Mercer Travels to Air Force for SoCon Contest

MACON, Ga. – After a 15-10 non-conference win over Utah last weekend, Mercer Bears will travel to Air Force for their Southern Conference road opener on Saturday afternoon.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, April 3 | 2:00 p.m. (ET) / 12:00 p.m. (MT)
Teams: Mercer Bears (3-5, 0-1 SoCon) at Air Force Falcons (2-5, 1-0 SoCon)
Location: Falcon Stadium | Air Force Academy, Colorado.
Live Stats: bit.ly/3cAIEX5
Live Video: bit.ly/3rFrkEH
Twitter Updates: @MercerLacrosse

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday is the 10^th meeting between the two teams. Mercer is 1-8 against Air Force.

SCOUTING MERCER
Mercer enters Saturday's contest with a 3-5 record and 0-1 mark in SoCon play. The Bears are led by Will McCarthy's 16 goals, but Michael Quinn paces the team with 19 points on 11 goals and eight helpers. Collin Stewart has also scored 11 times through eight games. The Bears welcomed back Sean Goldsmith on March 21 and after a two-goal outing against Jacksonville, he exploded for six goals in the 15-10 win over Utah to earn a spot on the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's team of the week. Colin Kelley has been a steady presence between the pipes for head coach Chad Surman. Kelley, a sophomore from Ellicott City, Md., has made 101 saves and stopped 52.1 percent of shots sent his way.

SCOUTING AIR FORCE
Air Force is 2-5 overall and snapped a four-game skid with an 8-6 victory over Bellarmine in its Southern Conference opener on March 27. The Bears and Falcons played four common opponents – No. 1 Duke, No. 2 North Carolina, Utah and Bellarmine. Air Force's went 2-2 against those squads, and Mercer went 1-3 with its lone victory coming last weekend against Utah. The Falcons' Ethan Grandolpo leads the team in goals (10) and points (16), while Quincy Peene is the team's leader in assists with seven in seven contests. Peene has also scored seven times to record 14 points. In goal, Braeden Post has made 72 saves. Three different players – Dylan Frankhouser (33-of-18), Michael Johnson (24-of-55) and Brenden Crouse (18-of-33) have spent time at the face-off X.

NOTABLES

Mercer is 1-8 all-time against Air Force. The Bears' lone win in the series came in 2018.
The Bears are coming off a 15-10 win over Utah last weekend.
Goldsmith scored six goals in the win and named to USILA Team of the Week.
McCarthy leads the team with 16 goals. Quinn and Stewart each have 11 goals through eight contests.
Quinn paces the team with eight assists.
Kelley surpassed 100 saves in 2021 in last weekend's win.
Kelley has been the goalkeeper of record in each of Mercer's eight contests.
Kelley ranks 18^th among NCAA Division I student-athletes in saves per game (12.62) and 36^th in save percentage (0.521).
The Bears lead the SoCon with an average of 12.75 saves per game.
Ashton Wood leads the conference and is fourth nationally with 8.75 groundballs per contest.
Wood has won 61.7 percent of his face-offs, which is the 18^th best mark in the nation.
The Bears will alternate road and home contests for the remainder of the season.

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

Mercer Travels to Air Force for SoCon Contest

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Players Mentioned

Sean Goldsmith

Colin Kelley

Will McCarthy

Michael Quinn

Collin Stewart

Ashton Wood

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