Bears Fall to Panthers in Tightly Contested Match

Thursday, October 15

Atlanta, Ga.

7:00 PM

Mercer University

1-3-1, 0-0-0

Georgia State

7-1-1, 5-1-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Mercer	1	0	1
Georgia St.	2	0	2

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Bears Fall to Panthers in Tightly Contested Match

10/15/2020 9:36:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Abigail Zoeller netted her first goal of the season.

By: Kraig Doremus

ATLANTA, Ga. – After falling behind early the Mercer Bears netted the equalizer, but a late first half goal caused the Bears to fall to the Georgia State Panthers, 2-1, on Thursday night.

Mercer's (1-3-1) Jordyn Ebert was challenged 60 seconds into the match and made the save, but 3:32 later the Panthers took a 1-0 lead when Callee Maughon crossed the ball to Grace Kiser who snuck the ball past Ebert.

Georgia State (7-1-1) managed another attempt in the 12^th minute, but the Bears' back line settled in and did not allow the Panthers another shot for more than 15 minutes.

Ebert made her second save of the evening in the 28^th minute, and moments later, Payton Schurr took the first shot of the night for Mercer. Schurr was unsuccessful, but Abigail Zoeller scored her first goal of the season, converting directly off a corner kick in the 34^th minute to net the equalizer.

Unfortunately for Mercer, the lead was short-lived. Georgia State pulled ahead thanks to Maddie Johnston's goal with eight minutes until the intermission.

After managing only three shots in the first 45 minutes, the Bears had five in the final portion of the second half. Although the first 30 minutes of the final half were quiet, Payton Jamieson, who came on at the half in relief of Ebert, made a pair of saves – first in the 66^th minute and again 10 minutes later.

Kylie Buchanan took Mercer's first shot of the second half, but it landed wide right of the net in the 75^th minute, allowing Georgia State to maintain its lead. Four minutes later, Buchanan's attempt was high of the net, but Zoeller quickly followed with a shot on target, forcing GSU's Maria Stubies to make a stop.

Buchanan came up empty in the 81^st minute, and Mercer's final try at the equalizer, courtesy of Aliah Kitchens with only 28 seconds remaining, sailed high.

The Panthers held a 10-8 advantage in shots, but the Bears were awarded six corners compared to only two for the home team. In goal, Ebert and Jamieson each placed 45 minutes. The duo made four combined saves. Subies made one save in 90 minutes for Georgia State.

COACH ECONOMOPOULOS QUOTABLE

ON BATTLING BACK AND THE DEPTH Of THE TEAM.
"I'm proud of how the team responded after falling behind in the first half. We gave up an early goal but battled back to equalize. We were able to play a number of different players tonight and see how they'll be able to help us as we play our final fall match on Saturday and then begin preparations for the spring season and the Southern Conference Championship."

NOTABLES

Five of Mercer's eight shots came in the second half. Buchanan had a team-high three attempts.
Zoeller became the fifth different Bear to score this season.
By virtue of attempting six corner kicks to Georgia State's three, Mercer has attempted more corners than its opponent in each of its five matches.
Jamieson made two stops in her season debut.
Madi Johnson, Sarah Adcock and Madeline Alhamra each started their first match of the fall campaign.
25 different Mercer players saw the pitch, the most of any match this season.

UP NEXT
The Bears will close out the fall season at Betts Stadium on Saturday against UAB. Match time is set for 6 p.m. Prior to the contest, Economopoulos and his staff will honor the team's 11 seniors.

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.