Bears Drop Physical Road Match to Hatters

Friday, August 27

DeLand, Fla.

7:00 PM

Mercer University

1-1-0, 0-0-0

Stetson

1-2-0, 0-0-0

Mercer

Stetson

Photo by: Kurt Ebert

8/27/2021 10:21:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Mercer will return to action on Sunday at 6 p.m.

By: Kraig Doremus

DELAND, Fla. – The Mercer Bears dropped their first match of the 2021 season, falling to Stetson, 2-0, in an incredibly physical contest.

The match featured a combined 30 fouls with 22 called against the Hatters compared to only eight on the Orange & Black.

"It's disappointing to lose," stated head coach Tony Economopoulos. "We had a great week of training, but we came out flat in the first half. Credit Stetson; they played with urgency and scored in the first half. We had two really good chances early in the second half, but couldn't put either one away. Both of Stetson's goals came off set pieces, which is frustrating, but we'll learn from this and get ready for a talented North Florida team on Sunday."

A lightning delay pushed the start time back to 7:40 p.m., and Jordyn Ebert was immediately challenged within the first minute of action. The Suwanee, Ga., native made a save directly in front of the left post to stop Stetson from scoring off a corner kick.

Just past the quarter-hour mark, Nicole Icen nearly put the Bears on the board. Icen received the ball off a throw in and moved from the right edge of the 18 to the center of the box where she fired a missile towards the net, but it was snatched up by Stetson's Ashleigh Wise.

The Hatters scored in the 21^st minute, and throughout the remainder of the opening half, the Bears were unable to generate chances to net the equalizer. The first five minutes of the second period, however, proved to be a different story as Mercer attempted four shots in the first five minutes. It all began following a thrown in when the ball found the foot of Aliah Kitchens a yard away and aligned with the left post. Kitchens' attempt was blocked, but Mercer regained control, and Kylie Buchanan found Kendall Cook on the edge of the 18. From the right corner of the box, Cook attempted to curl a shot into the upper left corner of the net, but it was wide of the goal.

Following Cami Brown's missed attempt in the 49^th minute, the Orange & Black's best opportunity came 90 seconds later. Cook controlled the ball at the start of the box and dribbled into the box past the penalty spot before crossing the ball. The ball found both Kitchens and Icen with Icen firing a shot at Wise. The ball glanced off Wise's body and towards the post, and Icen scrambled to regain control, but a Stetson defender cleared the ball away from the goal.

The Hatters added an insurance goal in the 55^th minute, but the Bears continued to fight as they looked to get on the scoreboard. In the 82^nd minute, Pace Stephenson placed a shot on target, low and towards the center of the net, but Wise made the save. Still down, 2-0, Jordan Lynn's try in the 87^th minute hit the crossbar. Her attempt was Mercer's last of the night as the Bears suffered a loss for the first time in 2021.

The two teams combined for 25 shots. In goal, Ebert made four saves, while Wise made three.

NOTABLES

Kitchens and Stephenson led the Bears with a pair of attempts on goal in the loss.
The Bears had 11 shots with the aforementioned duo of Icen and Stephenson placing tries on target.
Through the first two matches of the 2021 campaign, Buchanan, Icen, Kitchens and Stephenson have all taken three shots.
Ebert made four saves and now has 366 for her career.
Junior defender Elizabeth Hargis made her season debut.

UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to Jacksonville for a Sunday evening (6 p.m.) match against North Florida.

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