The Mercer women’s lacrosse team beat No. 9 Clemson (6-2), 11-10, in South Carolina on Tuesday, marking the first win against a ranked team in the history of the program.
Mercer (3-4) jumped out to an early lead in the game as Ansley Walters '27, last season's Big South Freshman of the Year, scored her first of three goals in the game. Clemson claimed the lead less than three minutes later, but an onslaught of goals by attacker Caroline Glus ‘26 gave the Bears a 5-2 lead going to finish the first period. Glus leads the team in goals this season, and was coming off of another four-goal outing against the University of California at Davis in the previous match.
The second period was quieter as the Bears focused on holding off a formidable Clemson attack that scored 36 times in its two games before Mercer. Going into the third period, the Bears had extended their lead by one from a Sami Lowinger ‘25 goal in the final 10 seconds of the half, bringing their lead to 7-3.
The Tigers mounted a comeback in the third period, bringing the score to 8-8 near the beginning of the fourth period. The Bears and Tigers fought back and fourth with solo goals by Abby Morisson ‘25 and Abby Vane ‘26 countering goals by Clemson’s Lindsey Marshall and Kayla Macleod, knotting up the score at 10-10 as the final five minutes of regulation approached. Walters, the reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, took a clean shot at goal with 4:44 remaining, giving Mercer the lead for good, though not before some close calls and clutch saves by Mercer goalie Kayla Casey '25. Casey recorded 12 saves in the game, her highest of the season.
This win marks Mercer women’s lacrosse’s second-ever win against an ACC team, the last one against Virginia Tech in 2023, and their first-ever against a ranked opponent. The team had previously played the Tigers at a home match last season, but were outmatched 22-10.
The team stays at home for their next three matches, facing off against another ranked team in No. 6 Florida (5-2) this Saturday, March 15, followed by faceoffs against Jacksonville (2-4) on Wednesday, March 26 and conference rival Wofford (1-5) on Saturday, March 29.
Jacob Hossler '28 is majoring in Biology with a potential English minor. In his free time he enjoys photography, writing, and playing tennis and soccer.
