Men's Soccer Hosts Pair of Big South Opponents

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Men's Soccer will host a pair of Big South opponents this weekend at Bear Field. The Bears will square off with Winthrop on Friday at 7 p.m. and will cap off the weekend against Gardner-Webb on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Mercer was set to host two neutral-site contests, but due to impending weather the neutral-site contests have been moved to different locations. The Bears plan to play their competitions at Bear Field, but may move to Five Star Stadium should the field be unplayable. Stay tuned to MercerBears.com for any schedule changes.

FRIDAY'S MATCHUP
Date: Sept. 1 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (0-2-0) vs Winthrop (0-1-0)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Bear Field
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer
Promo: Munch on Marg's / students get free tacos with Bear Card

SUNDAY'S MATCHUP
Date: Sept. 3 | 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (0-2-0) vs Gardner-Webb (0-1-0)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Bear Field
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
Mercer is 2-4 in the all-time series against Winthrop. The Bears fell to the Eagles last season by the final score of 2-0 in the SoCon/Big South Challenge in Spartanburg, S.C. Mercer last defeated Winthrop on Sept. 5, 2010, downing the Eagles, 3-0.

The Bears are 7-4 all-time against Gardner-Webb, heading into Sunday's contest. Most recently, Mercer defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs in 2016 by the final score of 2-1 in the SoCon/Big South Challenge.

NOTABLES

Most recently, Mercer fell at South Carolina in overtime by the final score of 2-1, yielding the game-winning goal with five seconds left in the first overtime period.
Will Bagrou is the active career leader in the SoCon for points (65), goals (26) and game-winning goals (9).
Jeremy Booth is currently the active career leader in the SoCon for wins (23), shutouts (14) and ranks second in career saves with 142.
The SoCon/Big South Challenge started in 2011 when Winthrop hosted Wofford and Georgia Southern.
Mercer is 3-2 against Big South opponents since joining the SoCon in 2014.
The Bears are 4-1 in their last five home openers and are currently riding a three-game winning streak in home openers.

BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE EAGLES
Winthrop enters the contest with an 0-1 record, falling to No. 15 Charlotte by the final score of 1-0 on Saturday, Aug. 26. The Eagles notched five wins in 2016 and were led offensively by Rasmus Arousell with six goals. Arousell returns for his senior season and is accompanied by top goalkeeper, Kenneth Perkinson.

RUNNIN' WITH THE BULLDOGS
Gardner-Webb arrives to Macon, Ga., with an 0-1-0 record. The Runnin' Bulldogs fell to Cincinnati in their season opener by the final score of 3-1 on Aug. 25 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Magnus Moldjord scored the lone goal for Gardner-Webb against the Bearcats. The Runnin' Bulldogs ranked fifth in the Big South for goals scored (24) in 2016. However, Gardner-Webb graduated top goal scorer Ali Al-Gashamy who contributed nine goals on the campaign.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Soccer, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_MSoccer (Twitter), MercerMSoccer (Instagram) and /MercerMSoccer (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Men's Soccer Hosts Pair of Big South Opponents

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Will Bagrou

Jeremy Booth

Footer