Thursday, November 17
Columbia, SC
1 PM
Mercer University
13-7-1
0
at
1
South Carolina
11-7-1
1
2
F
Mercer
0
0
0
South Carolina
1
0
1
Team Stats
MER
SC
Goals
0
1
Shots
9
5
Shots on Goal
5
2
Saves
1
5
Corners
7
1
Fouls
14
16
Scoring Plays
WALKER, Kevin (5)
Assisted By: STREETE, Andre , TURNER, Kurtis
Touch pass off set piece
38:50
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's SoccerF/MF
/ Men's Soccer
F/MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF/D
/ Men's Soccer
South Carolina Eliminates Mercer from NCAA Tournament
11/17/2016 4:20:00 PM | Men's Soccer
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A late first-half goal by host South Carolina was enough to vault the Gamecocks past Mercer, 1-0, in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Stone Stadium.
South Carolina (11-7-1) scored the lone goal on its first shot attempt of the match when Kevin Walker put the ball past Jeremy Booth in the 38th minute. Mercer outshot the Gamecocks, 9-5, and had five shots on goal to their two – both of which came in the first half.
The loss eliminates Mercer (13-7-1) from the NCAA Tournament after an impressive season that included winning the Southern Conference Championship and earning an automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament since 2001. Mercer is now 0-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having been outscored 5-0 overall.
South Carolina advances to the second round and will face No. 3 national seed Clemson (12-3-5) on Sunday, Nov. 20 at the Tigers' Historic Riggs Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer maintained possession throughout the majority of the first half with a strong defensive presence, however, it was South Carolina that took a 1-0 lead into halftime. The Gamecocks struck on their first shot of the match in the 38th minute when Kevin Walker tapped the ball past Jeremy Booth after receiving a touch pass from Andre Streete. The set piece was started with Kurtis Turner's free kick from midfield.
Mercer outshot USC, 5-2, in the opening half and had its best scoring opportunity on a beautiful strike by Southern Conference Player of the Year Will Bagrou in the 34th minute. Bagrou beat a defender into the box to fire off a shot that was saved by USC's William Pyle.
A slow start to the second half picked up when Airrion Blackstock narrowly missed a goal in the 58th minute as he chipped the ball into the box and forced Pyle to make his third save of the match. Two yellow cards – one for USC's Trygve Ellingstad and one for Bagrou – were issued in the 60th minute, adding to the building tension at Stone Stadium.
It was Bagrou again, in the 71st minute, with Mercer's best opportunity of the second half. The junior corralled a pass into the box and had Pyle beat, however, South Carolina's back line was there for the team save on Bagrou's shot. Mercer would unload another pair of shots by Trenton Whitely and Jake Mezei, but neither could even the match. All three of South Carolina's shots in the second half were off target.
NOTABLES
Brad Ruzzo, Head Coach
Opening comments:
"I am incredibly proud of my team today. I think Mercer University and these kids left everything out on that field today. My congratulations go to South Carolina for advancing. It's a program we always try to emulate ourselves around. We have good respect for Coach [Mark] Berson and their players. We knew it was going to be a tough game today. We had three to four very good chances today, and their goalkeeper made some great saves. Unfortunately for us, we just couldn't get one in. But, I think it was a great college game. These two guys sitting next to me [Jordan Duru and Ian Antley] – I'm so appreciative for everything they've done for this program, and they deserve everything that they are going to get. I know they are going to be successful in life in whatever they do. I'm just really disappointed that I can't see them play, in particular these two guys."
On what his program takes away from this match…
"In four years this program has won 43 games, a regular-season conference championship, won a tournament championship, and now been in the NCAA Tournament. That's a pretty impressive achievement by these kids and their work ethics. The next step moving forward is to learn when you are in these NCAA Tournament games [that] it comes down a set-piece goal, one mistake, one chance, one brilliant moment from somebody out on the field – it's that tight. I think for the younger guys coming back, they have a taste of this now and are ready to come back and advance in this tournament. We had full intentions of advancing today. I think our team played confidently today; I think they showed they belong here; and they absolutely earned everything they got by being here. It's just a learning moment for some of the younger guys to understand that every second, every ball, every decision can lead to something that can win you the game or possibly lose you the game."
Jordan Duru, Senior midfielder
On playing against USC defense:
"They have a really strong team overall, and their back line is very strong also. We had some good chances [that] we just couldn't finish and didn't go our way. Overall, they have a very good back line, and we kind of struggling in the first half to get on top of. As the game went on, we just kind of struggled to keep our energy up. But, overall, we just didn't really finish the chances we had."
Ian Antley, Senior defender
On playing against USC defense:
"They've got a solid back line, and you can tell that they are really organized. Their backline has some big strong guys back there, and I know they gave Will [Bagrou] some trouble, but, I'm proud of the way he fought against those guys."
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.
