MACON, Ga. – No. 2 Mercer claimed the 2021 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship title on Sunday, Nov. 14, defeating No. 4 Belmont, 4-3, and earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. With the victory, this marks the first tournament title for the Bears since 2019 and fourth since entering the league.
 
Mercer forward Trevor Martineau’s goal in the 88^th minute was the difference. Bears midfielder Dylan Gaither was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. 
 
The first shot of the game was from Belmont forward and first-team all-conference selection Niccolo Dagnoni in the eighth minute, followed by two shots from Mercer midfielders and all-conference selections Gaither and Ousman Jabang in the 16^th and 17^th minutes.
 
In the 20th minute, Belmont forward and second-team all-conference honoree Liam O’Brien handed the Bruins a 1-0 lead after connecting with forward Ares Marlonsson on a go-ahead cross pass to net a shot in the upper right side of the goal.
 
One minute later, O’Brien answered with another goal, unassisted, which came off the deflection of a Bruins player and allowed the senior forward to connect with the top left side of the net and past Mercer goalkeeper Trevor McMullen for the 2-0 advantage.
 
Gaither found the Bears' first goal in the 39^th minute after the junior midfielder netted a penalty kick goal to cut Mercer’s deficit to 2-1 with six minutes remaining in the first half.
 
In the 41^st minute, Gaither followed up with another goal for the Bears, netting the equalizer just before halftime to even the score 2-2.
 
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first 26 minutes of the second half of action, with the Bruins adding two scoreless shots from midfidler Jack Shaw in the 49^th minute and midfielder AJ Chastonay in the 70^th minute. The Bears grabbed their first lead of the match after Mercer forward Michael Ille netted a goal in the 71^st minute to give the Bears the 3-2 lead over the Bruins.
 
Belmont’s offense continued to press Mercer’s defense in the final 15 minutes of the match, eventually evening the score at 3-3 after Bruins midfielder Estiban Leiva netted a header off a Dagnoni corner kick in the 80^th minute.
 
The two teams continued with the back-and-forth play before Martineau broke through in the 88^th minute after a go-ahead pass from Gaither to net the eventual game-winning goal and claim the 2021 SoCon Championship title.
 
Jabang led the Bears offense with five shots, while Gaither led with all four of his shots being on goal. As a team, the Bears fired off 13 shots, with nine of them being on target. McMullen finished the match with three saves. Jabang, Martineau and Bryant Jackson were named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Belmont sought out the equalizer in the remaining two minutes, but fell short in its second-ever appearance in a conference title game in program history.  
 
The Bruins concluded the match with nine shots overall, while Belmont goalkeeper and three-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Week Drew Romig finished the match with five saves. With his assist on Lestido's second-half goal, Dagnoni became the program's all-time leader in assists with 26 over his four-year career. Romig, Dagnoni, and O'Brien were selected to the All-Tournament Team.
 
The Bears will find out where they play next during the NCAA Selection Show, which airs on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. ET. 
 
SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team 
Jacob Garzon, Furman 
Alfredo Diaz-Santillan, Furman 
JC Ngando, UNCG
Fernando Garcia, UNCG
Drew Romig, Belmont
Niccolo Dagnoni, Belmont
Liam O’Brien, Belmont
Ousman Jabang, Mercer
Trevor Martineau, Mercer
Bryant Jackson, Mercer 
 
Most Outstanding Player
Dylan Gaither, Mercer
 
Pinnacle Award (highest cumulative GPA among championship-eligible student-athletes on winning team) 
Liam Coxhead, Logan Longo, Nick Wanzer, Mercer
 
2021 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship 
Sunday, Nov. 7
Semifinals (at No. 1 and No. 2 seeds) 
Match 1: No. 4 Belmont 2, No. 1 UNCG 1 
Match 2: No. 2 Mercer 4, No. 3 Furman 0 
 
Sunday, Nov. 14 
Final (at highest remaining seed) 
Match 3: No. 2 Mercer 4, No. 4 Belmont 3