Tournament Time Is Mercer Time
11/11/2022 7:40:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Bears In Familiar Spot In SoCon Final
Greensboro, N.C.,– Two programs very familiar with the men's soccer Southern Conference Tournament final will meet for the championship on Saturday Nov. 12 when the Mercer Bears play the UNCG Spartans. Â
SATURDAY'S MATCHUPÂ
Date | Time: Saturday Nov. 12 | 6 p.m.Â
Teams: Mercer (8-4-6 overall, 2-1-2 SoCon reg. season) vs. UNCG (12-1-4 overall, 3-1-1 SoCon reg. season)Â
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Soccer StadiumÂ
Watch: ESPN+ https://es.pn/3TIL08NÂ
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3TyhYsaÂ
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccerÂ
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SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETINGÂ
This will be the third time these teams play for the SoCon tournament championship. Mercer beat UNCG in 2017, 3-2 in penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie. In 2019, the Bears beat the Spartans 1-0. In the only regular season match up this season, UNCG came away with a 1-0 victory in Macon on Oct. 22. Mercer qualified for the final with a 2-1 win over VMI, and 1-0 win over ETSU. UNCG had a bye in the quarterfinals and beat Furman in the semifinals, 6-3.Â
NOTABLESÂ
·        Mercer is in its ninth season in the SoCon, and sixth tournament finalÂ
·        UNCG is in its fifth final over that same period-no other team has appeared in more than threeÂ
·        The winner of this game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA TournamentÂ
·        Michael Ille has had the hot foot lately for the Bears with four goals in the last three games. He leads the team in goals with seven.
·        First team all-conference selection Dylan Gaither had the Bears lone goal in the semifinal win over ETSU. He leads the team in scoring with six goals and 10 assists for 22 points. He's second in the conference in points and assists.Â
SCOUTING THE SPARTANSÂ
UNCG is currently ranked No. 7 by United Soccer Coaches; No. 8 by College Soccer News; and No. 9 by Top Drawer Soccer. Marco Afonso, and J.C. Ngando pace the Spartans' attack each with 21 points. Goalkeeper Niclas Wild has a 0.88 goals against average (second in the conference) and five shutouts. Â
Follow the Bears Â
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Soccer, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_MSoccer (Twitter), MercerMSoccer (Instagram) and /MercerMSoccer (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.Â
