Bears Welcome South Carolina for Friday Clash

Friday, October 9

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

South Carolina

Photo by: Katie Linkner

Bears Welcome South Carolina for Friday Clash

10/8/2020 2:50:00 PM | Men's Soccer

This is Mercer’s first home match against South Carolina

By: Stephen Waldman

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team returns home to face South Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date | Time: Friday, Oct. 9, 2020 | 6 p.m.
Teams: South Carolina (1-2-0, 0-0-0 C-USA) at Mercer (1-2-0, 0-0-0 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Betts Stadium
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Luke Winstel
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

COVID-19 PRACTICES
Availability is limited and will be capped at 20 percent capacity. Temperature checks will be conducted for all fans upon entry to Betts Stadium.

Fans are encouraged to follow all the action via live stats or watch LIVE on ESPN+. General admission walkup tickets will not be available due to COVID-19 practices.

Pre-packaged concessions items will be available for purchase.

Masks are required for all fans. Social distancing will be enforced.

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
Friday's match will mark the first time in the series history that the Gamecocks will come to Macon. The previous 12 contests were all played in Columbia, S.C., with Mercer's lone win coming in a double-overtime thriller on Aug. 30, 2016, when the Bears captured a 3-2 victory over the 24th-ranked team in the nation. Jake Mezei netted the game winner off a deflection from the goalkeeper in the 103rd minute.

The two sides are very familiar with one another, having squared off six times since 2014 with five of the matches being decided by one goal. In their most recent meeting, South Carolina escaped with a 1-0 victory in overtime on Sept. 11, 2019.

NOTABLES

This is Mercer's first-ever home match against the Gamecocks.
The Bears went 1-1 against Conference USA opponents last season.
Trevor Martineau leads the Bears with four points and two goals.
Kevin Kim has dished out the most assists on the team with two.
Dylan Gaither has collected three points on a goal and an assist this year.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS

Friday's contest will be South Carolina's only road match of the fall.
The Gamecocks are 1-2 on the year, giving up three goals in both of their losses (3-1 vs. Georgia State, 3-0 vs. Clemson).
Brian Banahan leads South Carolina with three points on a goal and an assist.
Kyle Gurrieri and Logan Frost are the Gamecocks' other two goal scorers on the season.
The Gamecocks have utilized three different keepers through the first three matches: Justin Bauer, Ryan Bilichuk and Nick Brady.
All three keepers boast a 2.00 goals-against average with Baure owning team highs with a .750 save percentage and nine saves.

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.