Rock Hill, S.C. – Mercer scored three first half goals as Winthrop men's soccer dropped its home opener 4-0, Saturday afternoon on Eagle Field.
Winthrop (1-4-0, 0-0-0 Big South) 0, Mercer (4-1-2, 0-0-0 SoCon) 4
Sept. 16, 2023 | Eagle Field
Goal Summary
5' – MERCER – Santamaria (Blama)
17' – MERCER – Hernandez (unassisted)
24' – MERCER – Blama (unassisted)
70' – MERCER – Redde (unassisted)
Game Recap
- The Bears struck in the fifth minute as Barzee Blama set up Carlos Santamaria in front of goal and he smashed a shot into the corner
- Eagles tried to respond quickly as Rodrigo Ferreira's shot in the 6th minute was saved and Nick Guido sent a shot wide top right from inside the box
- In the 17th minute Mercer made it 2-0 as Omar Hernandez laced a free kick from about 30-35 yards out into the top left corner
- In the 24th minute a weak pass back to the goalkeeper was picked up by Blama as he attacked the goal and beat the keeper 1v1 for a 3-0 lead
- Eagles made a strong effort to get a goal before the half as Kade McKenzie took a pass from about 12 yards out and tried to place a shot into the top left corner that just missed by inches
- Then in the final seconds of the half the Eagles earned a corner, which went long but a ball was played back in front of goal as Bryan Marshall's header was on frame but right at the keeper
- In the second half the Eagles created more opportunities offensively as Guido and Stefan Sildor had shots from around the edge of the box but unable to get a lot of pace on the shots
- In the 72nd minute Emory Crichlow collected a ball cleared out, took a couple of touches and fired a shot on frame that was tipped over the bar by Trevor McMullen
- In the 78th minute off a cross, Rafael Bullucci Marin redirected a cross on frame that McMullen just got down and fell on for the save to keep the ball from going over the line
Notables
- Mercer had a 14-13 edge in shots and 7-6 in shots on goal
- Eagles had a 4-3 advantage in corners
Looking Ahead
Winthrop will open up Big South Conference action on the road as it travels to Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Sept. 23 for a 7:30 p.m. matchuip.
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