Poore, Bears Earn 1-0 Win Over Lipscomb in Extra Time

Thursday, September 8

Nashville, Tenn.

8 PM

Mercer University

4-1

Lipscomb

2-2

OT 1

Mercer

Lipscomb

Poore, Bears Earn 1-0 Win Over Lipscomb in Extra Time

9/8/2016 11:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

NASHVILLE – After 90 minutes of scoreless battle between a pair of former ASUN foes, senior midfielder Max Poore netted the winning goal one minute into extra time to give the Mercer men's soccer team a 1-0 victory over Lipscomb on Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Poore's goal capped an impressive defensive performance by the Bears away from home on Thursday as senior goalkeeper Jeremy Booth earned his first clean sheet of the season. Mercer limited the Bison to only three shots on goal, all coming in the second half.
Mercer found its shots early as senior midfielder Conner Antley put a pair on goal before the 29th minute, but the deadlock continued into the second half. Over a four-minute stretch from the 48th to 52nd minutes, Mercer couldn't capitalize on its opportunities as shots by freshman midfielder Roberto Arteaga and Poole were saved and sailed high. The Bears fended off a late attempt by Lipscomb in the 89th minute as Booth saved his third shot of the night to send it to extra time.
Seconds into the 91st minute of play, the Bears finally found the net as Poore netted a rebound shot following Conner Antley's attempt in the box to seal the victory.

MERCER STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Bears' 10 shot attempts were their second-lowest total of the early season, but they made the most of them. Six of the 10 attempts were on goal, including Poore's match-winner in extra time.

RUZZO'S TAKE
"We defended well and eventually our team identity struck through with the goal in the first overtime," said head coach Brad Ruzzo. "Sometimes on the road it doesn't go easy and we just kept plugging away. I'm proud of our team's effort tonight."

NOTABLES

Mercer improved to 4-0 in 2016 in matches decided by one goal.
The 1-0 victory is the Bears' second clean sheet of the season.
Poore's goal was his second overall and in as many matches, as he found the net against Gardner-Webb last weekend.
Conner Antley's assist ties him with Poore for the team lead in points with five apiece.

RECORDS UPDATE
The Orange and Black are off to their best start in recent memory with a 4-1 overall record. Lipscomb falls to 2-2 overall with the loss.

UP NEXT
The Bears return home for the first of three straight home matches at Bears Field and host Central Florida at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11.

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.