Bears Shutout USC-Aiken, 7-0, in Season Opener

Friday, August 17

Macon, Ga.

7:30 p.m.

Mercer University

1-0-0

USC-Aiken

0-1-0

USC-Aiken

Mercer

Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen

Bears Shutout USC-Aiken, 7-0, in Season Opener

8/17/2018 10:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Will Tharp

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women's soccer squad exploded for six second-half goals, shutting out the USC-Aiken Pacers, 7-0, in the Bears' season opener, Friday night at Betts Stadium.

STAT OF THE MATCH
The Bears recorded 30 shots in the match, holding their opponents to only five.

WOMAN OF THE MATCH
Freshman forward, Kyra Idris, had a phenomenal start to her collegiate career, recording both her first collegiate goal (65^th) and first collegiate assist (57^th).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer controlled the match from the start, forcing the Pacers' goalkeeper to come up with two saves in the first 10 minutes. After 15 minutes of play, the Bears finally broke through as Abigail Zoeller connected with Megan Delmonico, off of a set piece from the corner to give Mercer a 1-0 lead.

The Bears continued to push forward, searching for a second goal in the match, but were unable to find another in the first period of play. Mercer outshot USC-Aiken 13 to 4 in the first half, recording five shots on goal. The Bears' keeper, Jordyn Ebert, produced three saves in the first 45' to help protect Mercer's lead.

At the intermission the Bears were up 1-0 over the Pacers.

Mercer came out of the break very aggressive, nearly scoring 26 seconds in as Zoeller forced the Pacers' keeper, Felicia Sedell, to come up with another save. Freshman midfielder, Payton Schurr, netted her first career goal in the 57^th minute, assisted by Idris.

Less than 10 minutes later, Idris added a third goal for the Bears, on a cross into the box from Sarah Adcock. Mercer's offense continued to click as Alina McCue scored twice in just over a two minute span, giving the Bears an insurmountable 5-0 lead.

In the 75^th minute, Kylie Buchanan was able to beat the keeper on a shot from just inside the box, for her first collegiate goal. Sophomore midfielder Hayley
Moore stretched the Bears lead to seven goals, as the ball found her foot off a rebounded shot and Moore finished it up.

The Bears' tireless defense was able to shut out the Pacers the remainder of the contest, as Mercer prevailed, 7-0, to open the 2018 campaign on a successful note.

NOTABLES
• Goalkeeper Jordyn Ebert played a full 90 minutes protecting the net, tallying three saves throughout the night.
• Mercer had 11 corners on the night, while holding their opponents to zero.
• Sixteen different players for Mercer recorded a shot.
• Twenty-three different Bears saw action in Friday night's shutout.
• Three freshmen (Buchanan, Idris and Schurr) netted their first collegiate goals.
• Mercer is now 5-3-1 in season openers under Coach Tony Economopoulos.

RECORDS UPDATE
• Mercer: 1-0-0
• USC-Aiken: 0-1-0

QUOTABLES
"It was a great night for us tonight. Great opening night here at Betts Stadium. With all of the new additions, the new scoreboard, new fence and upgraded concessions, to have this victory tonight it's awesome. Not only for us, but for our fans. Credit to USC-Aiken; they made it very difficult for us in the first half. We had to make some adjustments at halftime and our girls responded well, scoring six goals in the second half. So overall I was happy. Everybody got in and everyone got some minutes. It was a great start to the season and we are looking forward to competing again on Sunday."--Head Coach Tony Economopoulos

UP NEXT
The Bears will have a quick turnaround, facing Mississippi Valley State this Sunday, Aug. 19, at Betts Stadium. The match is set for a 2 p.m. kick off.

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