Championship Sunday

MACON, Ga. – Following a 4-0 dismantling of Furman in the SoCon Men's Soccer Semifinals, Mercer will take on Belmont for the conference championship and the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. With a win, it will be the first tournament title for the Bears since 2019, and fourth since entering the league.

MATCH INFO
Date & Time: Sunday, November 14, 2021 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Belmont Bruins (13-4-1, 4-2 SoCon) vs. Mercer Bears (9-7-1, 4-1-1 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Betts Stadium
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Stream: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
Mercer and Belmont will meet for the final time as SoCon foes, as the Bruins will depart for the Missouri Valley Conference in all sports following the academic year. On October 23, Mercer upset Belmont 3-2 in a double-OT thriller that denied the foes from Music City a regular season championship. The homestanding Bears braved a two-goal comeback from Belmont, and prevailed in double-overtime. The Bears and Bruins have met seven times, and Mercer has claimed six of them, including all three in Macon.

NOTABLES
• The Bears are seeking their fourth SoCon conference title since joining the league in 2014 – Mercer claimed it in 2019, 2017 and 2016
• Over the last eight seasons, the regular season champion has not claimed the tournament tile - the last to win both was Elon, back in 2012
• Dylan Gaither - the regining National Player of the Week by College Soccer News - had a hat trick in the SoCon semifinal against Furman, which was his second of the season - the first being in the season opener versus Gardner-Webb
• Gaither's 43 shots ranked sixth in the conference, and his 25 points places him third
• Three Bears were tabbed All-SoCon: Ousman Jabang (First), Gaither (Second) and Kadeem Agard (Freshman)
• Trevor McMullen has four clean sheets against league opponents – including the semifinal
• McMullen's 50 saves sets him at sixth in the league

SCOUTING THE BRUINS
Belmont comes into the championship having won their last three after falling to Mercer in October. In the SoCon Quarterfinals, they ousted ETSU with a 1-0 scoreline and upset No. 25 UNCG in the semifinal, 2-1, behind goals from Jack Shaw and Liam O'Brien. The Bruins are led by Niccolo Dagnoni - a First Team All-SoCon selection - who has five goals and 10 assists, and Liam O'Brien - a Second Team selection - who has added nine scores and assists on the year. In the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, the Bruins were receiving votes.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Kadeem Agard

Dylan Gaither

Ousman Jabang

Trevor McMullen

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