Bannister’s Late Goal Stuns Bucs

Saturday, October 18

Johnson City, Tenn.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

4-7-3, 2-0-1

East Tennessee State

1-7-4, 1-2-0

Mercer

ETSU

10/18/2025 9:42:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Rylee Bamberger, rylee.m.bamberger@live.mercer.edu

Johnson City, Tenn. – Two minutes to go. Fernando Arteaga raises his hand. The ball whips across the night sky. Eli Bannister leaps in the air. The freshman defender soars above ETSU's back line. The crowd goes silent. Nylon. 3-2 Mercer.

With just minutes remaining on the game clock, the Mercer Bears (4-7-3, 2-0-1 SoCon) took the lead for the first time in their Saturday night matchup against conference foe East Tennessee State. After once trailing 2-1, Bannister's second goal of his freshman campaign stole all three points and allowed the Bears to reclaim their share at the top of the Southern Conference standings.

ETSU (1-7-4, 1-2-0 SoCon) broke the deadlock early in the 14th minute. Mercer responded quickly with Ehi Aimiuwu scoring his fourth goal of the season two minutes later. The score would remain the same until the 55th minute when Noel Poole pushed the Bucs back in front. Junior Casillas found the equalizer at the 81:22 mark and Bannister's header became the game-winning goal in the 89th minute.

Will Taylor led the Bears with six shots, five of which were on goal. Henry Hampshaw finished Saturday night's contest with four saves. The sophomore goalkeeper now has 54 saves on the year.

Grant Hampton was pivotal for Mercer's defense. The graduate senior appeared everywhere you looked, single handedly stopping several of ETSU's attacking opportunities including a block late in the first half where Hampton slid in front of an open Jaime Carrillo to keep the match square heading into the locker room.

The Bears return to Betts Stadium for their penultimate match at home in the regular season. Kickoff against Jacksonville is slate for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21.