Saturday, August 20, 2005

MACON, Ga.- The Mercer University women's soccer team defeated Lander this afternoon by a score of 9-2 in its only exhibition contest of the season at Bear Field.

The match belonged to Mercer as they controlled the ball for the majority of the contest. The Bears attempted 13 shots, scoring on four in the first period of action, as senior net-minder Lauren Burch shut out the Bearcats in the opening frame. The Bears' Shelley Wegrzyn began the scoring with a goal in the 14th minute and just over twelve minutes later, Mercer put the contest away, scoring three goals in just over a three-minute span. Sophomore Courtney Maxey found the back of the net in the 26th minute, with rookie Meghan Castaldo scoring the first of her two goals less than a minute later. Sophomore Catie Marshalek ended the Mercer onslaught with just under 30 minutes gone, as the Lewisville, Texas native knocked home the Bears final goal of the half. Mercer finished the half with 14 shots while the visiting Bearcats were unable to record a shot.

"Overall I was pleased," said Mercer head coach Grant Serafy. "It is always good to get a win on your home field. We have a lot of room for improvement and we have some work ahead of us, but that's what exhibition games are all about."

Mercer senior midfielder opened the scoring early in the second half, soring off an assist by freshman Ashley Cook less than two minutes into the second stanza. Sophomore Caitlin McDonald then scored the first of her two goals just three minutes later, putting the Bears up 6-0.

Lander got on the scoreboard when junior Elise Goldy squeezed one past the Bears' goalkeeper in the 63rd minute of the match. The Bearcats were then beneficiaries of an own-goal by Mercer. Freshman goalkeeper Fiorella Lanfranco then shut down the Bearcat's attack the rest of the way, as Castaldo, McDonald, and Kaytie Vander Vos rounded out the scoring for the Bears. The Bears outshot Lander 23-4 on the afternoon and tallied six corner kicks.

Mercer will kick off the regular season on Friday, Aug. 26, when it travels to South Carolina. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Eugene Stone III Stadium.