The Mercer Bears are headed to the NCAA Tournament.
Mercer, the tournament’s second seed, played to a scoreless draw against the top-seeded East Tennessee State Buccaneers, but won 4-1 on a penalty shootout to clinch the program’s first Southern Conference tournament title since 2001.
Mercer held a 10-4 edge in shots (2-1 in shots on goal) as they limited the Bucs’ offensive chances throughout the game. It was a far cry from the two teams’ regular season matchup, which saw the teams combine for 27 shots in a 2-0 Bucs victory. Following two halves and two overtime periods of scoreless play, it went to penalty kicks, where Jack Poore had a chance to end it with his team ahead 3-1.
.@MercerMSoccer's Poore scores his penalty kick and the Bears win the #SoConMSOC Championship! pic.twitter.com/q3YrsAQSYS
— Southern Conference (@SoConSports) November 13, 2016
Mercer learns their destination on Monday at 1:00 p.m. during the NCAA Tournament selection show. There could be another local team joining them, as Georgia State takes on Coastal Carolina tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. with the Sun Belt championship on the line.