Mercer Falls in Overtime to Jacksonville

Saturday, February 20

Savannah, GA.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

1-3

Jacksonville

2-1

Mercer

Jacksonville

Photo by: Natalie LeDonne/Duke Athletics

2/21/2021 1:21:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

Second-half rally falls short as Bears fall in overtime.

By: Travis Rae

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Mercer men's lacrosse team dropped a heartbreaking 12-11 overtime decision to Jacksonville on Saturday evening. The match was a non-conference, neutral-site match played in Savannah, Ga.

Six different Bears scored in the game with Collin Stewart tallying a team-high three goals. Michael Quinn, Nick Rockefeller and Will McCarthy each scored two goals apiece. Taylor Dooley and Ashton Wood registered a goal in the match. Quinn had a team-high three assists, while Jack McGuire and Khory Reid each had one helper to add their names to the scoresheet.

The Dolphins scored first in the contest as two and a half minutes in, Tom Heed beat Colin Kelley for a goal. Mercer looked to answer back quickly had Quinn had a shot go high and a shot saved a minute after the Jacksonville goal. After a Patrick Marks shot went wide, the Bears rebounded as Stewart tallied his seventh goal of the season to the match at 1-1.

Jacksonville built a two-goal lead as Evan Tyler netted a pair within a minute and a half of each other. After Wood won a faceoff, the Bears came down and Stewart buried his second goal of the game.

Mercer continued to put pressure on the Dolphins with seven more shots in the first quarter but could not score. The Orange & Black found themselves down 4-2 after one quarter of play.

Each team would tally a goal in the second quarter of play with the Dolphins scoring first. Trailing 5-2, the Bears' Rockefeller scored with 2:41 left in the quarter. Each team had nine shots in the quarter.

Mercer did not go away quietly as they battled back tying the game with 10:51 left in the third quarter. After goals by Quinn and Dooley earlier in the quarter put Mercer down one, Rockefeller tied the match at 6-6. Thirty-four seconds later, Mercer took its first lead of the game when McCarthy scored, putting the Bears ahead 7-6.

The Orange & Black stretched the lead to two after a Quinn goal capped a 5-1 run to open the second half. The Dolphins scored the final three goals of the quarter, however, taking a 9-8 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

Thirty-five second into the fourth quarter the lead grew to two after a goal by Tyler. Trailing by two, Mercer answered back with the next three goals of the contest, all of which came within 40 seconds of each other. McCarthy got the scoring going with the ninth goal for the Bears. Eleven seconds later, Wood won a faceoff and went coast-to-coast to tie the match at 10. Stewart completed the hat trick with 4:59 left in the quarter.

The Bears held onto the one-goal lead for the next four minutes. After a clearing attempted failed, Jacksonville took advantage and beat Kelley for the tying goal. Each team had a shot on goal in the final 30 seconds, but both goalies recorded stops.

Heading into overtime, Wood won the faceoff and the Bears had the first shot attempt when Rockefeller fired a shot that Adam Baker saved. Jacksonville went down and had a shot a minute later, but Kelley stood tall in goal and made the save. A minute after the save, Tyler ended the game as he scored giving the Dolphins a 12-11 victory.

NOTABLES

With the contest on Saturday against Jacksonville, Mercer falls to 2-7 all-time vs. the Dolphins. They will meet one more time this season on March 21 in Southern Conference action.
Collin Stewart recorded a hat-trick as he led Mercer with three-goals scored.
Michael Quinn had himself an impressive offensive night as he tallied five points (2 goals; 3 assists).
Mercer and Jacksonville were even on shots on the contest as they each had 42. The Bears were outshot in overtime, 2-1.
Colin Kelley tallied 17 saves in the game. The 17 saves is a career-high for the sophomore from Ellicott City, Md.
Ashton Wood won 19 of 28 faceoffs on the day. Wood ranks first in the NCAA in faceoff winning percentage.

UP NEXT
The Bears return to action on Sunday as they will faceoff against Cleveland State at Five Star Stadium. The opening faceoff is slated for 11 a.m.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Lacrosse, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerLacrosse (Twitter) and @MercerMensLacrosse (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com