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February 13, 2010
Bears Beat Two Top Florida Teams in Gainesville
Gainesville, Fla. – It was a well
conceived idea from the beginning. Schedule some of the toughest
teams in country, play and see how you stack up.
For Mercer women's soccer head coach Grant Serafy, the idea paid dividends on Saturday as his team stole wins from two of the top teams in the state of Florida.
The Bears walked into Gainesville and beat the University of Miami 1-0 and the #14 University of Florida Gators, 2-1 in exhibition spring games on Saturday. The Bears are coming off another winning season under the sixth-year coach qualifying for their fourth-straight Atlantic Sun Championships and are looking to build off this and other early exhibition games scheduled in the coming weeks.
“It's all about the fall,” Serafy said. “What we do now is totally geared toward winning our championship back and that is why we have scheduled such competitive games. This is a very positive step and we have more work coming up that will help prepare us for that goal.”
Bears junior midfielder Kaelyn Horton scored the lone goal against the Hurricanes in the 17th minute on a service from sophomore midfielder Olivia Tucker. The Bears would outshoot Miami 12-5, but it was the defense that would carry them the rest of the way according to Serafy, playing on their strengths of winning balls in the middle of the field.
In the second game, the Bears got down early as the Gators scored in the 18th minute but Mercer would match the score five minutes later when junior Kacie Hudson connected on a goal on an assist from Tucker in the 23rd minute. In the second half sophomore Emerald Phillips scored the game winner in the 60th minute, giving the Bears the 2-1 victory over the Gators.
“It was a very good day for us,” Serafy said. “Those are two great programs from top conferences and it's definitely a step in right direction. Our players were anxious to play and they like to have that challenge. It's a testament to their ability to come down here and win two games.”
It's not the first time the Bears have come away from Gainesville with a win either. Last year the Bears beat the Gators in the same spring exhibition game 2-0.
The difficulty will not subside as the Bears travel to Auburn, Ala. to play two more SEC teams in Auburn and Tennessee on Feb. 27 as part of their spring season.
For Mercer women's soccer head coach Grant Serafy, the idea paid dividends on Saturday as his team stole wins from two of the top teams in the state of Florida.
The Bears walked into Gainesville and beat the University of Miami 1-0 and the #14 University of Florida Gators, 2-1 in exhibition spring games on Saturday. The Bears are coming off another winning season under the sixth-year coach qualifying for their fourth-straight Atlantic Sun Championships and are looking to build off this and other early exhibition games scheduled in the coming weeks.
“It's all about the fall,” Serafy said. “What we do now is totally geared toward winning our championship back and that is why we have scheduled such competitive games. This is a very positive step and we have more work coming up that will help prepare us for that goal.”
Bears junior midfielder Kaelyn Horton scored the lone goal against the Hurricanes in the 17th minute on a service from sophomore midfielder Olivia Tucker. The Bears would outshoot Miami 12-5, but it was the defense that would carry them the rest of the way according to Serafy, playing on their strengths of winning balls in the middle of the field.
In the second game, the Bears got down early as the Gators scored in the 18th minute but Mercer would match the score five minutes later when junior Kacie Hudson connected on a goal on an assist from Tucker in the 23rd minute. In the second half sophomore Emerald Phillips scored the game winner in the 60th minute, giving the Bears the 2-1 victory over the Gators.
“It was a very good day for us,” Serafy said. “Those are two great programs from top conferences and it's definitely a step in right direction. Our players were anxious to play and they like to have that challenge. It's a testament to their ability to come down here and win two games.”
It's not the first time the Bears have come away from Gainesville with a win either. Last year the Bears beat the Gators in the same spring exhibition game 2-0.
The difficulty will not subside as the Bears travel to Auburn, Ala. to play two more SEC teams in Auburn and Tennessee on Feb. 27 as part of their spring season.
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