Mercer Returns to Five Star Stadium on Sunday

Sunday, February 28

Macon, Ga.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

Cleveland State

Mercer Returns to Five Star Stadium on Sunday

2/26/2021 3:34:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Mercer has not played at home since February 6

By: Travis Rae

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's lacrosse team returns to Five Star Stadium on Sunday morning when its hosts the Cleveland State Vikings in a non-conference match at 11 a.m.

Sunday's Matchup
Date | Time: Sunday, Feb. 28 | 11 a.m.
Teams: Cleveland State (0-0) at Mercer (1-3, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga.
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @MercerLacrosse

Series History
Sunday's matchup between the Bears and Vikings is the fourth meeting in program history. The Bears lead the series, 2-1. The last time these two programs have met was March 9, 2020 when Mercer defeated Cleveland State, 16-13, in a neutral site match, held in Towson, Md.

Scouting Mercer
Mercer is under the direction of first-year head coach Chad Surman and are 1-3 on the season. Mercer is coming off a 12-11 overtime loss to Jacksonville in a neutral site game last Saturday. Collin Stewart leads the way for the Bears with nine goals and put together an impressive three-goal performance against Jacksonville. Will McCarthy is second on the team with seven goals. McCarthy leads the team with 31 shots this season. In the face-off circle, Ashton Wood leads all NCAA Division I face-off specialists with a 71.9 percent winning percentage. In goal, the Bears are led by sophomore Colin Kelley, who has started each game for the Orange & Black. He allows 10.6 goals per game has as tallied 38 saves.

Scouting Cleveland State
Sunday will mark the first game of the season for the Vikings. The Vikings had their season opener canceled on Feb. 13. Last season before COVID-19, the Vikings were 2-5 with wins over then-No. 16 Air Force and Bellarmine. Tristian Hanna led the team with 19 points as he scored a team-high 14 goals and had five assists on the year. Hanna, a senior from Leaskdale, Ontario returns this season for the Vikings. As a team, Cleveland State averaged 9.4 goals per game and 38.4 points per game. The only goalie that played during the 2020 campaign, Gareth Haigh, returns this season for Cleveland State. He went 2- and had a 12.7 goals against average.

Notables

Wood leads the nation in faceoff percentage, winning 71.9 percent of his faceoffs. Only two other players, Petey LaSalla from Virginia and Emmerson Tyler from Long Island, boast better percentages.
Stewart has nine goals and four assists this season for a team-high of 13 points. He matched his 2020 season totals over the Bears' first two games.
Each week, a new Mercer player wears the No. 24 uniform in honor of Mercer signee John Michael Night. Before he could enroll at the University, Night suffered a devastating brain stem stroke leaving him in what is medically referred to as Locked-In Syndrome (LIS). This week, Khory Reid will don the 24 jersey.
Mercer's Michael Quinn is coming off a five-point performance against Jacksonville. He tallied two goals and three assists in the contest.
Quinn has been an offensive spark plug for the Bears over the last three games. He has scored all of his points in the last three games, including two goals each in the them.

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