Men's Soccer Southern Conference

Mercer Claims Top Seed as Men's Soccer Bracket Set

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer edged ETSU 1-0 on Saturday to clinch its first regular-season Southern Conference title in its first season in the league and claim the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship.

The event begins Saturday, Nov. 8, with No. 3 seed Furman hosting No. 6 seed VMI and No. 4 seed UNCG hosting No. 5 seed ETSU in the quarterfinals. The winners of those contests advance to the semifinals at the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, N.C., on Thursday, Nov. 13, to take on No. 2 seed Wofford and No. 1 seed Mercer, respectively. The championship match will take place Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.

The Bears wrapped up league play with an 8-2-0 mark in SoCon play, finishing with 24 points atop the standings. Mercer had to win Saturday to clinch the title, as Wofford wrapped up its 1-0 win over Furman earlier in the evening to briefly move to the top of the standings. The Terriers finished the regular season with a 7-2-1 conference record, good for 22 points.

Mercer will take on either UNCG or ETSU on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m., followed by Wofford vs. either Furman or VMI at 7:30 p.m.

Furman earned the No. 3 seed with a 5-4-1 league mark to finish with 16 points in the standings. That was good for a tie with UNCG, but the Paladins held the tiebreaker by virtue of their 1-0-1 record against the Spartans this season.

The Paladins will host sixth-seeded VMI, which finished 0-10 in league action, in a quarterfinal contest at Stone Stadium on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.

The fourth-seeded Spartans will host the Bucs, who finished 3-6-1 (10 points), at UNCG Soccer Stadium on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. UNCG swept the season series from ETSU.

The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.

2014 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship
Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, Nov. 8
Campus sites
Match 1: No. 5 ETSU at No. 4 UNCG, 7 p.m.
Match 2: No. 6 VMI at No. 3 Furman, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Thursday, Nov. 13
Greensboro, N.C.
Match 3: No. 1 Mercer vs. Match 1 winner, 5 p.m.
Match 4: No. 2 Wofford vs. Match 2 winner, 7:30 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, Nov. 15
Greensboro, N.C.
Match 5: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
-www.SoConSports.com-