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MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men’s soccer team looks to enter the 2011 regular season on the right foot when it travels to College of Charleston for an exhibition contest on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at Patriots Point Athletics Complex.

The Bears dropped a tough 2-1 decision to former Atlantic Sun Conference member Campbell on August 15, but look to rebound against the Cougars before taking on UNC-Asheville on August 27 in their 2011 regular season opener.

Scouting the Opposition

Saturday’s exhibition is also the second preseason contest for the College of Charleston after the Cougars coasted to a 3-0 win over Presbyterian on August 17.   

CofC had a program defining season in 2010, going 11-5-3 overall while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship.

Expectations are even higher for the Cougars and head coach Ralph Lundy, who is entering his 25^th season at CofC, this season after his squad was ranked 44^th in the 2011 TopDrawerSoccer.com Men’s Soccer Preseason Rankings.  

Junior Sean de Silva returns for Charleston as one of the most feared offensive players in the country after 23 points on seven goals and nine assists last season. Sophomore Kees Heemskerk started every game in net for the Cougars as a true freshman last season, holding opponents to 1.02 goals per game to go along with six shutouts.

Last Time Out

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team dropped a hard fought 2-1 decision to Campbell on Monday evening at Bear Field.

The Orange and Black out-shot Campbell 17-13 and had a huge 9-3 disparity in corner kicks in the contest.

Campbell doubled up on the Bears early in the second half when sophomore Eduardo Rodriguez tapped in a rebound attempt to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage.

The Bears tried to rally when sophomore Ryan King fired in a shot that was deflected past sophomore goalkeeper Ethan Hall to bring Mercer within one, at 2-1.

In the end, however, it would not be enough as Hall deflected a long shot by sophomore Cole Mitchell over the bar to thwart Mercer's last scoring chance and secure the win for Campbell.