Bears To Battle Bucs On Saturday

Saturday, October 19

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

East Tennessee State

10/18/2024 9:27:00 AM | Men's Soccer

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

MACON - The Mercer men's soccer team hosts East Tennessee State in a conference matchup on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

MATCH INFO
Date | Time: Saturday, October 19 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (5-2-6 overall, 1-0-1 SoCon) vs East Tennessee State (4-5-3 overall, 2-0-0 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Betts Stadium
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Stats
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday's match marks the 25^th meeting between the Bears and Buccaneers. The two teams last met in last season's SoCon Tournament semifinal. Mercer would beat the top-seeded Bucs in dramatic fashion, advancing to the SoCon championship on penalty kicks. The all-time series sits at 9-9-6.

LAST TIME OUT
Mercer picked up a 1-1 draw in Atlanta on Tuesday against in-state rival Georgia State.

After a largely defensive first 44 minutes, Fernando Arteaga put the Bears ahead just before halftime, scoring his first goal of the season. Barzee Blama and Natnael McDonald both collected their second assist of the year on the goal.

The Bears nearly extended the lead in the 74^th minute, but saw a header go just wide of the post. A few minutes later, Georgia State was able to equalize on a goal by Justin McLean in the 79^th minute.

Both sides had chances in the final 10 minutes, but could not break through. Mercer's Grant Hampton delivered a huge clearance near the goal line in the final five minutes to hold the Panthers at one.

Goalkeeper Trevor McMullen made four saves on the night for the Bears.

SCOUTING ETSU
East Tennessee State enters Saturday's match with a 4-5-3 record on the season and sits atop the SoCon standings with a 2-0-0 record in league play. The last time out for the Bucs came on Tuesday, a 3-1 win over Gardner-Webb to move their winning streak to three games.

Graduate student Gabriel Ramos, a preseason all-conference pick, leads the SoCon with 14 points this season, scoring four times and adding six assists. Marc Koudaio has started all 12 games in goal for the Bucs. The senior holds a 1.38 goals against average and a .787 save percentage.