Mercer At Jacksonville Thursday

Thursday, April 13

Jacksonville, Fla.

5:00 PM

Mercer University

Jacksonville

Photo courtesy of Judy Stapleton

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

4/12/2017 4:48:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Live Stats

MACON, Ga. – The Bears are on the road again and will take on the perennial ASUN champions, Jacksonville on Thursday at 5 p.m. For the first time in the series history, both Mercer and Jacksonville are atop the league standings and are undefeated in conference games.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, April 13 | 5 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (10-2, 5-0 ASUN) vs. Jacksonville (8-4, 5-0 ASUN)
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. | D.B. Milne Field
Game Notes: Mercer
Live Stats: JUDolphins.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerWLAX

BATTLE OF THE UNBEATENS
Mercer and Jacksonville enter Thursday's game as the only two teams in the ASUN who are undefeated in conference action. Both are 5-0 in league play and the winner of Thursday's game will be the first team in the league to qualify for the ASUN Tournament.

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
Mercer, which has won five games by 10+ goals this season, leads the nation with 17.50 goals per game, 27.08 points per game and a 9.00 scoring margin. Mercer also leads the ASUN and ranks fifth nationally with a 49.2 shot percentage.

Mercer scored a program-record 26 goals in Sunday's win over Delaware State and the 25-goal margin of victory was also a program best.

ZELTWANGER AND LEONE LEADING THE WAY
With 39 goals and 39 assists, Lindsey Zeltwanger is leading the ASUN in points (78) and assists. Kate Leone has scored a league-leading 43 goals, while Zeltwanger is second in the ASUN in total goals. Leone also ranks second in the league in total points (61) and points per game (5.08).

Zeltwanger also ranks second nationally in total points, points per game (6.50) and assists per game (3.25), while ranking third in total assists. The junior is just 22 points away from becoming the ASUN's first-ever player to score 100 points in a single season.

SHARING IS CARING
The Bears are leading the league and rank second in the nation with 9.58 assists per game, which was bolstered by the program-record 16 assists against Howard on Friday. Zeltwanger leads Mercer with 39 assists, followed by Meghan Segreti and Kate Leone with 18 apiece.

DOMINATING THE DRAW CIRCLE
The Bears have led in the draw circle in eight of their 12 games, leading to an average of 15.25 draw controls per game. Mercer currently ranks second in the league and eighth nationally in draws per game. Against Howard, Mercer grabbed a program-record 24 draw controls.

Meghan Segreti is second in the ASUN with 4.50 draw controls per game. She also ranks second in program history on Mercer's single-season leaderboard with 54 this season. The junior is just two draw controls away from this season's total taking the top spot on the leaderboard. Segreti, who is also Mercer's career leader in draw controls, is 38 draw controls away from the 200th of her career.

GROUND BALLS APLENTY
After last weekend's games, Mercer is narrowly behind Kennesaw State in ground balls per game. The Bears are averaging 26.58 and the Owls have scooped up 27.17 ground balls per game. Mercer is second in both the ASUN and the nation. Haleigh Wurzel ranks fourth in the ASUN and 32nd nationally with 3.00 ground balls per game.

WURZEL SAVING THE DAY
Haleigh Wurzel has spent a majority of time in goal this season for Mercer and ranks third in the league with a .470 save percentage. After allowing just one goal last weekend, the junior improved to second in the ASUN with an 8.93 goals-against average. Wurzel totals 85 saves and 96 goals allowed this season.

SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE
Danielle Della Rocca leads the Dolphins with 47 points and 37 goals this season. The senior ranks third in the ASUN, behind Mercer's Leone and Zeltwanger, in total goals and goals per game (3.08).

Courtney Valdez is second for Jacksonville with 27 goals and 38 points but has dished out a team-leading 11 assists. An additional six Dolphins have score 10+ goals this season.

Erika Brager leads Jacksonville with 27 ground balls, while Ashtyn Hiron has grabbed a team-leading 40 draw controls. Hannah Wilcox is the Dolphins' caused turnover leader with 20 this year.

Sydney Matthews has spent a majority of time in goal, making 57 saves and allowing 67 goals for a .460 save percentage and 8.09 GAA. Mariah Cudlipp has also spent significant time between the pipes, notching 23 saves and allowing 44 goals for a .343 save percentage and a 12.10 GAA.

For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Lacrosse, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWLax (Twitter), /MercerWomensLacrosse (Facebook) and @MercerWLax (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.