Macon, Ga. -- Mercer netted three goals in a 10:05 span late in the second half to down the 24th-ranked Furman men's soccer team, 3-0, in Southern Conference action on Saturday night at Bear Field in Macon, Ga.

The loss, Furman's second straight, dropped the Paladins to 5-3-3 overall and 1-2-1 in SoCon play.  Mercer improved to 8-4-0 overall and remained unbeaten in the SoCon at 4-0.

Carson Brooks broke a scoreless tie for Mercer at the 72:02 mark by taking a Will Baqrou pass and finishing past Paladin goalkeeper Sven Lissek.

Less than eight minutes later, the Bears earned a free kick just outside the Furman box.  Jordan Duru tapped the ball to Ian Antley who curled his attempt into the corner off of the set piece to push the margin to 2-0 at the 79:25 mark.

The Bears pounced on a stunned Furman side again just 42 seconds later as Baqrou connected with Brooks again, who slotted a shot into the back of the net from inside the box to cap the scoring.

Mercer managed a 19-10 edge in total shots, while the Bears and Paladins each attempted six shots on goal.

Goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh stopped six shots to earn the shutout for Mercer in the its first meeting against the Paladins as SoCon rivals.  Lissek turned away three shots for Furman in a losing effort.

Furman returns to action on Tuesday night when it travels to Johnson City, Tenn., to face ETSU.  Fans can log onto FurmanPaladins.com to follow live statistics and watch free live streaming video via the SoCon Digital Network.  Live in-game updates will be available on Twitter by following @FurmanSoccer.


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information