SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference named its men’s soccer players of the week Tuesday for games played Aug. 30 – Sept. 2. Mercer forward Trevor Martineau and goalkeeper JR DeRose were honored as the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively.

Mercer, the preseason league favorites, kicked off the season with a 2-0 victory on the road at Cincinnati. The Bears were victorious again on Monday as they took down Presbyterian 2-1 in the home opener to move to 2-0-0 on the season.

Martineau, the reigning conference freshman and player of the year, played a key role in the win over Cincinnati as he provided an assist on the Bear’s second goal of the night. The Montreal, Quebec native followed up that performance by finding the back of the net for the first time this season with a flashy header by the Presbyterian keeper. His goal stretched the Mercer lead to two and would prove to be the difference after the Blue Hose scored a goal of their own later in the game.

DeRose, a redshirt junior from Peoria, Illinois, put on a stellar showing between the posts as he notched a pair of wins to begin the season and allowed just one goal. DeRose went the full 90 minutes in both contests and totaled seven saves over both games, with five coming in the shutout win over the Bearcats. 

The Bears will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 6 when they travel to the University of Alabama Birmingham for an 8:00 PM non-conference clash with the Blazers.

Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Albert Pedra (UNCG) and Eduardo Velasco (Wofford)

Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Nicolo Dini (Belmont) and Cole McLagan (Furman)

-www.SoConSports.com-