Bears Set for SoCon Title Rematch with Furman

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mercer will seek its second consecutive women's lacrosse conference title when it faces third-seeded Furman in the 2019 Southern Conference Championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Paladin Stadium.

The contest is a rematch of last year's conference title match, when Mercer defeated Furman to win the inaugural SoCon tournament in Macon. The top-seeded Bears (9-9) defeated No. 4 Central Michigan, 13-9, on Thursday to clinch a title-match berth before Furman later took down No. 2 Detroit Mercy, 12-8, in the other semifinal contest.

The SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship will be on the line when the two programs clash on Saturday. ESPN+ will stream the match and live stats will be available.

CHAMPIONSHIP DETAILS
Date: Saturday, May 4 | 11 a.m.
Teams: No. 1 Mercer (9-9) vs. No. 3 Furman (11-7)
Location: Greenville, S.C. | Paladin Stadium
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com
Watch: ESPN+
Tickets: SoConSports.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerWLAX

SERIES HISTORY | SEASON MATCHUP
Mercer is 1-5 against Furman, most recently falling 13-11 on April 7 in Greenville. The Bears' lone win against Furman came in the 2018 SoCon Championship title match.

NOTABLES

Mercer's head coach Samantha Eustace and six Bears to earn Southern Conference postseason accolades. Eustace was named the SoCon Coach of the Years after leading Mercer (8-9, 4-1 SoCon) to a share of the conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the SoCon tournament.
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 FURMAN
Furman placed seven Paladins on the SoCon All-Conference team, including Grace Pollak, Abby Shields, Sophie Brennan, Morgan Franklin and Courtney Baker. The No. 3 Paladins defeated No. 2 Detroit Mercy on Thursday, 12-8 to advance to the championship match as well. Kyra LaMotte, Hannah Demis and Pollak led the team with three goals each.

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

Bears Set for SoCon Title Rematch with Furman

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Players Mentioned

Iseabal Cryne

Kelly Hagerty

Hannah Lind

Michaela Lucas

Hailey Rhatigan

Audrey Robertson

Catie Snee

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