Men’s soccer continue hot streak, cruising past Southern Indiana
The Orange and Black beat the University of Southern Indiana on Sunday, 2-0. Seniors were involved heavily in the Bears’ attack, as Barzee Blama '27 scored his first goal of the season eight minutes into the game on a shot assisted by Segun Afolabi '25. Sekou Agard '25 scored his fourth goal of the season nearly 20 minutes later with a leaping header off of a corner from Carlos Santamaria '25.
It was the fifth consecutive shutout performance by the Mercer defense, with the Bears not giving keeper Trevor McMullen '25 much to do. McMullen made one save in the game and has now allowed only three goals in six games this season.
Offensively, the Bears were relentless, recording 10 shots per half and constantly pressing the Screaming Eagles and winning 12 corners to the Eagles' two. They led Southern Indiana in nearly every meaningful offensive statistic, leading in shots (20-7), shots on target (6-1) and goals.
The win could have been by a much larger margin, but two Mercer goals were disallowed by offsides calls, one in each half. Mercer improved its record to 3-1-2 for the season and will look to continue their shutout streak in Kansas City against the University of Missouri-Kansas City this Friday.
Women’s soccer falls in narrow loss to tough Illinois squad
Women’s soccer was bested by the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big 10 Conference, falling 3-2. The matchup pitted the Bears against their first Big Ten opponent since 2009, a 3-2-1 Illinois squad who had just come off of a loss to powerhouse University of Georgia on Sept. 5.
Mercer fell behind early to a first-minute score by Illinois forward Claire Murray, but they answered shortly before the close of the first half via a penalty kick scored by forward Larkin Thomason '27, who leads the team in goals. It was Thomason's seventh score this season in seven games. Thomason is also second on the team in assists, coming off of a Second Team All-Conference nomination in her freshman season.
The second half opened with a Illinois goal by midfielder Sarah Foley, followed by another Foley strike less than 15 minutes later that gave Illinois a 3-1 lead going into the final half hour. However, a penalty kick conversion by Mercer forward Jada Moorman '27 in the 77th minute reduced the Illini's lead to just 3-2 and gave a lifeline to the Bears.
Moorman leads the team in assists the season and is coming off of an impressive 2023 season, after which she was given a First Team All-Conference nod. After their second goal, however, Mercer was unable to score the rest of the match despite the Bears accumulating four more shots on goal before the final whistle blew, all saved by Illinois keeper Izzy Lee.
Mercer stayed fairly even with the Illinois squad throughout the match, with comparable statistics in shots (17-19), saves (7-9) and corners (3-4), even leading the Big 10 team in shots on goal (11-10). The Bears were led within the game by Thomason, who led the team in nearly every offensive category, doubling her peers in shots and shots on goal.
The Bears stay at home for the next two games, the first being a face off against Georgia State on Sept. 12, followed by Presbyterian College on Sept. 15. Mercer holds a record of 4-2-1 going into the game against Georgia State.
