Top-Seeded Bears to Open SoCon Tournament Thursday

Thursday, May 2

Greenville, S.C.

5 PM

Mercer University

Central Michigan

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Photo by: Mark Powell

Top-Seeded Bears to Open SoCon Tournament Thursday

5/1/2019 1:46:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Mercer will face No. 4 Central Michigan in opening round in Greenville, S.C.

By: Mary Bess Skinner

MACON, Ga. – No. 1-seeded Mercer will open its title defense on Thursday when it faces No. 4 Central Michigan at 5 p.m. in the semifinal round of the 2019 Southern Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C.

The Bears (8-9, 4-1 SoCon) clinched a share of the SoCon regular season title last Saturday and enter the tournament as the defending tournament champions, having won the inaugural title last season. Thursday's semifinal match will be streamed on ESPN+ and have live stats available.

SEMIFINAL DETAILS
Date: Thursday, May 2 | 5 p.m.
Teams: No. 1 Mercer (8-9, 4-1 SoCon) vs. No. 4 Central Michigan (7-10, 2-3 SoCon)
Location: Greenville, S.C. | Paladin Stadium
Live Stats: Live Stats
Watch: ESPN +
Tickets: FurmanPaladins.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerWLAX

CHAMPIONSHIP DETAILS
Date: Saturday, May 4 | Noon
Teams: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 (No. 2 Detroit Mercer vs. No. 3 Furman)
Location: Greenville, S.C.
Live Stats: Live Stats
Watch: ESPN +
Twitter Updates: @MercerWLAX

SERIES HISTORY | SEASON MATCHUP
Mercer owns a 3-1 record against Central Michigan, having most recently defeated the Chippewas, 19-12, on March 31 at Five Star Stadium in Macon.

NOTABLES

Mercer head coach Samantha Eustace and six Bears to earn Southern Conference postseason accolades on Wednesday. Eustace was named SoCon Coach of the Year.
Audrey Robertson was named Defensive Player of the Year as well as earned a spot on the first team. Robertson ranks fourth in the nation for caused turnovers per game (2.88) and 15th for ground balls per game (3.18).
Freshman Hailey Rhatigan was named the Freshman of the Year as well as tabbed on the first team for her breakthrough performance this season. Rhatigan ranks fifth nationally for shots on goal per game (6.38) and sixth for shots per game (8.63) while leading the league in goals (54) and goals per game (3.38).
Kelly Hagerty, Michaela Lucas and Catie Snee placed their names on the SoCon All-Conference Second team. They combined for 61 goals, 15 assists, 79 ground balls, 37 caused turnovers and 123 draw controls for the Bears.
Freshman Hannah Lind placed her name on the SoCon All-Freshman team after starting all 17 games and recording 36 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers in her first year as a Bear.
Mercer leads the conference in goals per game (13.35), shots per game (32.18), shots on goal per game (22.94), caused turnovers per game (11.24), clearing percentage (.811) and ground balls per game (22.00).
Iseabal Cryne leads the Orange and Black with 136 saves and averaging a .422 save percentage after facing 419 shots this season.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan is the tournament's No. 4 seed, having earned two conference wins over Wofford and Delaware State during the regular season. The Chippewas led the SoCon in all-conference selections with eight, including Jocelyne Lemay, who was named Offensive Player of the Year. Logan Halvorson, Jessica Schuchardt, Natalie Karlen, Shannon Doyle, Brianna Hart and Dominique Hamman were other Central Michigan players who earned postseason honors.