Championship Clinched

Wednesday, April 27

Macon, Ga.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

12-4, 8-1

Campbell

10-6, 7-2

Campbell

Mercer

Photo by: Connor Garrison

4/27/2022 6:46:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Bears claim Big South regular season title with 18-8 win

MACON, Ga. – An eight-goal spurt between the first and second quarters helped push Mercer to the regular season Big South crown on Wednesday with their 18-8 win over Campbell. Hailey Rhatigan and Chloe Schaeffer led the Mercer (12-4, 8-1) offense with five goals apiece to their fourth consecutive home win.

"Great day to be a Bear," said Head Coach Samantha Eustace. "Team win with some great plays all over the field. We beat a very talented and athletic Camel team today. Excited for the Big South tournament!"

Only one minute passed before Hannah Lind opened the scoring off a Maddi Koury helper for a quick 1-0 lead. Not even 90 seconds later, Olivia Ohlmann of Campbell (10-6, 7-2) knotted things at 1. Over the next four minutes, Lyndsey Lewis scored twice, but was countered by a pair from the visitors to make it a 3-3 ballgame. A Rhatigan-to-Lewis connection gave the Bears the lead for good to make it 4-3 which kickstarted the eight-goal run.

In the eight-goal surge, Schaeffer tallied three, Rhatigan added a pair and one each from Shannon Urey and Hannah Lind to make it an 11-3 affair. A Camels goal from Sam Bischoff at the 8:39 mark of the third got them back within seven but were quickly answered by scores from Rhatigan and Kileigh Casey. The two traded goals to end the half at 14-5.

Keeping up the momentum from the first half, Rhatigan needed just 37 seconds from the quarter's start to score to give the Bears their first double-digit lead of the game. In a span of three-plus minutes, the visitors tacked on a pair to close the gap down to 15-7 with a little more than six-and-a-half left. Keeping the pressure on, Rhatigan set up Koury with a score to quell any attempt of a comeback by the Camels at the 3:27 mark. Ohlmann promptly answered as she tallied her third with 2:55 left in the third, which capped Campbell's scoring.

Unassisted tallies from Rhatigan and Schaeffer sealed the eight-goal win and title for the homestanding Bears.

Mercer fired 31 shots, with 29 being on target. They claimed 23 ground balls and won 18 times in the draw circle. The Bears were a perfect 19-for-19 in clearing opportunities.

Iseabal Cryne stopped 11 shots in all 60 minutes from between the pipes.

The win marks the fourth consecutive full season with a championship, following three consecutive SoCon Tournament wins in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

The Bears will receive a bye into the Big South Semifinals next Friday, May 6^th against either Furman or Winthrop at 7 p.m. at High Point's Vert Stadium. By virtue of High Point's head-to-head win over Mercer, the Bears will be the second seed.

Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Lacrosse, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWLAX (Twitter) and @Mercerwlax (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.