Bears Set Back by No. 4 Kentucky, 3-1

Wednesday, October 14

Lexington, KY.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

1-4-0, 0-0-0

Kentucky

4-1-0, 0-0-0

Mercer

Kentucky

Photo by: Katie Linkner

10/14/2020 9:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Dylan Gaither moved into the team lead with his fifth point of the season

By: Stephen Waldman

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Mercer men's soccer team closed out its fall slate with a tough 3-1 setback at No. 4 Kentucky from the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex on Wednesday evening.

The Bears closed out the fall with a record of 1-4-0, while the Wildcats improved to 4-1-0 on the year. The visiting side fought hard against the fourth-ranked team in the country, generating multiple chances throughout the contest. The Wildcats outshot Mercer, 10-7, while the two sides tied in saves, 4-4, and corner kicks, 4-4.

Dylan Gaither scored the lone goal of the night for the Bears on a penalty kick in the 15th minute and led the team with two shots in the match. JR DeRose was busy in net, making four high-quality saves on the night.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer struck first in the 15th minute when Trevor Martineau was fouled in the box to give the Bears their first penalty kick of the season. Gaither took the shot for the visitors and buried it into the back fo the net to hand Mercer an early 1-0 lead.

Kentucky answered in the 24th minute with a give-and-go play at the edge of the 18 for Kalil ElMedkhar to tie the match and again in the 29th minute to take the lead. The go-ahead tally came when Bailey Rouse chipped the ball over the Bears' keeper after he worked his way behind the back line.

The Bears had an offensive surge in the middle of the second half when Ricardo Packer Jr. bolted down the right side of the field and tested Kentucky goalkeeper Enrique Facusse in the 65th minute. Less than 30 seconds later, the ball worked its way to Ousman Jabang who forced the Wildcats' keeper to make another challenging save with a high shot that was deflected up in the air before spinning towards the goal line.

The Wildcats added to their lead in the 73rd minute when Eythor Bjorgolfsson dribbled down the right side of the box before centering a pass to Daniel Evans.

NOTABLES

Gaither scored his second goal of the season to tie Martineau for the team lead.
The Lilburn, Ga., native now has five points through the fall to lead the Bears.
Gaither's penalty kick tally snapped a 221:29 scoreless drought for Mercer.
It was also Mercer's first PK conversion since Oct. 26, 2019 against Furman.
DeRose made four saves on the night, bringing his total for the fall to 16.
Mercer tied Kentucky in corner kicks with four apiece, marking the first time this season the Bears did not win the corner kick battle.
The Bears were outshot for just the second time this fall, 10-7.

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.