Sunday, October 30, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Mercer men's soccer team scored two unanswered goals in the second half to come away with a 2-1 victory over Belmont on Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park.

With the win, Mercer (8-6-3, 3-3-2 A-Sun) clinches a spot as the No. 4 seed in the 2011 Atlantic Sun Championship, hosted by ETSU on November 9-13. Belmont (6-9-2, 2-4-2 A-Sun) saw its postseason chances fall by the wayside as it needed a win to advance.

The first half was filled with conservative play from both sides as neither team generated a quality scoring chance in the period. Mercer did produce five corner kicks in the half, but couldn't convert leaving the score tied 0-0 at intermission.

The Bruins, however, found a goal with their first scoring chance of the afternoon in the 50th minute of play. After a foul resulted in a free kick, sophomore Nico Olsak blasted a shot off the Mercer wall and into the back of the net to give Belmont a 1-0 lead.

The Bears didn't hang their heads long, however, as one of their offensive leaders knotted the game back up just minutes later. Junior Joey Heavner stepped onto a loose ball in the Belmont box and fired a shot past Belmont goalkeeper Lou Manning to tie the game at 1-1.

Mercer nearly went ahead in the 70th minute when redshirt junior Matt Brazer settled a ball just outside the 18-yard box and sent in a shot that drifted just wide of the frame to keep the game tied at 1-1.

The Orange and Black kept pressing forward and found a go-ahead goal when they needed it most. Sophomore Ehjayson Henry flicked a pass from his fellow classmate Sean Baumann over the arms of Manning to put the Bears ahead 2-1 in the 79th minute.