The Mercer Men’s Soccer team earned the No. 2 seed in the 2021 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament after finishing their season with a 4-1-1 conference record.
The Bears ended the season with two conference wins against Belmont and Wofford but suffered a loss against Lipscomb.
On Oct. 23, Mercer hosted the Belmont Bruins at home in a grueling double-overtime game. The Bears were victorious thanks to goals from Nick Wanzer, Angel Gonzalez, and Trevor Martineau. Martineau scored the winning goal in the second overtime, assisted by Kadeem Agard and Kevin Kim.
The following Tuesday Mercer traveled to Nashville to compete against the Lipscomb University Bisons. The Bears fell short with a 1-3 loss against the Bisons. Mercer's only goal was scored by Kadeem Agard in the second half, as the Lipscomb defense earned the victory.
In the Bears' final conference game, Mercer faced Wofford in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Mercer fought their way out with a 3-1 win to close out the season. Kadeem Agard, Liam Coxhead, Michael Ille scored Mercer’s three goals and allowed the Bears to end the season on a win.
Mercer will enter the tournament with a bye in the first round as a result of their second place finish in the conference. The team features three All-Conference players in Agard, Ousman Jabang and Dylan Gaither. Jabang notched All-SoCon first team honors after finishing the season with the 33rd most goals in all of Division I. Gaither was a second team selection while Agard was a third team selection.
As the No. 2 seed, the Bears will host the quarterfinal match between No. 3 seed Furman and No. 6 seed Wofford at Betts Stadium on Friday, Nov. 5. The Bears will play against the winner of that game in the semifinals on Nov. 7 at 2 p.m.
