Mercer Set for SoCon Semifinals

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Men's Soccer squad will return to action after nearly two weeks off from competition. The Bears will square off against the Spartans of UNCG in the Southern Conference Championship Semifinals at 3:30 p.m. on Friday in Johnson City, Tenn.

FRIDAY'S MATCHUP
Date: Nov. 9 | 3:30 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (12-3-2, 5-1-0) vs. UNCG (7-8-2, 2-2-2)
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Summers-Taylor Stadium
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
Live Video: Link to come soon
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
The Bears are 5-8-1 all-time against UNCG, having most recently defeated the Spartans 3-0 on Oct. 20. Mercer is 1-2-1 in the last two seasons against UNCG. The Bears and Spartans met in the SoCon Tournament title game a season ago, concluding in a 1-1 draw. The Bears went on to claim the SoCon Championship after defeating the Spartans 3-2 in penalty kicks.

NOTABLES

The Bears enter the tournament as the top seed after claiming the outright SoCon Regular Season title for the first time since 2014.
Trevor Martineau was tabbed as the SoCon Freshman of the Year, SoCon Player of the Year and was placed on the All-SoCon and All-Freshman squads.
Mercer Head Coach Brad Ruzzo garnered SoCon Coach of the Year for the second time since joining the league.
The Bears led the way in the SoCon with 14 awards, including five first team honors, three second team recipients and three athletes placed on the all-freshman squad.
Trevor Martineau leads the conference in points (25), goals (9) and is third in the league in assists (7).
Roberto Arteaga and Leo Toledo Jr. lead the SoCon in assists with eight, while Toledo ranks second in the league with 20 points.
Mercer is 4-1-4 all-time in the SoCon Championship, having won back-to-back tournament titles.

SECRETS TO THE SPARTANS
UNCG enters the showdown with a 7-8-2 overall mark, having most recently defeated Wofford by the final score of 1-0 in the SoCon Quarterfinals on Nov. 3 in Spartanburg, S.C. The fifth-seeded Spartans have won three of the last four matches, with the one loss coming to the Bears. Jacob Planell leads the squad with 11 points on five goals and one assist and is the lone player on the roster with double-digit points. Planell was joined on the all-conference squad by Leeroy Maguraushe with one goal and one assist. Ricky Zarri has been the go-to keeper for the Spartans as of late, holding a 2-6-1 mark with 35 saves.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Roberto Arteaga

Trevor Martineau

Leo Toledo Jr.

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