Macon, Ga. – Dylan Gaither provided a hat trick to lead the No. 2 seed Mercer Bears to a 4-0 victory over the third-seeded Furman Paladins in the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Men's Soccer Championship, Sunday afternoon from Betts Stadium.

Furman's season ends with a 7-9-1 overall record while Mercer improves to 9-7-1 on the year. With the win, the Bears advance to the championship game and will face either No. 1 seed UNC Greensboro or No. 4 seed Belmont.

Gaither netted Mercer's first three goals of the game including two within a nine-minute span. He put the Bears on the board first in the 7^th minute of play off a corner kick and followed with a penalty kick goal in the 51^st minute. Gaither extended Mercer's lead to 3-0 in the 59^th minute off an assist from Kadeem Agard.

Logan Longo completed the scoring for the Bears when his goal in the 88^th minute extended their lead to 4-0. Natnael McDonald and Trevor Martineau were both credited with an assist on Longo's goal.

Alfredo Diaz-Santillan led the Paladins offensively with two shots and was one of four players, along with Miles Fenton, Jake Raine and Sam Miller, to have one attempt on goal each. Goalkeeper Ben Roberts recorded five saves.

Gaither had a game-high six shots, including four on goal, for Mercer. In goal, Trevor McMullin grabbed four saves.

The Bears held a 19-6 advantage in shots and 9-4 in attempts on goal. Mercer also led 9-1 in corner kicks.