and ETSU's Serge Gomis traded opening scores in the shootout, giving way to Trenton Whitely's conversion to give Mercer a 2-1 lead. It was then Booth who made a diving save to his right side to prevent the attempted shot by ETSU's Joe Pickering. Mercer took a 3-1 lead when Airrion Blackstock eased his shot into the bottom left corner, further adding pressure to the Bucs.
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ETSU's Joao Ramalho would miss on the following attempt by hitting the crossbar, setting up the clincher by Poore who booted it down the middle as ETSU goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland went left.
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Mercer outshot ETSU 10-4 overall and 2-1 in shots on goal in the previous 110 minutes of play despite failing to find the net. One of Mercer's best opportunities came with less than nine minutes to play when Will Bagrou had a clean look from six yards out, only to be blocked by Sutherland and keep the match scoreless.
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Much of the first half was played above the 18-yard line on both sides of the pitch with the back lines and midfields of Mercer and ETSU proving their worth. More aggressive play in the second half led to opportunities like Bagrou's under the nine-minute mark.
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MAN OF THE MATCH
Tournament MVP Jeremy Booth came up big when it mattered most as he slammed the door shut on SoCon Freshman of the Year Joe Pickering's attempted penalty kick. Booth earned his second clean sheet in as many matches during the 2016 title run.
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The junior keeper becomes only the second Bear to earn conference MVP, joining Neil Zarac, who was named the Atlantic Sun Tournament MVP in Mercer's 1999 and 2001 championships.
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NOTABLES
- Trenton Whitely, Ian Antley and Airrion Blackstock all joined Booth on the SoCon All-Tournament Team. The trio assists in limiting Wofford and ETSU to zero goals scored en route to the title. Antley has been named to the all-tournament team two years in a row.
- Jake Mezei earned the inaugural SoCon Pinnacle Award, which is awarded to the player with the highest grade-point average on the winning team.
- Mercer's last conference championship came in 2001 under former head coach Tom Melville.
- The title match was only the second in SoCon history to go to penalty kicks. Appalachian State defeated The Citadel 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in 1990.
- Mercer is 7-for-8 on penalty kicks this season after going a perfect 4-for-4 Saturday. Poore and Tripodi are both 2-for-2.
- Mercer snapped a two-match skid against ETSU and leads the all-time series 8-4-2.
- Mercer has eight shutouts this season, second most of any SoCon team.
- No. 2 Mercer: 13-6-1
- No. 1 ETSU: 12-4-3
COACH RUZZO'S TAKE
On winning the 2016 SoCon Championship:
"We're super excited to get this result. We knew it'd be a tough game because ETSU is such a dangerous opponent. Both back lines and goalkeepers played really well tonight…It felt as if the only way either team would score in regulation would be on a mistake and neither team let that happen.
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It's an incredible feeling for our guys to experience and I couldn't be more proud of them. We talked about leaving a legacy tonight and that's exactly what this team has done with the championship win."
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On the play of SoCon Tournament MVP Jeremy Booth:
"Jeremy had a clean weekend. Anytime you can get two clean sheets in postseason play, you have a great chance of advancing. Jeremy would be the first to tell you though…it's not always about the goalkeeper and I thought our entire team played outstanding defense all night.
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"One save can decide the game when you enter a penalty shootout and Jeremy did just that with the big block he came up with. On the flip side, all four of our guys stuck their penalty kicks very confidently. I knew Max would make his with how calm and collected he is. It was a huge moment for Nickolas Tripodi to score the first PK as well…those are two seniors who didn't play much for us tonight and rose to the challenge in our biggest moment."
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On the legacy of Mercer's veteran players:
"I have a great amount of respect for our four seniors and some of our other experienced players. Our seniors led the way this whole weekend. When they came in as freshmen in 2013, we didn't have a great season. They helped turn this program around the following year and we've had success ever since.
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"It goes back to the legacy these guys talked about creating. They had a goal of winning the SoCon Championship and they can now say that they've done it."
UP NEXT
Mercer's next opponent will be determined at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14 when the NCAA Selection Show airs on NCAA.com.
FOLLOW THE BEARSÂ
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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