Second Quarter Offensive Surge Pushes Mercer Past VMI

Saturday, February 14

Lexington, Va.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

4-0, 0-0

VMI

0-3, 0-0

Mercer

VMI

Second Quarter Offensive Surge Pushes Mercer Past VMI

2/14/2026 1:35:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

By: Kaylin Flukey, Kaylin.flukey@live.mercer.edu

LEXINGTON, Va. – The Mercer men's lacrosse team is off to their best start in program history after scoring ten-straight goals and holding VMI scoreless in the second quarter to give them the 16-12 advantage over the Keydets on Saturday morning in Lexington.

Mercer's offense came to life with six different Bears finding the back of the net and three players scoring four goals or more on the day. Junior attackman Dillon Bush led the way for Mercer with five goals and an assist, while senior attackman Michael Frederick and sophomore attackman Will Zylstra added four goals, respectively. The remaining goals came from Ben Jose, Jack Sullivan and Kade McNeil with Dylan McKelvy and Luke Fox adding two assists a piece. The defense held off the Keydets offense with five different Bears with a caused turnover and freshman goalkeeper Jacob Neuman posted eight saves.

HOW IT HAPPENED

VMI came out scoring first with back-to-back goals within the first four minutes of play but Mercer quickly responded with back-to-back goals of their own from Dillon Bush within a minute of each other. The Keydets answered back with three goals before the four-minute mark until Kade McNeil was able to find the back of the net for Mercer. The Bears entered into the second quarter two points behind the Keydets with a score of 6-4.
Mercer's defense was on lockdown in the second quarter, leaving VMI scoreless, allowing the Bears defense to score eight-straight goals before the halftime buzzer giving them an 11-6 lead heading into halftime.
The Orange & Black offense extended the scoring streak to ten-straight goals after Ben Jose and Jack Sullivan found the back of the net in the third quarter. VMI finally broke the streak with goals at the 4:27 and 4:05 mark to close out scoring in the third quarter.
The Keydets showed some fight in the fourth quarter scoring four goals but Mercer scored three of their own, extending the lead enough to take a dominant win over VMI, cruising to a 3-0 start.

TOP BEARS

Frederick worked the field with four goals and six groundballs.
Bush put up a game-high six points with five goals and an assist.
The Mercer defense held VMI scoreless in the second quarter.

NOTABLES

The Bears are off to their best start in program history at 3-0.
Bush extends his scoring streak to 16 games.

UP NEXT

The Bears will wrap up their trip to Virginia on Monday, February 16 at 11 a.m. where they will take on #8 Richmond University at Robins Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE BEARS

Follow Mercer Lacrosse on Twitter and Instagram.

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, visit S upportMAF.com or email maf@mercer.edu.