Date Posted: 11/8/2007

KENNESAW, Ga. - Mercer's magical season will continue for at least one more match after Heather Manting scored the deciding penalty kick as the Bears (11-6-2) advanced to Championship match with a 5-3 decision in penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw in the first of Thursday's Atlantic Sun Women's Soccer Championship semifinal matches.

Manting followed successful tries by Erin Theobold, Courtney Maxey, Jenny Niemeier and Kacie Hudson. Belmont (13-6-3) matched Mercer kick-for-kick through the first three shooters, but after Hudson put Mercer up 4-3, sophomore goalkeeper Jean Worts made a sprawling save to her left on Jessica Rix's attempt.

"Mostly [shootouts are] about having confidence that you are going to save each shot," Worts said. "Most of the times it doesn’t go the goalkeepers way, but I knew I just had to save one and we would win it."

After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the Bears and Bruins exchanged goals within two minutes of each other early in the second half. In the 59th minute, Raschelle Riley put the Bears in front with an unassisted tally as she scored her first goal of the season following a clearing attempt after a Meghan Castaldo corner kick.

Belmont would respond less than two minutes later when Anna Holt tipped-in Elizabeth Bublis' pass for her first goal of the year.

While the score remained deadlocked at one throughout the rest of regulation play, the match did not lack in chances. Late in the second overtime, Belmont's Erica Carter broke free behind the defense, but her shot sailed high and as time wound down, the ball was deep inside the Bears' penalty box but after much scrambling, the Bruins could not fire off a shot on net.

"I don’t know how [Carter] got that free, but she did; fortunately, she mis-hit it a bit," Mercer head coach Grant Serafy said. "We definitely dodged some bullets and we were lucky to get to play another day."

The Bears stand 90 minutes away from their first Atlantic Sun Championship and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Standing in the path will be Kennesaw State. The Bears fell to the Owls in the regular-season finale, 3-1 at home.

"We are definitely excited; it's been a great season and a great run and I know we are all so excited to be accomplishing something new for Mercer," Manting said. "I know a lot of us [were] hoping it [would be] Kennesaw so that we can get a rematch and we can go out and play them differently."

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

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