MACON, Ga. – After trailing for the majority of the match, the Mercer Bears put together a late rally as Aliah Kitchens' scored her first goal, but the equalizer wasn't enough to keep the Georgia State Panthers from a 2-1 overtime victory.

Georgia State (1-0-0) got on the board in the 14^th minute when Liz Fogerty was successful on the second of back-to-back shots. Fogerty made a move around a Mercer defender and snuck the ball past Jordyn Ebert to put the visitors ahead by a goal.

Mercer (0-1-0) countered with a flurry of substitutions to bring on fresh legs midway through the opening half, but it was not until there were less than 10 minutes until the intermission that the Bears began to threaten.

With 6:35 left until the half, Payton Schurr's attempt was wide of the net. Minutes later Ciara Whitely nearly equalized, but Maria Subies stopped the attempt from heading into the goal from straight on.

The Bears had one final chance to equalize in the half when Nicole Icen took her first shot of her sophomore campaign, but the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year sent the ball wide left of the net.

The home squad managed three shots in the first 18 minutes of the second half, with a two of the three looks being on target. Amaya Evans' attempt appeared to be headed for the upper 90 while Brie Pavol's shot was saved before sneaking past Subies.

With 21:58 remaining in regulation, Kitchens sent the socially distanced, pro-Mercer crowd into a frenzy with her first collegiate goal. The sophomore made a move past the Panthers back line and sent the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

Following Kitchens' score, the Bears looked poised to take the lead as freshman Kendall Cook recorded back-to-back attempts. Both of the Alpharetta, Ga. native's shots were off line, but in the 77^th minute, Ally Fordham forced Subies to make a jumping stop to preserve the 1-1 contest.

Mercer earned three corners with less than five minutes to play, and Schurr nearly netted the game-winner, but Subies made a diving stop to send the game to overtime.

Georgia State's Brooke Hart scored the winning goal 2:36 in overtime, and the Bears fell by a 2-1 score.

NOTABLES 

• Three freshmen – Hlebec, Cook and Cami Brown – earned the starting nod 
• Kitchens, a sophomore, netted her first career goal. 
• Mercer outshot Georgia State, 15-13. 
• The Bears placed six shots on goal with all six coming from different players. 
• Kylie Buchanan had a team-high three attempts. 
• Ebert made four stops in goal. 

UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to The Citadel on Sept. 17 for a non-conference contest. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. from Charleston, SC.