Mercer University
Air Force
Mercer Upset Bid Falls Short at No. 12 Air Force, 15-13
4/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Mercer University men's lacrosse team gave No. 12 Air Force, the SoCon's top team, all it could handle on Saturday afternoon in Colorado but the Falcons did just enough to escape with a 15-13 win over the Bears.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Deadlocked at 10-10 entering the fourth and final quarter of play, both teams dug in for the decisive last 15 minutes of action. After an Air Force goal gave the Falcons the lead in the first 30 seconds of the quarter, Mercer responded with goals from Chris Baxa and Shawn Carter to retake the lead at 12-11 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Air Force answered with two consecutive goals of its own to go on top 13-12 before Mercer's Ben LeSane completed his hat trick to once again level the score at 13-13 with 5:49 left on the clock. Down the stretch the Falcons proved worth of their national ranking, making key plays including goals from Chris Walsch and Danny Brown in the final three minutes to stave off the Mercer upset and win by a final of 15-13.
The contest was extremely competitive throughout, as the game featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes over the 60 minutes of action. The Bears held a 7-6 lead at the half as six players combined to score the seven goals.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Freshman attacker Shawn Carter had a breakout performance in his young Mercer career. The Glenelg, Md., native scored a career-high four goals to lead the Bears in scoring on Saturday. Carter found the back of the net twice in the second quarter and then once in the third and fourth. The freshman scored his four goals on eight shots, six of which were on frame, and added two ground balls.
MERCER STAT OF THE DAY
The Bears did not waste many opportunities in front of goal at Air Force, scoring 13 goals off of just 21 shots on target for a percentage of .619. The Orange and Black totaled 29 shots over the 60 minutes of play.
NOTABLES
- Mercer is 0-6 against Air Force in the all-time series.
- Carter's four goals tie the freshman with Matt Quinn for the most goals scored in a game this season by a Mercer player.
- Senior Ben LeSane recorded the first hat-trick of his Mercer career with three goals.
- With one goal Chris Baxa has scored a goal in every game this season and 29 straight games dating back to his sophomore season. He also extends his active point streak to 46 consecutive games.
- Mike Nugent recorded double-digit saves for the 34th time in his Mercer career with 16 on Saturday.
- Carter has now scored in each of the last four contests.
- Chris Rahill extended his goal streak to four straight outings with a score. The junior also added an assist.
- Scott Baird scored his 11th goal of the season.
- Pascal Coombs has scored in back-to-back games with a goal on Saturday.
- James Fromert scored his second goal of the season.
- Jackson Kleintz opened his 2016 goal account with his first score of the year.
- Colin Massa led the Bears with six ground balls.
RECORD UPDATE
The Bears fall to 3-7 on the season and 1-3 in SoCon play, while Air Force is now 10-2 in 2016 with a mark of 4-0 in league play.
UP NEXT
Mercer returns home for the first time in nearly a month to host Furman on Saturday, April 16 at Five Star Stadium. The opening faceoff for the SoCon matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m.
STAY SOCIAL
For all the latest information and up-to-the-minute updates on Mercer men's lacrosse, please follow the team on Twitter at @MercerLacrosse.
