Mercer Stuns Furman With Four Unanswered Goals In 4-1 Win In SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals

Sunday, November 8

Greenville, S.C.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

10-8-3, 3-5-2

Furman

13-4-3, 8-0-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Mercer	2	2	4
Furman	1	0	1

Olivia Bori and Libby Michaelson celebration

11/8/2026 5:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Mercer scored four unanswered goals to defeat the second-seeded Paladins

GREENVILLE, S.C. – After falling behind 1-0, the Mercer women's soccer team scored four unanswered goals to defeat the No. 2 seed Furman Paladins, 4-1 Sunday afternoon in Greenville, in the SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals.

The No. 7 seed Bears advance to play the No. 3 seed ETSU Bucs in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 13 in Birmingham, Alabama.

With the win, Mercer handed Furman its first and only loss against a Southern Conference opponent all season. Mercer also became just the second team all season to defeat Furman in Greenville as the Paladins finished the season 9-2-1 at home.

Shots in the game were almost even as Furman had just one more shot than the Bears (11-10). Mercer however had seven shots on goal to just four for Furman. Mercer's four goals were all scored by a different player.

In the 18th minute, Furman's Maddie Massie scored her fifth goal of the season to give the Paladins a 1-0 lead. Then, in the 33rd minute, Payton Nutzmann received the ball in the middle of the field with lots of space and slotted a through ball that Ariel Bolton ran onto and beat the Furman goalie to hear near post to tie the game at one. It was Bolton's first goal of the season.

Less than six minutes later in the 39th minute, Anna Bachman sent a cross from the right wing into the box and Maria Karipidis directed the ball on goal and was initially saved by Furman's goalie, but the ball flew straight into the air, and behind the keeper and into the net for Mercer's second goal of the game, giving the Bears a 2-1 lead that they would hold onto going into halftime.

Mercer faced the tall task of protecting a one-goal lead for 45 minutes against the conference's best offense that also ranked in the top 15 in the country in goals per game. Not only did the Bears shutout the Paladins in the second half, but they added two more goals for good measure.

Just over five minutes into the second half, Hayden Lepley sent a cross in from the right wing that was headed by freshman Zibby Michaelson at the far post and she directed the ball back across the goal and in for her seventh goal of the season, giving the Bears a 3-1 lead. In the 67th minute, Kelsie Henton took a corner that was headed down by Lepley and Marianna Rapani with the outside of her right foot, shot the ball off the bounce into the goal furthering Mercer's lead to 4-1. The Bears did a great job of staying strong defensively and blocking numerous Furman shots to finish out the game on top, 4-1.

SCORING SUMMARY
18'	FURMAN GOAL: Maddie Massie (5) ASSISTS: Norah Roller, Ellie Herrmann
33'	MERCER GOAL: Ariel Bolton (1) ASSISTS: Payton Nutzman
39'	MERCER GOAL: Maria Karipidis (3) ASSISTS: Anna Bachman
51'	MERCER GOAL: Zibby Michaelson (7) ASSISTS: Hayden Lepley
67'	MERCER GOAL: Marianna Rapani (2) ASSISTS: Hayden Lepley, Kelsie Henton

NOTABLES

+ Mercer advances to the SoCon Tournament Semifinals for the second straight year.
+ The Bears handed Furman its only loss of the season to a conference opponent.
+ Mercer became just the second team all year to defeat Furman in Greenville.
+ All four of Mercer's goals were scored by a different player.
+ Anna Bachman's assist on Karipidis' goal was her SoCon leading 10th assist of the season..
+ Mercer's four goals scored were tied for its most scored against a conference opponent this season (4 vs VMI).
+ Mercer had a balanced attack as no player had more than two shots in the game.
+ Avery Parker made three saves in the game.

UP NEXT

Mercer will take on the No, 3 seed ETSU Bucs in the SoCon Tournament Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 13. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET from Birmingham, Alabama..

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