South Carolina (11-7-1) scored the lone goal on its first shot attempt of the match when Kevin Walker put the ball past Jeremy Booth in the 38th minute. Mercer outshot the Gamecocks, 9-5, and had five shots on goal to their two – both of which came in the first half.
The loss eliminates Mercer (13-7-1) from the NCAA Tournament after an impressive season that included winning the Southern Conference Championship and earning an automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament since 2001. Mercer is now 0-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having been outscored 5-0 overall.
South Carolina advances to the second round and will face No. 3 national seed Clemson (12-3-5) on Sunday, Nov. 20 at the Tigers' Historic Riggs Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer maintained possession throughout the majority of the first half with a strong defensive presence, however, it was South Carolina that took a 1-0 lead into halftime. The Gamecocks struck on their first shot of the match in the 38th minute when Kevin Walker tapped the ball past Jeremy Booth after receiving a touch pass from Andre Streete. The set piece was started with Kurtis Turner's free kick from midfield.
Mercer outshot USC, 5-2, in the opening half and had its best scoring opportunity on a beautiful strike by Southern Conference Player of the Year Will Bagrou in the 34th minute. Bagrou beat a defender into the box to fire off a shot that was saved by USC's William Pyle.
A slow start to the second half picked up when Airrion Blackstock narrowly missed a goal in the 58th minute as he chipped the ball into the box and forced Pyle to make his third save of the match. Two yellow cards – one for USC's Trygve Ellingstad and one for Bagrou – were issued in the 60th minute, adding to the building tension at Stone Stadium.
It was Bagrou again, in the 71st minute, with Mercer's best opportunity of the second half. The junior corralled a pass into the box and had Pyle beat, however, South Carolina's back line was there for the team save on Bagrou's shot. Mercer would unload another pair of shots by Trenton Whitely and Jake Mezei, but neither could even the match. All three of South Carolina's shots in the second half were off target.
NOTABLES
- Mercer falls to 1-9-0 all-time against South Carolina. The Bears went 1-1 against the Gamecocks this season, earning their first-ever victory against them on Aug. 30 in Columbia.
- The Bears remain winless and scoreless in the NCAA Tournament in three all-time appearances.
- Mercer fell one win short of tying the program record of 14 victories, set in 2014.
- Seniors Jordan Duru, Ian Antley, Nickolas Tripodi and Max Poore finished their four-year careers at Mercer with one NCAA Tournament appearance, one SoCon Tournament title, one SoCon regular season title and 43 wins.
- Mercer: 13-7-1
- South Carolina: 11-7-1
Brad Ruzzo, Head Coach
Opening comments:
"I am incredibly proud of my team today. I think Mercer University and these kids left everything out on that field today. My congratulations go to South Carolina for advancing. It's a program we always try to emulate ourselves around. We have good respect for Coach [Mark] Berson and their players. We knew it was going to be a tough game today. We had three to four very good chances today, and their goalkeeper made some great saves. Unfortunately for us, we just couldn't get one in. But, I think it was a great college game. These two guys sitting next to me [Jordan Duru and Ian Antley] – I'm so appreciative for everything they've done for this program, and they deserve everything that they are going to get. I know they are going to be successful in life in whatever they do. I'm just really disappointed that I can't see them play, in particular these two guys."
On what his program takes away from this match…
"In four years this program has won 43 games, a regular-season conference championship, won a tournament championship, and now been in the NCAA Tournament. That's a pretty impressive achievement by these kids and their work ethics. The next step moving forward is to learn when you are in these NCAA Tournament games [that] it comes down a set-piece goal, one mistake, one chance, one brilliant moment from somebody out on the field – it's that tight. I think for the younger guys coming back, they have a taste of this now and are ready to come back and advance in this tournament. We had full intentions of advancing today. I think our team played confidently today; I think they showed they belong here; and they absolutely earned everything they got by being here. It's just a learning moment for some of the younger guys to understand that every second, every ball, every decision can lead to something that can win you the game or possibly lose you the game."
Jordan Duru, Senior midfielder
On playing against USC defense:
"They have a really strong team overall, and their back line is very strong also. We had some good chances [that] we just couldn't finish and didn't go our way. Overall, they have a very good back line, and we kind of struggling in the first half to get on top of. As the game went on, we just kind of struggled to keep our energy up. But, overall, we just didn't really finish the chances we had."
Ian Antley, Senior defender
On playing against USC defense:
"They've got a solid back line, and you can tell that they are really organized. Their backline has some big strong guys back there, and I know they gave Will [Bagrou] some trouble, but, I'm proud of the way he fought against those guys."
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.
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 6 vs Samford)
Tuesday, September 30
Mercer 38 | ETSU 34 Postgame Press Conference 9/27/25
Sunday, September 28
Mercer v. East Tennessee State Women's Soccer Highlight Reel: 9/26/2025
Saturday, September 27
Press Conference Mercer Football (Week 5 vs East Tennessee State)
Tuesday, September 23
