Shutout Starts SoCon Slate

Friday, September 24

Cullowhee, N.C.

7:00 PM

Mercer University

4-3-1, 1-0-0

Western Carolina

5-4-1, 0-1-0

Mercer

Western Caro.

9/24/2021 9:09:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Women's soccer blanks Western Carolina, 3-0

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Mercer women's soccer team opened its SoCon slate with a dominant 3-0 win over Western Carolina on the road at the Catamount Athletic Complex

"This was a great result for confidence to start conference play," said head coach Tony Economopoulos. "We were good at creating chances in the first half were we had more possession ... Credit to WCU for the way they started the second half, we knew they were going to come out strong and force us into a 'bend but don't break' situation ... (Jordyn) Ebert came up very big for us until the end, making great plays."

Following twenty minutes of back-and-forth attempts to make a mark on the scoreboard, Kendall Cook connected a corner to Ally Fordham, who headed in the first goal of the contest for Mercer (4-3-1, 1-0).

With the newfound lead, Mercer did not let up on the pressure toward WCU (5-5-1, 0-1), scoring again to double the lead when Payton Schurr found Cook, who crossed it behind the Catamount keeper for the two-goal cushion. In the waning minutes of the first 45, Nicole Icen sent a screamer from well outside the 18-yard box to up the lead to 3 at the break. Bears keeper Jordyn Ebert was credited with the assist on Icen's strike.

Economopoulos on Ebert's assist, "she recognized that we had an advantage (in numbers) and she found Icen up front."

Cook led the Mercer attack with a goal and an assist on five shots, two of which were saved by WCU's Melody Mezzina in net.

In addition to the assist on Icen's score, Ebert stopped four shots throughout the 90 minutes en route to collecting the clean sheet.

Not going out without a fight, WCU came out in the second half with added urgency to get back into the match, with numerous threats to the MU backline in the stanza's opening minutes. The Catamounts tallied five shots, with one goal in the onset of the second half.

Ebert and Schurr both totaled the entire 90 on the field.

Even with the three-goal cushion in the second period, MU did not stop their attack in an attempt for a fourth goal, when they fired five shots.

Mercer will continue their conference road swing on Sunday evening when they venture to ETSU for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The match will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

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