Bears Drop Spring Opener at North Florida

Saturday, February 13

Jacksonville, Fla.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

1-5-0, 0-0-0

North Florida

1-1-0, 0-0-0

Mercer

North Florida

Photo by: Katie Linkner

2/13/2021 2:39:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Dawson Gideon netted the lone goal for Mercer in the 87th minute

By: Stephen Waldman

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Mercer men's soccer team dropped its spring 2021 opener at North Florida, 2-1, on Saturday at Episcopal High School.

The Bears and Ospreys battled back-and-forth throughout the majority of the match as Mercer narrowly trailed UNF in shots, 8-7, and corner kicks, 5-3.

Dawson Gideon paced the Bears with two shots on goal and tallied the squad's only goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 87th minute. In goal, JR DeRose made three stops in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer came out ready to play as the visitors generated a pair of shots in the early going. Leo Toledo Jr. started things with a shot in the seventh minute before the Bears were awarded a corner kick. Mercer utilized its opportunity and got the ball to Gideon who fired a shot toward the bottom right corner of the goal, forcing UNF's keeper, Carlos Melendez, to make the save.

UNF tested DeRose and the Bears' defense in the 17th minute when a free kick off the boot of LJ Estes was punched over the bar by the redshirt-senior keeper to hold the Ospreys off the board. The home team broke through in the final minutes of the first half as a shot from 22-yards out by Ale Rodriguez Lopez found its way to the back of the net in the 41st minute.

North Florida added to its lead in the 66th minute when Robbie Soronellas converted on a penalty kick to make it a 2-0 game.

Michael Ille looked to provide a spark off the bench for the Bears in the 83rd minute as he ripped a shot from just outside the 18 that slipped right over the crossbar. Gideon was awarded a penalty kick of his own in the 87th minute after being fouled in the box and buried the shot into the bottom corner of the goal to bring the Bears within one, 2-1, but Mercer was unable to find the equalizer in the final three minutes of the contest.

NOTABLES

Gideon tied Dylan Gaither and Trevor Martineau for the team lead in goals on the season.
The Bears are a perfect 2-for-2 on penalty kicks this season.
Logan Longo earned his first collegiate start.
Jason Nduese-udom and Dalton Reyna made their season debuts for the Bears.
Reyna played in his first collegiate match for the Bears.

UP NEXT
The Bears return to Betts Stadium for their first home match of the spring on Wednesday as they welcome the Stetson Hatters. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

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.