MACON, Ga. – For the second time in the Tony Economopoulos era, the Mercer women's soccer team scored at least 10 goals as the Orange & Black topped Wesleyan College, 13-0, inside Betts Stadium on Thursday evening.

Mercer jumped out to a 4-0 lead within eight minutes as four different players quickly found the back of the net. Freshman Kendall Cook scored her first collegiate goal directly off a corner kick just 59 seconds into the match. The scoring would continue for the Bears 2:50 later when Aliah Kitchens put a shot on the net, handled the deflection and sent the ball to Ciara Whitely who placed the ball in the back of the goal. Kitchens' turn to score came in the eighth minute when she converted off a pass from Cook from just outside the 18. The Bears' 3-0 lead quickly moved to four, as Kylie Buchanan wasted little time adding a goal of her own for Mercer. Buchanan's unassisted goal came only 7:35 into the game.

The home team added a fifth goal to its tally when Ally Fordham scored off a double assist from Nicole Icen and Alina McCue. After Fordham's goal, which was her third of the 2020-21 campaign, the Orange & Black encountered a dry spell of nearly 25 minutes. Despite eight shots, including five on goal, and a pair of corners, the Bears did not increase their lead to 6-0 until Amaya Evans flicked the ball to freshman Ellie Christensen for her first collegiate score.

The Bears held an unbreakable 6-0 advantage at the half and used seven second half goals to win by a convincing 13-0 score. The Kendall Cook show took place in the early minutes of the final half with the Alpharetta, Ga. native scoring the first two goals following the intermission for a hat trick. She needed a mere 2:56 to score for the second time and added an unassisted goal in the 54^th minute. Cook's goal from the left corner of the 18 made it 8-0, and the Bears quickly took a double-digit lead when Whitely and Buchanan both found their way into the scoring column for the first time in the game. Whitely's goal came with 54:43 elapsed and less than 90 seconds later Buchanan added a score.

Mercer scored three times over the remaining 34 minutes with Kitchens, Fordham and McCue adding goals. Kitchens converted a penalty kick for her second and final goal of the night. Mackenzie Gassie played a role in Fordham's goal, recording the assist, while
Madi Johnson helped McCue.

The Orange & Black took a staggering 44 shots and put 28 on goal. Stellar play by the Mercer back line limited Wesleyan to just two attempts with one on target. Mercer controlled the possession for over 75 percent of the contest.

Tony Economopoulos Quotable
ON THE TEAM'S PERFORMANCE
"This win was good for the team. Everyone who was healthy played tonight. We had a tough game on Sunday at UAB and will have a tough match  next Sunday against Kennesaw State. Wesleyan came and gave us a good match tonight, and they'll be very good in their conference. Our goals tonight were to focus on the speed of play and build some confidence. I thought we were good in front of goal with converting opportunities. A lot of players got good minutes to learn and gain experience. It's important to be able to play everyone when we can so that new faces can continue to get accustomed to the collegiate game. It was a good situation to get the ball moving tonight and start 1-0 at Betts Stadium."

NOTABLES

• The 13 goals are the most in Tony Economopoulos the era.
• Mercer scored at least 10 goals for the first time since 2013. Prior to tonight's dominant win, the last time the Orange & Black reached 10 goals was the 2013 season opener against Alabama A&M.
• Seven different players scored in the match for, the most since the aforementioned 2013 triumph.
• Cook and Christensen both scored their first collegiate goals in the match.
• Cook became the second player in as many seasons to record a hat trick. Icen did so in a 6-1 win over Davidson last season.
• Kitchens recorded a match-high six points in the contest, scoring twice and adding two assists.
• Five players – Buchanan, Christensen, Cook, McCue and Whitely – scored their first goals of the 2020-21 season.
• Buchanan, Cook, Fordham, Kitchens and Whitely all have at least two goals this season.
• The Orange & Black's 44 shots and 28 tries on goal were both season-highs.
• Tonight, marked the first time in Economopoulos' tenure that the Orange & Black recorded at least 40 attempts.
• The Bears have taken at least 10 shots in five matches this season.
• Wesleyan's two attempts were a season-low for a Mercer opponent.
• The Bears have now held two foes to less than 10 shots in a match – Wesleyan (2) and Georgia Southern (7).

UP NEXT
Mercer will host the Kennesaw State Owls on February 22 at 4 p.m.