SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer defeated Delaware State on Saturday to claim the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming SoCon Women’s Lacrosse Championship in Greenville, South Carolina. With the victory, the Bears, along with Furman and Detroit Mercy, were crowned regular season tri-champions for the 2019 SoCon women’s lacrosse season.
Furman, Detroit Mercy and Mercer all ended the regular season with a 4-1 conference record, putting them in a three-way tie for first. The tie-breaker came down to goal differential, which gave Mercer the advantage and the No. 1 seed heading into next week’s tournament. Detroit Mercy claims the No. 2 seed after a head-to-head tie-breaker with Furman, giving Furman the No. 3 seed.
Mercer finished the season 8-9 overall, falling only to Furman in league play. The Bears will face off against the No. 4 seed Central Michigan to open up the 2019 SoCon Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Bears and Chippewas faced off in Macon on March 31, with Mercer edging out Central Michigan by a 21-11 final.
Detroit Mercy, which edged out Furman 14-12 on April 12, will face the Paladins in the second game of the 2019 semifinals on Thursday. The Titans finished the regular season 8-9 overall. They have won five of their last seven games and are seeking a season sweep over Furman in the semifinals on Thursday.
Furman finished the season 10-7 overall. The Paladins capped off their regular season on Saturday, defeating Wofford 18-5. They head into the 2019 championship on a four-game win-streak, with their last loss coming at the hands of Detroit Mercy.
Central Michigan finished the season 7-10 overall and 2-3 in conference. After dropping contests to both Furman and Coastal Carolina at home, the Chippewas took a 21-5 victory over Kent State before falling at home in their regular-season finale to Detroit Mercy, 9-10.
The championship match will take place Saturday, May 4, at 12 p.m. and all games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship.
2019 SoCon Women’s Lacrosse Championship
Semifinals, Thursday, May 2
Greenville, S.C.
Game 1: No. 1 Mercer vs. No. 4 Central Michigan, 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2: No. 2 Detroit Mercy vs. No. 3 Furman, 45 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1 (ESPN+)
Championship, Saturday, May 4
Greenville, S.C.
Game 3: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
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