Mercer women’s soccer (5-4-1, 0-1 Southern Conference) opened SoCon play Thursday, Sept. 17 with a 1-0 loss to East Tennessee State University (5-3-1, 2-0 SoCon) in Johnson City, Tenn.
The match remained scoreless for more than 80 minutes before ETSU broke through on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute. Buccaneers Reagan Fitzgerald converted the opportunity for her fourth goal of the season, giving the Buccaneers the only goal they needed to defeat the Bears.
Mercer’s defense kept the Bears within striking distance throughout the match despite ETSU controlling much of the offensive pressure. The Buccaneers finished with a 17-7 advantage in shots and earned 11 corner kicks, but Mercer goalkeeper Avery Parker ‘28 made five saves to keep the game tied deep into the second half.
The Bears had an opportunity to equalize late. In the 89th minute, an ETSU cross created a scramble in front of goal after Buccaneers’ goalkeeper Addison Yelton was unable to control the ball. Ariel Bolton’s ‘28 shot was saved, and the rebound fell to Emily Rutkowski ’30 at the top of the box. Rutkowski’s first-time attempt appeared headed toward the goal, but an ETSU defender cleared the ball just before it crossed the goal line.
Maria Karipidis ’27 led Mercer with two shots, while Kelsie Henton ‘29, Hayden Lepley ‘28, and Rutkowski each recorded one shot on the night. The loss marked just the second time this season a usually-potent Bears offense was shutout. Mercer is tied for second in the conference in goals scored as well as shots on target this season. Olivia Bori ‘27 leads the team with seven goals and 17 points, while Zibby Michaelson ‘30 has six goals and Anna Bachman ‘27 has contributed seven assists.
The Bears' defense has been less strong this season, giving up the most goals in the conference among teams with a positive goal differential. The Bears are also foul-prone in the final third, committing the second-most fouls in the SoCon behind Samford University. Mercer gave up three goals in their first loss against Maine University, as well as four in their loss against Georgia Southern University.
The Bears entered conference play after a strong stretch of non-conference results. Mercer opened the season with wins over Jackson State University and West Georgia University before dropping games to Maine and Georgia Southern. After a 2-0 loss to the University of Georgia, Mercer responded with three straight positive results, a 4-0 win at Winthrop University, a 5-0 victory over Alabama State University and a 2-2 draw at the University of South Florida.
Mercer will have an opportunity to earn its first SoCon victory next Friday when it travels to Birmingham, Ala., to face Samford at 8 p.m. The matchup is a rematch of last season’s SoCon Tournament championship game where the Bears fell to the Bulldogs 1-4.
In a packed 11-team SoCon, and having already lost to likely No. 1 seed ETSU, the Bears will have to keep losses off of their score sheets in the near future to grab a favorable seed in the conference tournament in November. The Bears will return home Oct. 1 to host The Citadel at Betts Stadium before traveling to face the University of North Carolina--Greensboro on Oct. 4.
Kaylee Grace Buchanan '29 is double majoring in Criminal Justice and Psychology with an minor in Religion. When not writing, she enjoys reading, baking and playing tennis. You can also catch her on the pickleball courts jamming out to some music as well.
