Men’s Soccer Travels to Charlotte for NCAA Tournament

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team clinched its fifth NCAA Tournament berth when they won the Southern Conference Championship on Sunday. The Bears face Charlotte in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. from Transamerica Field.

THURSDAY'S MATCHUP
Date | Time: Thursday, Nov. 21 | 7 p.m. ET
Teams: Mercer (14-6-0) at Charlotte (11-3-4)
Location: Charlotte, N.C. | Transamerica Field
Live Stats: Charlotte49ers.com
Video Stream: Conference USA TV
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
Thursday's game marks the second-ever meeting between Charlotte and Mercer. The 49ers defeated Mercer, 2-0, on the road in their previous meeting, October 14, 1978.

NOTABLES

The Bears have won 14 games this season, which ties the most in program history for a single season. The last time the Bears won 14 games was during the 2014 season. Both of the 14 wins season came under current head coach Brad Ruzzo.
Mercer earned its fifth berth into the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. Mercer earned berths in 1999, 2001, 2016, 2017, and 2019. This is the fourth different opponent the Bears have faced in the NCAA tournament. Mercer previously matched up against Kentucky, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Coastal Carolina.
Since 2001, Mercer is looking for its first goal in the NCAA Tournament as they were beaten in all three previous matchups in the NCAA Tournament, 1-0.
The last time the Bears earned an NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament berth was during the 2017 season when they were the fourth seed and won the conference tournament. This season the Bears again were the four seed and won the conference tournament.
Following the Southern Conference Championship victory, the Bears Trevor Martineau, Roberto Arteaga, JR DeRose, and Leo Toledo Jr. earned All-Tournament Team honors. DeRose was named the MVP of the SoCon Tournament.
When the SoCon announced All-SoCon honors the Bears had three players receive honors. Trevor Martineau earned first team honors, Leo Toledo Jr. was named second team and Dylan Gaither earned All-Freshman team honors.
The Bears have won 14 games this season, which ties the most in program history for a single season. The last time the Bears won 14 games was during the 2014 season. Both of the 14 wins season came under current head coach Brad Ruzzo.
The Bears are led by sophomore forward Trevor Martineau. He ranks fifth in the nation in points this season. He has scored 38 points on 14 goals and 10 assists. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Martineau is the only player in the nation to have 10 or more goals and 10 or more assists this season.
Martineau's 14 goals rank him 12th while his 10 assists rank him fifth in the NCAA.
Martineau is two goals away from tying the school record for most goals in a single season. The current mark is 16 held by Stacy Noske and was set in 1982.
Martineau is currently second in single season assists as he has 10. The school record for assists in a season is 11 set by Vince Dattilo in 1992.
Martineau has 38 points this season the second-most in a single season for Mercer. Vince Dattilo has the school record with 41 set in 1992.

SCOUTING THE 49ers
Charlotte is making its 14th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They are making their eighth appearance in the last nine years to the NCAA Tournament. Charlotte has reached the College cup twice in 1996 and 2011. The 49ers have a strong defense as they are only allowing .570 goals per game, which ranks fourth in the nation. Charlotte's goalkeeper Elliot Panicco was named C-USA Goalkeeper of the Year. They had two defenders earn All-Conference USA honors and only allowed 11 goals this season. On the offensive end, the 49ers scored 26 goals on the season and are 14-4 at Transamerica Field. Teddy Chaouche leads the 49ers with seven goals and eight assists.

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 Travels to Charlotte for NCAA Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Roberto Arteaga

JR DeRose

Dylan Gaither

Trevor Martineau

Leo Toledo Jr.

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