Mercer Soars To 23-1 Win Over Presbyterian In Big South Opener

Wednesday, March 27

Macon, Ga.

4 p.m.

Mercer University

4-5, 1-0Big South

Presbyterian

1-8, 0-1Big South

Presbyterian

Mercer

Mercer Soars To 23-1 Win Over Presbyterian In Big South Opener

3/27/2024 6:58:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Tied for fewest goals allowed in program history

MACON, Ga. - The Mercer women's lacrosse team began conference play with a resounding 23-1 win at home over Presbyterian on Wednesday evening from Five Star Stadium.

The Bears took control of the game from the start and allowed just one goal all game; tied for the fewest goals allowed in program history (vs Delaware State in 2017).

Mercer midfielder Kayla Soltys won her 268th career draw control and in doing so, broke the Mercer women's lacrosse all-time draw control record. She also added four goals to go with her eight draw controls in the game.

Despite draw controls being close with the Bears holding a 15-10 edge, shots on goal were 30-5 in favor of Mercer. Gabby DiVirgilio led the way offensively for Mercer with five goals and four assists for a nine point game. All nine of her points came in the first half.

Defensively, Mercer had 14 caused turnovers on the day. Ansley Walters, Sarah Leahy, and Ally Gibb all had two caused turnovers to lead the Bears.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer scored three goals in the opening three minutes to quickly take a 3-0 lead. Abby Morrison scored her second goal of the season to make it 7-0 Bears with more than four minutes to play in the first quarter.

Then, DiVirgilio would go on to score the next four goals of the game for the Bears who took an 11-0 lead with more than nine minutes to play in the second quarter. Caroline Glus and Soltys scored the last two goals of the half and Mercer took a commanding 15-0 lead into halftime.

Presbyterian finally got on the board just over three minutes in to the second half to make it 16-1. Over the final quarter and a half of the game, three Mercer players went on to score their first goal of the season. That included freshman midfielder Harmony Hall who scored her first career goal.

NOTABLES

Kayla Soltys broke the Mercer all-time draw control record with her 268th career draw control
Freshman Harmony Hall scored her first career goal
Mercer's one goal allowed is tied for the fewest allowed in a game in program history and fewest allowed in a conference game all-time
Mercer allowed a season low five shots on goal
11 different Mercer players scored in the game
The Bears went 6-for-7 on free position shots
Mercer's 14 caused turnovers were a season high
DiVirgilio's nine point game gives her a career high 41 points on the season

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.