SoCon Champions

Sunday, November 14

Macon, Ga.

2:00 PM

Mercer University

10-7-1, 4-1-1

Belmont

13-5-1, 4-2-0

Belmont

Mercer

11/14/2021 5:27:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Mercer takes down Belmont, 4-3, for fourth conference title

MACON, Ga. – For the fourth time, Mercer took the SoCon Men's Soccer Championship, taking down fourth-seeded Belmont by a 4-3 margin. Previously, the Bears took tournament crowns in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Mercer (10-7-1, 4-1-1 SoCon) battled back from an early deficit when Belmont (13-5-1, 4-2 SoCon) scored twice before the 21^st minute. Liam O'Brien accounted for the first two early Belmont goals when he scored in the 20^th and 21^st minutes. Nearly twenty minutes passed before Dylan Gaither halved the lead from the spot after an unsuccessful challenge in the box from the Bruins in the 39^th. Gaither equalized in the 41^st when he weaved through the BU defense and put it to the left of Drew Romig, the Bruin keeper.

The sides were in a back-and-forth deadlock until Michael Ille notched a shot past Romig for the 3-2 lead in the 70^th minute. Belmont battled back in the 80^th when Esteban Lestido knocked in the corner past Trevor McMullen to get the match level again.

Seeming as if these sides were going to an extra period again, Gaither found Trevor Martineau off of a counterattack for the championship-clinching goal in the 88^th minute of the match.

Ousman Jabang led the Bears offense with five shots, but Gaither led with all four of his shots being on goal. As a team, the Bears fired off 13 shots, with nine of them being on target. McMullen stopped three shots on the afternoon.

With five goals in the SoCon Men's Soccer Tournament, Gaither was tabbed as the event's Most Outstanding Player. Ousman Jabang, Martineau and Bryant Jackson were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Mercer has clinched the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The upcoming opponent, date, time and location are all still to be determined.

SoCon Men's Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team 
Jacob Garzon, Furman
Alfredo Diaz-Santillan, Furman
JC Ngando, UNCG
Fernando Garcia, UNCG
Drew Romig, Belmont
Niccolo Dagnoni, Belmont
Liam O'Brien, Belmont
Ousman Jabang, Mercer
Trevor Martineau, Mercer
Bryant Jackson, Mercer

Most Outstanding Player 
Dylan Gaither, Mercer

Pinnacle Award (highest cumulative GPA among championship-eligible student-athletes on winning team)
Liam Coxhead, Logan Longo, Nick Wanzer - Mercer

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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.