Mercer Falls to Samford in SoCon Semifinals

Friday, April 9

Birmingham, Ala.

3:00 PM (ET)

Mercer University

8-10-1, 5-3-0

Samford (Semifinals)

8-1-3, 7-0-2

Mercer

Samford

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

4/9/2021 8:19:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Nicole Icen scored for the Bears.

By: Kraig Doremus

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mercer Bears' 2020-21 season ended Friday evening with a 6-1 loss to top-seeded Samford in the Southern Conference semifinals.

Jordyn Ebert made her first stop of the day in the seventh minute, but 26 seconds later Samford scored when the ball deflected off a Mercer defender's heel and into the net. The 'Dogs extended their lead in the 21^st minute and added a third goal in the 24^th minute.

Despite the deficit, Ebert, who has started consistently in goal since arriving on campus in 2017, showed tremendous poise and saved multiple shots sent her way. She notched her second save in the 22^nd minute and made a diving stop in the 24^th minute, punching the ball away from the net and out of play.

Mercer's backline settled in and did not allow the Bulldogs to attempt a shot in the final 21 minutes of the opening half.

After the intermission, the Bears wasted no time in sending a shot towards Samford's Morgan McAslan, as Kylie Buchanan fired a strike from 35 yards away. Buchanan's try landed wide left of the goal, and the Bulldogs regained control, forcing Ebert to make back-to-back stops 57 seconds apart.

Lightning delayed the start of the contest and struck again in the 52^nd minute, causing greater than an hour delay in Birmingham. When play resumed, Nicole Icen put the Orange & Black on the board. From the left edge of the 18, Jordan Lynn crossed the ball through the legs of Ally Fordham to Icen who stood opposite Lynn in the far right side of the box. Icen caught a diving McAslan off guard and sent the ball inside the right post for the goal, making it a 3-1 contest in the 57^th minute.

Samford's Kayla Reynolds responded with a goal of her own just 25 seconds after Icen scored, and the Bulldogs added goals in the 68^th and 76^th minutes to secure a 6-1 victory and spot in the Southern Conference championship.

The Bears placed two shots on goal in the loss, and Ebert made eight saves.

Coach Tony Economopoulos Quotable

ON THE MATCH
"We felt good going into today's match, but unfortunately we came out flat. Credit Samford for getting an early goal and deflating our energy. I was proud of the team because they never stopped fighting, but we just did not click tonight. It was not meant to be. I am thankful for each of the 10 seniors in the program. They helped improve our program, and we challenged the returners to learn from this and help get us to the finals next season."

NOTABLES

Icen scored her first goal of the 2020-21 season and 11^th of her career.
Lynn notched her first career assist.
For the season, Cook led the Bears with 38 shots as a freshman.
Payton Schurr led all position players with 1,541 minutes on the pitch. Schurr played in all 19 matches and made 17 starts.
Ebert finished the 2020-21 campaign four saves shy of 100, recording 96.
Ebert now has 359 career saves and trails only Amy Rudge who stopped 515 shots during her four-year career from 1990-93.

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