Bears And Panthers Play To 1-1 Draw

Tuesday, October 15

Atlanta, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

5-2-6, 1-0-1

Georgia State

3-6-3, 0-3-1

Mercer

Georgia St.

10/15/2024 10:09:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Donovan Schultz, donovan.schultz@live.mercer.edu

ATLANTA – Mercer's Fernando Arteaga scored his first goal of the season just before halftime, but Georgia State was able to equalize late in the second half to end the match in a draw.

The first half of play proved to be a defensive battle, with neither side able to put a shot on goal until the final minute of the period. Segun Afolabi took the first shot of the night in the sixth minute, and the Bears would put up six more before breaking through in the 44^th minute.

After a Mercer corner kick, Natnael McDonald collected the ball 10 yards outside of the top of the box and played a ball into the box. Barzee Blama headed the ball to Arteaga, who took a left-footed shot that found the bottom right corner of the goal to put the Bears on top.

Mercer goalkeeper Trevor McMullen made his first save of the evening in the 59^th minute, diving to his right to collect a Georgia State shot.

Perhaps the best scoring chance that the Bears saw in the second half came in the 74^th minute. Carlos Santamaria played a ball from the left side of the box to the right side, where Tomas Morales put up a header that went just wide of the post.

A few minutes later, Georgia State was able to equalize, as Justin McLean found the back of the net in the 79^thminute. Both sides saw chances in the final ten minutes, but came up empty. Mercer's Grant Hampton delivered a huge clearance near the goal line in the final five minutes to hold the Panthers at one.

For the match, Mercer held a 15-13 edge in shots, while Georgia State had a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Bears had four corner kicks to the Panthers' three.

The Bears move to 5-2-6 on the season with the draw.

SCORING SUMMARY

44' MERCER GOAL; Fernando Arteaga ASSIST: Natnael McDonald, Barzee Blama
79' GEORGIA STATE GOAL: Justin McLean; ASSIST: Tom Williams

TOP BEARS

+ Fernando Arteaga scored for the first time this season, becoming the seventh Bear to score in 2024
+Trevor McMullen recorded four saves, running his season total to 42
+ Barzee Blama and Natnael McDonald each picked up their second assist of the year
+ McDonald, Sekou Agard, Carlos Santamaria, Kadeem Agard, Woodi Pondeca and Grant Hampton all played the full 90 minutes

UP NEXT
Mercer returns to Betts Stadium on Saturday for a conference match with East Tennessee State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.