The Mercer women's soccer team beat South Carolina State University 8-0 in the Bears' home opener on Sunday in Betts Stadium. The dominant offensive performance was buoyed by forward Zibby Michaelson '30, who scored three goals in seven minutes just after the start of the second half.
The Bears got off to a hot start against the Bulldogs on a long-range shot by defender Ashley Gilbert '30 which found the back of the net after a deflected punch by Bulldogs keeper Jada Giddings. Mercer then settled in along the wings, using the speed of Marianna Rapani '28 along the left side paired with the through passes of Anna Bachman '27 to keep South Carolina on their toes and deep in their own territory.
This positioning allowed defenders, including hybrid defender/midfielder Hayden Lepley '28, to press higher and put more pressure on a Bulldogs' backline that gave up six goals to Elon University in their previous game. Lepley eventually scored the Bears' second of the game off of a quality top corner shot that richocheted off the post and in. The Bears kept steady through the end of the half, and ended the first 45 minutes 2-0, with a 20-0 shot total in favour of Mercer.
Subbed off midway through the first half, Michaelson, an Illinois native in her fourth collegiate soccer game, came back on after halftime and put Mercer's third goal in the back of the net just 2:57 in. She followed that up with a top-center strike less than four minutes later and completed her hat trick in the 54th minute on a left-corner strike just inside the box.
Two goals from Olivia Bori '27, who has now scored in three consecutive games for the Bears, and one from Emily Rutkowski '30 sealed the game for Mercer. Bachman finished the game with four assists, as many as her end-of-season total last year.
The Bears have high hopes this season after making a run to the Southern Conference finals last year, where they eventually lost to Samford University. Returning Preseason All-SoCon nominees Bachman and Payton Nutzman '29 headline a team that graduated their star forward last year, Morganne Eikelbarner, who led the team in goals during their SoCon finals run. Nutzman had a stellar start to the season last year before being sidelined by injuries.
11 new freshman joined the team this year, including Michaelson and Rutkowski. The Bears have experience and depth on their back line, with Bachman, Regan Moore '29 and Maggie Rollins '28 returning from last year. Mercer's midfield is particularly strong and led the SoCon in assists last year, nearly doubling the second-place team's total. The team is led again by Tony Economopoulos, who has been with the Bears for 14 years.
Mercer won its first two games against Jackson State University and the University of West Georgia before dropping its third to the University of Maine last Thursday. The Bears' next matchup is against Georgia Southern University at home in Betts Stadium on Thursday, August 27, and will take on the University of Georgia at home on Sunday, August 30.
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.
