Mercer to Host Kennesaw State on Sunday Afternoon

Sunday, February 21

Macon, Ga.

4:00 PM

Mercer University

Kennesaw State

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Mercer to Host Kennesaw State on Sunday Afternoon

2/20/2021 10:34:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Kendall Cook scored three goals in Mercer’s last match.

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women's soccer squad will play its second consecutive home match on Sunday afternoon when it welcomes in-state rival Kennesaw State to Betts Stadium for a 4 p.m. match.

MATCH INFO
Date: Sunday, February 21, 2021
Teams: Kennesaw State Owls at Mercer Bears
Location: Macon, Ga.
Time: 4 p.m.
Live Stats: bit.ly/3bbQ695
Twitter Updates: @MercerWSoccer

SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
Kennesaw State leads the series, 8-4-2, but Mercer picked up the most recent win with a 2-1 overtime triumph in the 2019 season opener. The Owls took an early 1-0 lead but two unanswered goals by the Orange & Black propelled Mercer to victory. Ally Fordham tied the match in the 54^th minute, and neither team was able to pull ahead over the final 36 minutes as the two teams needed extra time to decide a winner. In overtime, Ciara Whitely netted the game winner, sending the ball past Kennesaw State's Tiffany Sornpao in the 109^th minute to help Mercer start the year 1-0 overall.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Mercer is coming off a dominant 13-0 win over the Wesleyan Wolves. Freshmen Kendall Cook and Ellie Christensen both scored their first collegiate goals in the match with Cook added two more for a hat trick. Cook's first goal came only 59 seconds after kickoff while she added back-to-back second goals in the 48^th and 54^th minutes respectively. In addition to Cook, Fordham, Whitely, Kylie Buchanan and Aliah Kitchens all scored multiple goals. In all, seven players netted a goal with Alina McCue and Christensen scoring as well. Kitchens leads the Bears with five goals. In goal, Jordyn Ebert has made 34 stops through seven matches while Payton Jamieson has stopped five shots.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
Kennesaw State opted to not play matches in the fall and fallen victim to tough luck to start the spring with two of its first three matches being canceled. The Owls' season opener went in their favor as Kameron Downs scored in the 75^th minute to lift the Black & Gold to a 1-0 win over the Jacksonville Dolphins. A stellar KSU back line held the Dolphins to just one shot. The Owls enter the match with Mercer having suffered a defeat at Auburn on Friday night.

NOTABLES

The match is Mercer's second of three consecutive home contests.
Kennesaw State is Mercer's fourth opponent from Georgia this season. The Bears battled Georgia State and Georgia Southern in the fall and hosted Wesleyan last week.
Kitchens and Amaya Evans lead Mercer with 15 and 13 shots to their credit.
Five players – Kitchens, Fordham, Cook, Buchanan and Whitely have scored multiple goals in 2020-21.
Ebert needs three saves to reach 300 for her career.

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