Bears Host Paladins In Mid-Week Matchup

Wednesday, April 26

Macon, Ga.

4:00 PM

Mercer University

Furman

Photo courtesy of Judy Stapleton

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

4/25/2017 3:08:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Live Stats ESPN3

MACON, Ga. – The Bears are back in Macon as Mercer is hosting Furman on Wednesday afternoon at Five Star Stadium. A Mercer win would keep the Bears in second place in the ASUN standings.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Wednesday, April 26 | 4 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (12-3, 7-1 ASUN) vs. Furman (10-5, 6-2 ASUN)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium
Game Notes: Mercer
Live Stats: MercerBears.com | Video: ESPN3
Twitter Updates: @MercerWLAX

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
Mercer, which has won five games by 10+ goals this season, leads the ASUN and is fourth in the nation with 24.33 points per game, while ranking second in the ASUN and ranking fourth nationally with 15.80 goals per game. The Bears are also second in the conference with a 6.53 scoring margin, which ranks seventh nationally.

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

ZELTWANGER AND LEONE LEADING THE WAY
With 43 goals and 44 assists, Lindsey Zeltwanger is leading the ASUN in points (87) and assists. Kate Leone has scored a league-leading 48 goals, while Zeltwanger is third in the ASUN in total goals. Leone also ranks second in the league in total points (65) and points per game (4.53).

Zeltwanger also ranks second nationally in total points and third in points per game (5.80), while ranking third in total assists and assists per game (2.93). The junior is just 13 points away from becoming the ASUN's first-ever player to score 100 points in a single season. Against Stetson, Zeltwanger became Mercer's first player to score 100 career goals.

SHARING IS CARING
The Bears are leading the league and rank third in the nation with 8.53 assists per game, which was bolstered by the program-record 16 assists against Howard. Zeltwanger leads Mercer with 44 assists, followed by Kate Leone with 20 and Meghan Segreti with 19.

DOMINATING THE DRAW CIRCLE
The Bears have led in the draw circle in eight of their 15 games, leading to an average of 14.00 draw controls per game. Mercer currently ranks second in the league and 24th nationally in draws per game. Against Howard, Mercer grabbed a program-record 24 draw controls.

Meghan Segreti is fourth in the ASUN with 4.07 draw controls per game. Her 61 draw controls this season ranks first on Mercer's single-season leaderboard as the junior holds the top three spots on the list. Segreti, who is also Mercer's career leader in draw controls, is 31 draw controls away from the 200th of her career.

GROUND BALLS APLENTY
The Bears are back on top in terms of ground balls as Mercer leads the nation with 26.47 ground balls per game. Haleigh Wurzel, who leads Mercer with 51 ground balls this season, ranks second in the ASUN and 13th nationally with 3.40 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 .480 save percentage. The junior also ranks third in the ASUN with an 9.61 goals-against average. Wurzel totals 123 saves and 133 goals allowed this season.

STRONG START
Mercer started its third season off with a bang, cruising past Presbyterian 23-13 on Feb. 11. This is the second season in which Mercer has won the first game of the year, as the Bears also opened the 2015 campaign with a win. Mercer has also started strong in ASUN play, notching a 7-1 mark thus far, which is the Bears' most wins in conference play since the program started in 2015.

SCOUTING FURMAN
Furman is one of four teams that have already qualified for the ASUN Tournament and the Paladins sit in fourth place at 6-2 in league play.

Abby Shields lead Furman with 63 points, 36 goals and 27 assists. She ranks fourth in the league in total points and assists. Paige Gamble is second for the Paladins with 50 points, 27 goals and 23 assists. A total of five players have scored 10+ goals this season.

Gamble had grabbed a team-leading 63 draw controls and ranks third in the league in draw controls per game (4.20). Samantha Eckels leads the Paladins in ground balls (29) and caused turnovers (17).

Maggie Friel has spent the most time between the popes for Furman. She has made 93 saves and allowed 132 goals for a .413 save percentage and 11.86 GAA. She has also grabbed 13 ground balls.

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.