Mercer to Clash with Wofford in SoCon Semifinals

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Mercer will return to the pitch following an 11-day layoff and begin its run at the Southern Conference Championship by facing third-seeded Wofford in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday at UNCG Soccer Stadium.

No. 2 Mercer (12-6, 7-3 SoCon), which received a first-round bye in the tournament, is seeking its first SoCon Tournament title after falling in the title match and the semifinals in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

The match comes two days after seven Bears earned postseason All-SoCon honors, highlighted by junior forward Will Bagrou being named the SoCon Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Wofford (12-6, 6-4) led the league with nine players being collectively named to the All-SoCon First, Second and Freshman teams.

THURSDAY'S MATCHUP
Date: Thursday, Nov. 10 | 6 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (12-6-0, 7-3-0 SoCon) vs. Wofford (12-6-0, 6-4-0 SoCon)
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Soccer Stadium
Broadcast: SoCon Digital Network | Watch
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 WOFFORD
Mercer owns a 7-2-1 record in the all-time series against Wofford, including a sweep of this year's two regular-season meetings with a 2-0 win at Bear Field and a 3-1 win on the road. The two programs will meet in the SoCon Tournament for the first time Thursday.

The Terriers' 3-1 win over VMI in the first round of the tournament was their first in SoCon Championship play since 2013. They closed out the regular season with a three-match win streak against the likes of UNCG, VMI and Furman, collectively outscoring them 4-1.

Five Terriers – Matthew Aurednik, Lucas Altman, Kyle Nelson, Connor Donohue and Joe Wichmann – were named to the All-SoCon Second Team to lead the way in their postseason conference honors. Aurednik leads Wofford in goals scored (7) while Wichmann has gone 8-4 in goal since emerging as the starter just before conference play started.

LAST TIME OUT
Mercer fell, 3-2, to ETSU at Bear Field in the de facto regular season championship match as the Bucs rallied with two goals in the final 14 minutes of play. The Bears entered the match in sole possession of first place, but would finish as the runner-up with 21 points to ETSU's 23.

NOTABLES

The Bears are 2-1-1 all-time at the SoCon Championship, having outscored their opponents 8-1 (Defeated VMI 7-0 in the 2015 quarterfinals)
Will Bagrou highlighted four Mercer players who were named to the All-SoCon First Team, 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 11-6 in goal this season with a .725 save percentage. He's notched four 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.
Conner Antley has two of Mercer's five goals against Wofford this season. Both have been assisted by Trenton Whitely.
The fastest goal by a SoCon player this season came on Bagrou's strike 26 seconds into the two programs' first meeting on Sept. 27 at Bear Field.
Six of the SoCon's eight fastest goals, including Bagrou's, 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 second and third among SoCon players in points (20) and goals scored (8).
Conner Antley, Max Poore and Jordan Duru rank in the top-10 of SoCon players in points as well with 13, 10 and 10, respectively.
Mercer has the third most goals (31) of all conference teams, trailing only UNCG (37) and Wofford (33).

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Mercer to Clash with Wofford in SoCon Semifinals

Players Mentioned

Conner Antley

Ian Antley

Roberto Arteaga

Will Bagrou

Jeremy Booth

Jacob Chadwell

Jordan Duru

Jake Mezei

Max Poore

Trenton Whitely

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