Friday, May 3
Macon, Ga.
4 p.m.
Mercer University
vs
Longwood
Mercer Prepares For Big South Semifinals Against Longwood Friday
5/2/2024 2:36:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Game starts at 4 p.m. in Five Star Stadium
MACON, Ga. -Â The Mercer Bears will play the Longwood Lancers on Friday at 4 p.m. from Five Star Stadium in the Big South Tournament semifinals. Admission to the game is free.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Big South Tournament Semifinals
No. 1 Mercer (12-5, 8-0 Big South) vs No. 4 Longwood (8-9, 5-3 Big South)Â
Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium
Friday, May 3 | 4 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the 6th all-time meeting between Mercer and Longwood. Mercer leads the series 3-2 and won in the team's meeting in the regular season 26-11.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mercer women's lacrosse team defeated Radford, 14-9 last Saturday in Radford, Virginia to win the Big South regular season championship outright for the second consecutive season and its third straight Big South regular season title.
Mercer went 8-0 in the Big South this season, its second consecutive season going undefeated in conference play. The Bears will hos the Big South Tournament as the No. 1 seed May 3-5 from Five Star Stadium.
The Bears got off to a bit of a slow start offensively against Radford, but the Bears scored 13 goals over the final three quarters to earn the road win. Shots on goal were 29-20 in favor of Mercer. Draw controls were also in favor of Mercer 16-8.
Kayla Soltys led Mercer's attack with four goals and one assist. She also had a game high nine draw controls. Gabby DiVirgilio also had four goals on the afternoon.
SCOUTING LONGWOOD
Longwood enters Friday's semifinal game as the No. 4 seed. The Lancers went 5-3 in the Big South with all three of its losses coming to the three teams seeded higher than them in the tournament: Mercer, High Point, and Furman.
Longwood lost three of its last four games of the regular to the aforementioned teams and will look to get back on track against the Bears Friday.
Longwood had the fifth best scoring offense in the Big South in the regular season at 12.56 goals per game.
The Lancers had three all-conference players with senior defender Julia Koening being named First Team All-Conference. Koenig was at the helm of the Lancer defense, and she was the team's top player on draw controls. She ranks third in the Big South in draw controls per game (4.71). She added 40 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers this year.
Longwood had one of the most prolific goal scorers in the conference this year in Second Team All-Conference senior attacker Riley McDonald. McDonald is second in the conference with 58 goals, a mark that is the third-most in a single season in team history. Her 58 goals ranks 20th in the nation, and she is averaging 3.41 goals per game. This year, she has had at least five goals on six games.
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.
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GAME DAY INFORMATION
Big South Tournament Semifinals
No. 1 Mercer (12-5, 8-0 Big South) vs No. 4 Longwood (8-9, 5-3 Big South)Â
Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium
Friday, May 3 | 4 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the 6th all-time meeting between Mercer and Longwood. Mercer leads the series 3-2 and won in the team's meeting in the regular season 26-11.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mercer women's lacrosse team defeated Radford, 14-9 last Saturday in Radford, Virginia to win the Big South regular season championship outright for the second consecutive season and its third straight Big South regular season title.
Mercer went 8-0 in the Big South this season, its second consecutive season going undefeated in conference play. The Bears will hos the Big South Tournament as the No. 1 seed May 3-5 from Five Star Stadium.
The Bears got off to a bit of a slow start offensively against Radford, but the Bears scored 13 goals over the final three quarters to earn the road win. Shots on goal were 29-20 in favor of Mercer. Draw controls were also in favor of Mercer 16-8.
Kayla Soltys led Mercer's attack with four goals and one assist. She also had a game high nine draw controls. Gabby DiVirgilio also had four goals on the afternoon.
SCOUTING LONGWOOD
Longwood enters Friday's semifinal game as the No. 4 seed. The Lancers went 5-3 in the Big South with all three of its losses coming to the three teams seeded higher than them in the tournament: Mercer, High Point, and Furman.
Longwood lost three of its last four games of the regular to the aforementioned teams and will look to get back on track against the Bears Friday.
Longwood had the fifth best scoring offense in the Big South in the regular season at 12.56 goals per game.
The Lancers had three all-conference players with senior defender Julia Koening being named First Team All-Conference. Koenig was at the helm of the Lancer defense, and she was the team's top player on draw controls. She ranks third in the Big South in draw controls per game (4.71). She added 40 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers this year.
Longwood had one of the most prolific goal scorers in the conference this year in Second Team All-Conference senior attacker Riley McDonald. McDonald is second in the conference with 58 goals, a mark that is the third-most in a single season in team history. Her 58 goals ranks 20th in the nation, and she is averaging 3.41 goals per game. This year, she has had at least five goals on six games.
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.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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