After an unprecedented run to the finals of the Southern Conference Championship, the women's soccer (10-7-3, 3-3-3 Southern Conference) lost to Samford University (13-2-5, 7-0-2 SoCon) on Sunday, Nov. 9, 4-1.
The game got off to a great start for the Bears, who kept their postseason momentum going by taking the lead off of a goal from Morganne Eikelbarner '26, whose left-footed shot found the back of the net within two minutes of the opening whistle. Mercer's defense faltered 20 minutes later as Samford tied the game off an unassisted Langston Lilly goal. The Bears remained on the back foot until halftime, allowing eight shots in the first 45 minutes.
The Bulldogs' pressure finally broke the deadlock just after the second-half whistle as Clare Nicholas broke free and laced a shot into the back of the net in the 46th minute. The Bears were unable to claw back any momentum after that, and allowed the Bulldogs to score twice more before the end of the game.
After going 5-3 in the regular non-conference season, the Bears looked to buck a postseason trend. In its last two seasons, Mercer came out of the regular season hot, racking up key victories and winning records before heading into the postseason tournament. But in both of those seasons, the team fell short in the quarterfinals.
This year, the Bears put in solid regular season performances against tough foes like East Tennessee State University, but ended with a 3-3-3 conference record, good for the sixth spot in the SoCon bracket. The season looked to be heading towards another average finish for a talented team that had just lost some firepower up front to the transfer portal and graduation before August.
However, the Bears turned out a strong performance against No. 3 ETSU, beating the Bucanneers in the last ten minutes with a set piece goal by Maria Karipidis '27, her fifth in the season.
Head Coach Tony Economopolous told Mercer Athletics that the team played, "probably some of the best soccer we've played all season" in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals on Nov. 2, the Bears faced No. 2 Western Carolina University, who they had narrowly lost to on Sept. 21, 2-1. The battle was tough and physical, and the officials doled out four yellow cards and 22 fouls, leading to a 0-0 deadlock at the end of regulation. After a scoreless first overtime, Mercer was able to draw a foul in the penalty box on a through pass to Sydney Farr '26. Eikelbarner buried the kick in the corner of the net and sent Mercer to their first SoCon championship match appearance since 2015.
Sunday's game ends a successful campaign for the Mercer squad, whose finals runs happened despite a depleted roster and an average regular season. Eikelbarner finished the season with a team-leading 10 goals, and Payton Nuzman '29 enjoyed a breakout season to led the team in assists, finishing second in total points behind Eikelbarner.
Jacob Hossler '28 is an English and Law and Public Policy double major at Mercer University. While not serving as the Sports Editor at The Cluster, he enjoys running, writing and photography.
