Mercer Tops St. Bonaventure, 17-8, on Wednesday Afternoon

Wednesday, March 4

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m. ET

Mercer University

4-1

St. Bonaventure

0-6

St. Bonaventure

Mercer

Mercer Tops St. Bonaventure, 17-8, on Wednesday Afternoon

3/4/2020 4:06:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score @MercerLacrosse

Goldsmith ties SoCon single-game goals record for second straight contest

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – For the second consecutive game Sean Goldsmith scored seven goals as the Mercer Bears topped St. Bonaventure,17-8, inside Five Star Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Goldsmith also tallied seven goals in last Sunday's win over Wagner, which stands as the record for most goals in a game in Southern Conference history. The Jamestown, N.C. native did not play the final five minutes in the Bears' triumph over the Bonnies.

Mercer (4-1) wasted no time, scoring just six seconds into the contest after Ashton Wood won the opening faceoff and fired a shot into the back of the net to give the Bears the lead.

The Bears would score again, but St. Bonaventure got on the board shortly thereafter to make it a 2-1 contest.

Mercer scored four unanswered goals prior to the halfway mark of the opening quarter to extend its lead to 6-1

St. Bonaventure (0-6) responded with two goals of its own to end the half, but Mercer held a 6-3 lead after 15 minutes.

The Bears got off to a hot start in the second quarter with three goals in a 2:08 span. Goldsmith accounted for the first two goals, including one which was unassisted, while Will McCarthy added the third.

The Bonnies scored their lone goal of the period with eight minutes remaining, but Mercer would not take long to respond.

Carl Klepper scored back-to-back goals within 60 seconds to give the Bears a seven-goal advantage, 11-4 with under six minutes remaining until the intermission.

St. Bonaventure would control the pace for the final 5:55 as it took the final four shots of the quarter – all of which were unsuccessful. The Bonnies' first three attempts sailed wide of the goal, and Colin Kelley saved St. Bonaventure's final shot of the period with 1:43 to go. At the half, Mercer led by seven, 11-4.

The third quarter featured balanced scoring with Mercer narrowly outscoring the Bonnies, 4-3.

It would take nearly four minutes for the Bears to record a goal after the intermission, but McCarty managed to score for the second time in the contest to make it 12-5 in favor of the home squad.

St. Bonaventure's final two goals in the third came from Jake Emmick and Brett Beetow while Goldsmith scored twice for Mercer and Michael Quinn added a goal of his own.

After three complete quarters, the Bears had more than doubled St. Bonaventure's goal total and held a 15-7 lead.

When 4:54 had elapsed in the fourth, Goldsmith tied his own record of most goals in single game, which also stands as a the top mark in the Southern Conference. Goldsmith converted off a pass from Jake Priester and pushed Mercer's lead to 16-7.

Each time would score once more in the game with St. Bonaventure adding a goal with 8:41 remaining while Patrick Marks scored Mercer's last goal of the day.

The Bears outshot the Bonnies, 41-29 and 23-15 in shots on goal. Mercer won an impressive 24-of-30 faceoffs and scooped up 32 ground balls while limiting St. Bonaventure to seven.

Goldsmith (7 goals), Klepper (3), McCarty (2) and Quinn (2) all scored multiple goals for the Bears. All seven of St. Bonaventure's goals came from a different player.

NOTABLES

The Bears earned a nine-goal victory in the inaugural game between the two programs.
Goldsmith tied his own record for most goals in a game with seven. The record also stands as the top mark in the SoCon men's lacrosse history.
Klepper recorded a hat trick for the second time in three games. He scored his third goal of the contest with 5:55 remaining in the second quarter.
Kelley picked up the third victory of his freshman campaign.

UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to Monmouth for a 12 p.m. contest on Saturday in West Long Branch, NJ.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
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