Bears Secure First Win in Chad Surman Era

Saturday, February 6

Macon, Ga.

4:00 PM

Mercer University

1-1

Lenoir-Rhyne

0-0

Lenoir-Rhyne

MER

Photo by: Ben Murray

2/6/2021 6:45:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

Mercer topped Lenoir-Rhyne, 17-4

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – Five players scored at least two goals as the Mercer Bears topped the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears, 17-4, for head coach Chad Surman's first victory.

Mercer limited Lenoir-Rhyne to two goals in the first two quarters and a pair of third quarter goals before shutting out the visitors over the final 15 minutes. The Orange & Black scored seven times in the opening half and after converting four times in the third quarter, exploded for six goals in the fourth.

Mercer (1-1) put up a pair of goals in the first four minutes with Nick Rockefeller (12:14) and Michael Quinn (11:22) finding the back of the net within 58 seconds of each other. The Orange & Black held Lenoir-Rhyne scoreless for the first 11:21 of the match before it finally got on the board late in the opening quarter.

The Orange & Black's Parker Junod scored a mere 34 seconds into the second quarter to give Mercer a 3-1 lead, but for more than 10 minutes after his score, neither team managed to convert. The Bears of L-R pulled within a goal, 3-2 thanks to Jake Alesia's conversion with 4:36 remaining until the half, but four unanswered goals from the home team gave the Orange & Black a 7-2 advantage at the break. Quinn scored his second goal of the game with 2:36 left in the quarter while Will McCarthy (1:47), Collin Stewart (1:07) and Jack McGuire (0:46) scored the final three goals of the period for the Bears of Mercer.

After an early third quarter goal, Mercer did not score again Daniel Shumake converted with 2:43 on the clock, but the Bears would pick up two late scores – one from Rockefeller with 37 seconds remaining in the quarter and McCarthy's goal with one second left – to reach double-digit goals. After 45 minutes, Mercer held a 11-4 lead.

Six fourth quarter goals and stout defense allowed Mercer to secure a commanding 17-4 victory. Six different players scored for the Bears in the quarter with Stewart assisting Rockefeller to kick off the scoring. After McCarthy's third goal of the day, freshman Matthew Winegardner netted his first collegiate goal with 8:31 to go. Stewart gave Mercer a 15-4 lead thanks to his goal with 6:06 on the clock, and despite more than a four-minute dry spell, McGuire and Khory Reid scored inside of the two-minute mark. Reid's goal, which happened with 41 seconds to play, was the last of the afternoon as Mercer picked up its first win of the season.

The Orange & Black improved to 1-1 overall. Lenoir-Rhyne, which competes in NCAA Division II, considered the game an exhibition.

Mercer tripled L-R in shots, 57-19. The Orange & Black placed 31-of-57 shots on goal and won 17-of-23 face-offs.

NOTABLES

In the first meeting between the two teams, head coach Chad Surman recorded his first career win.
Mercer took 57 shots, a season-high. The Bears only took more than that on two occasions in 2020, attempting 68 vs. Florida Tech (Feb. 1) and 58 vs. Hampton (Feb. 22).
McCarthy, Stewart and McGuire each had three goals for Mercer. Quinn and Rockefeller scored twice.
Nine different players scored for Mercer. In addition to the aforementioned five, Junod. Shumake, Winegardner and Reid each scored.
McCarthy attempted a game-high 13 shots.
Ashton Wood led Mercer with 10 groundballs. He has collected 21 this season and sits six away from 200 for is career.
Stewart is the only Mercer player with multiple goals in each of the first two games this season.
Stewart placed all five of his shots on goal in the win and has put 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) on target through two contests.
Colin Kelley made the start in goal and made five saves in 55:27. Peter Klueber played the final 4:33 in relief and made one save.
The contest was Mercer's final home game for more than three weeks. The Bears will not return to Five Star Stadium until Feb. 28 when they battle Cleveland State.

UP NEXT
Mercer will travel to top-ranked Duke on February 13 at 1 p.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