Bears and Dolphins to Battle in Savannah

MACON, Ga. – Chad Surman's Mercer Bears are set to travel to Savannah, Ga. where they will take on the Jacksonville Dolphins in a non-conference contest.

MATCH INFO
Date: Saturday, February 20, 2021
Teams: Mercer Bears vs. Jacksonville Dolphins
Location: Savannah, Ga.
Time: 6 p.m.
Live Stats: bit.ly/3rZtoIe
Twitter Updates: MercerLacrosse

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
Mercer is 2-7 all-time against Jacksonville with its last win coming in 2016. The two teams last played in April 2019 with the Dolphins leaving Five Star Stadium with a 12-5 victory. The Orange & Black held a 3-1 lead early thanks to goals by Jake Priester, Patrick Marks and John Tarver, but a 3-0 run gave JU the 4-3 lead. Seemingly every time Mercer scored, Jacksonville would embark on a 3-0 or 4-0 run. Despite the early lead, Mercer suffered a 12-5 loss.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
The Bears are off to a 1-2 start in the Chad Surman era with the lone win coming against Lenoir-Rhyne. The losses, however, have been a two-goal defeat to Bellarmine and a hard-fought 18-7 defeat top-ranked and NCAA title contender Duke. Entering the contest with Jacksonville, which will count as a non-conference game despite both teams being members of the Southern Conference, Collin Stewart leads the Orange & Black as one of six multi-goal scorers. Stewart recorded a season-high three goals against Lenoir-Rhyne and has scored six times through three games. Stewart has also recorded four assists and leads all Mercer players with 10 points. Will McCarthy is second on the squad with five goals while Jack McGuire has scored four times in three games – all off the bench. In goal, Colin Kelley has made 21 saves.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
After suffering a setback to Bellarmine in its season opener, Jacksonville suffered an 18-7 loss to No. 2 North Carolina on Feb. 13. The Dolphins' Jack Dolan has scored a team-best five goals to go along with four assists, also tops on the squad. Dolan has recorded nine points while Evan Tyler has six points – four goals and two assists. Brett Reilly is third on the team in points with five. Reilly has scored twice and added three assists. The Dolphins' Adam Baker is 1-1 between the pipes and has made six stops in 81:52. Jason Yaquinto has recorded 10 saves in 36 minutes off the bench. John Galloway is in his fifth season as head coach and has a 21-31 record. His best season came in 2018 when he led Jacksonville to eight victories including five in Southern Conference play.

NOTABLES

Mercer is seeking its third win over Jacksonville. Saturday's contest is the 10^th game between the two teams.
The game is the Bears' first of two against the Dolphins in 2021. The two teams will play in Macon on March 21.
Stewart leads the team in goals (6), assists (4) and points (10).
Mercer is one of five NCAA Division I teams to have a perfect man-down defense percentage.
The Bears are third in face-off percentage (.714) behind only Stony Brook and Saint Joseph's.
Ashton Wood is third among all NCAA Division I student-athletes in ground balls per game with an average of 9.67 per contest.
Wood is also in the top-five among face-off specialists with a .735 winning percentage.
Kelley has been solid in the net for the Orange & Black. Kelley has allowed only 10.26 goals per game, 12^th in the country.
Each week, the Mercer Bears have a new player wearing the No. 24 uniform in honor of Mercer signee John Michael Night. before he could enroll at Mercer, Night suffered a devastating brain stem stroke leaving him in what is medically referred to as Locked-In Syndrome (LIS). This weekend, Stewart, the team's leader in three major statistical categories, will don No. 24.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Soccer, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWSoccer (Twitter), /MercerWSoccer (Facebook) and @MercerWSoccer (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com

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Players Mentioned

Colin Kelley

Patrick Marks

Will McCarthy

Jack McGuire

Jake Priester

Collin Stewart

John Tarver

Ashton Wood

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