Winthrop Gives Bears First Defeat of 2016 Season, 2-0

Friday, September 2

Spartanburg, S.C.

5 PM

Mercer University

2-1-0

Winthrop

2-1-0

Mercer

Winthrop

Winthrop Gives Bears First Defeat of 2016 Season, 2-0

9/2/2016 7:18:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer suffered its first defeat of the season on Friday afternoon, dropping a 2-0 decision to Winthrop in the first match of the SoCon/Big South Challenge at Wofford. The Eagles won the contest in the final 45 minutes, scoring two second half goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears dictated the run of play in the opening 20 minutes of action, holding most of possession in Winthrop's final defensive half but were unable to find the back of the net. The Eagles then settled in and the final 25 minutes of the half were fairly even between the two sides. Senior defender Ian Antley made a number of key tackles, breaking up the Winthrop attacks.

Winthrop grabbed the lead in the first minute of the second stanza, as Mercer goalkeeper Jeremy Booth went to the ground to make a save on James Skonicki's shot attempt. However, the ball caromed off Booth and back to the Eagle's midfielder who fired the shot into the net to give Winthrop the 1-0 advantage.

The Orange and Black never seemed to find a rhythm in the final 45 minutes after conceding the goal, as the attack stalled in the final third. The Eagles doubled their lead to 2-0 in the 82^nd minute, as Brandon Anselmo slotted a shot into the bottom right of the frame on a breakaway.

MERCER STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Bears' attack was not efficient enough in the final third on Friday. Mercer fired off 11 shots but just managed to put five on frame, as the Winthrop keeper was never fully forced out of his comfort zone over the 90 minutes of action.

NOTABLES

The Bears are now 2-4 in the all-time series against Winthrop.
Winthrop's goal in the 46^th minute to give it the lead marked the first time Mercer had trailed all season, snapping a streak of 237 consecutive minutes playing with a lead or level.

RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer falls to 2-1-0 on the year, while Winthrop improves to 2-1-0 through three matches.

UP NEXT
The Bears have a quick turnaround, as they take on Gardner-Webb in their final match of the SoCon/Big South Challenge on Sunday, Sept. 4. The contest is slated to begin at 1 p.m.

HOW TO 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.