USA - Mercer Box Score

MACON, Ga. – After registering its first victory of the season on Friday against Nicholls State, the University of South Alabama women’s soccer team fell to the Mercer Bears 1-0 on Sunday to draw even on the opening weekend of the 2012 campaign.
 
A 2-1 victory over the Lady Colonels left the Jags (1-1-0) determined heading into USA’s first road match of the season, but a slow start told the tale of Sunday’s decision at Bear Field.
 
“We started very slow in the first half,” said head coach Mike Varga. “We didn’t have it at the start.”
 
Mercer (1-0-1) outshot the Jags nine to one in the first stanza and posted a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks. USA keeper Lauren Arnold was forced to make five stops in the opening 45 minutes, while Mercer’s Nikki Atkinson was untested.
 
The teams went into halftime tied at zero, with the Jags finding themselves in a circumstance similar to Friday’s match versus Nicholls State. The Jags were unsettled by the physicality of the Lady Colonel defense, but struck first in the second half to take control of the game. On Sunday, it was the Bears who struck first, and despite a late flurry from the Jags, the lead could not be matched.
 
In the 51^st minute, Mercer midfielder Lauren Gassie scored her second goal of the season off a run from the top of the Jaguar penalty box, giving her team the 1-0 advantage.
 
The Jags recorded six second-half shots ­– three on goal – but could not break down the Bears’ defense.
 
“We got better in the second half,” said Varga. “Defensively, I thought we played alright, and we got a number of chances late in the game, but Mercer had a good team. We can play better than we did in the win on Friday and we are going to keep training this week and keep getting better.”
 
South Alabama will now turn its sights to the Bulldog Classic to be contested next weekend in the campus of Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. The Jags are scheduled to take on Mississippi Valley State at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and the host-Bulldogs on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).