No. 2 seed Mercer and No. 4 seed Belmont each won semifinal matches at the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship on Sunday and will face off in the championship final on Sunday, Nov. 14 at  2 p.m. ET at Mercer’s Betts Stadium in Macon, Georgia.

In the regular-season matchup, Mercer defeated Belmont, 3-2, on Oct. 23 in Macon, Georgia.  

The match will be the first championship between the Bears and Bruins, with Belmont making its second consecutive appearance and Mercer making its first appearance since 2019.

No. 4 Belmont 2, No. 1 UNCG 1

GREENSBORO, N.C. – For the second straight year, the Belmont Bruins knocked off the No. 1 seed and will play in the SoCon men’s soccer championship following a 2-1 victory over top-seeded and 25^th-ranked UNCG on Sunday evening at the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.

The Bruins earned their 13^th win of the season and advance to the championship matchup against Mercer after Belmont forward Liam O’Brien and defender Jack Shaw, who were both second-team all-conference selections, scored a pair of second-half headers against the Spartans to clinch the victory.

O’Brien connected with the net on a diving header in the 59^th minute to hand the Bruins a 1-0 lead before Shaw added his own goal to give Belmont a 2-0 advantage over the Spartans in the 79^th minute. O’Brien’s goal was assisted by Shaw, while Shaw’s goal was assisted by O’Brien and first-team all-conference selection Niccoli Dagnoni.

UNCG’s Fernando Garcia attempted a comeback for the Spartans, as he netted a goal in the 86^th minute to bring the score to 2-1, but the Bruins' defense kept UNCG scoreless the rest of the match to complete the season sweep of the Spartans.

The goal for O’Brien marked his ninth goal of the season, while Shaw’s goal was his first of the season.

In total, UNCG finished with 22 shots, while Belmont totaled five. Drew Romig, the Bruins’ goalkeeper and two-time defending SoCon Defensive Player of the Month, finished with five saves.

With the win, Belmont improves to 13-4-1, while UNCG fell to 13-4-1.

No. 2 Mercer 4, No. 3 Furman 0

MACON, Ga. – No. 2 seed Mercer clinched a 4-0 shutout victory over No. 3 seed Furman at the Bears’ Betts Stadium on Sunday afternoon after Mercer forward and first-team all-conference selection Dylan Gaither netted three goals and Bears defender Logan Longo added one to advance Mercer to the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship.

Gaither handed the Bears an early 1-0 advantage after scoring a goal in the 6^th minute before giving Mercer a 2-0 lead with a penalty kick goal in the 51^st minute. The Lilburn, Georgia, native extended the Bears lead to 3-0 after connecting with Kadeem Agard on a go-ahead pass in the 59^th minute to net his third goal of the game and 11^th goal of the season. Mercer secured the 4-0 win with a final  goal in the 87^th minute by Longo, which was assisted by Natnael McDonald and Trevor Martineau.

Mercer outshot Furman 19-6. Bears goalkeeper Trevor McMullen recorded four saves in the shutout, his fourth of the season and second against the Paladins, while Furman goalkeeper Ben Roberts saved five shots in the loss.

The appearance in the championship is Mercer’s first since 2019 when they defeated top-seeded UNCG 1-0 to clinch their third SoCon Championship title after winning the tournament in 2016 and 2017.

Mercer, who was selected third and tied with Belmont in the preseason pick to win the league in voting by the seven head coaches, improves to 9-7-1 with the win. The Paladins season concludes at 7-9-1.


2021 Men's Soccer Championship

Monday, Nov. 1
First Round (at higher seeds)
Match 1: No. 6 Wofford 2, No. 7 VMI 0

Friday, Nov. 5
Quarterfinals (at No. 1 & No. 2 seeds)
Match 2: No. 4 Belmont 1, No. 5 ETSU 0 (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 3: No. 3 Furman 3, No. 6 Wofford 1 (Macon, Ga.)

Sunday, Nov. 7
Semifinals (at No. 1 & No. 2 seeds)
Match 4: No. 4 Belmont 2, No. 1 UNCG 1 (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 5: No. 2 Mercer 4, No. 3 Furman 0 (Macon, Ga.)

Saturday, Nov. 13, or Sunday, Nov. 14
Final (at highest remaining seed)
Match 6: No. 2 Mercer vs. No. 4 Belmont
 
*all times Eastern unless otherwise noted