Men's Soccer to Take on Jacksonville Thursday

MACON, Ga. - The Mercer men's soccer team plays its third consecutive game in Florida on Thursday, taking on the Jacksonville Dolphins. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.

MATCH INFO
Date | Time: Thursday, Aug 29 | 5 p.m. ET
Teams: Mercer (0-1-1 overall, 0-0-0 SoCon) vs Jacksonville (1-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 ASun)
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. | Southern Oak Stadium
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Stats
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_MSoccer

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer leads the all-time series 7-6. Every match between the former ASun opponents has taken place since 2008. Last season, the Bears took down the Dolphins 2-1 at Betts Stadium behind goals from Kadeem Agard and Barzee Blama. Mercer has won five of the last six matchups against JU.

LAST TIME OUT
Mercer was able to earn a draw against a quality South Florida side on Sunday in Tampa. Despite the scoreless final, the Bears controlled possession for much of the contest and dominated many of the statistical categories. Mercer outshot USF 11-7, including a 5-0 edge in shots on goal.

The Mercer back line was superb, keeping the Bulls offensive attack quiet all night. Woodi Pondeca, Sekou Agard and Tommy Redd all played the full 90 minutes on defense. The clean sheet marks the Bears' first of the 2024 campaign.

The Bears' midfield also put together a strong performance to help Mercer control possession in the game. Natnael McDonald, Tomas Morales and Nick Wanzer all played 90 minutes in the midfield, with Carlos Santamaria playing 78 minutes and Grant Hampton playing 77.

Offensively, Kadeem Agard led the charge with four shots, three of which were on goal. Segun Afolabi, Woodi Pondeca and McDonald each added a shot on target.

SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE
Last season, Jacksonville finished with a 5-9-3 record with a 2-2-3 mark in the Atlantic Sun.

Jacksonville enters Thursday's match with a 1-1-0 record on the young season. The Dolphins dropped their season opener 2-0 at #24 Louisville, but bounced back with a 3-0 win against Dayton on Sunday, despite being outshot 25-5.

Cristobal Molina-Campo, Ken Raghoebar and Oscar Resano have all scored goals for Jacksonville, while Carson Wood has contributed two assists. The Dolphins were well represented in the ASun weekly awards, with Christian Sekanina taking home goalkeeper of the week honors and Molina-Campo being named defensive player of the week on Monday.

Men's Soccer to Take on Jacksonville Thursday

Players Mentioned

Segun Afolabi

Kadeem Agard

Sekou Agard

Barzee Blama

Grant Hampton

Natnael McDonald

Tomas Morales

Woodi Pondeca

Tommy Redd

Carlos Santamaria

Nick Wanzer

Footer