Heavner Named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week, Bears Regionally Ranked

MACON, Ga. – Mercer junior defender Joey Heavner helped the Bears to a 2-0 week and was rewarded by being named the Atlantic Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.

Thanks to Heavner’s efforts among others, the Mercer men’s soccer team also broke into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Regional Rankings on Monday, entering the poll as the #10 team in the South Region.

The Defensive Player of the Week award is the first of Heavner’s career and the first weekly A-Sun Conference honor received by a Mercer player thus far in the 2011 season.

The Landisville, Pa. native assisted on all three Mercer goals in its 3-1 win against VMI, placing him in a tie for the third-most assists in a single game in A-Sun Conference history.

Heavner followed up that performance by helping the Bears to a 2-0 shutout of Georgia Southern on Sunday evening. The clean sheet produced by Heavner and the rest of the Mercer defense was even more impressive considering the Eagles attacking unit ranked seventh in the nation coming into the contest.

Mercer is back on the field when it travels to Nebraska to take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha on September 23. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. central time at Werner Park. 

For the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Men’s Soccer South Region Rankings, click here.