Mercer men’s soccer player accomplishes rare feat. And he’s only a freshman

Trevor Martineau has accomplished a feat only five people before him have earned: Southern Conference Player of the Week three times in a single season. And he’s only a freshman.

Martineau leads the Mercer men’s soccer team (10-2-2, 3-0) with 19 points behind six goals and seven assists, a performance that has made him the first freshman in SoCon men’s soccer history to earn Player of the Week three times in a season.

He has done this despite starting only eight of the team’s 14 games.

“It’s pretty special,” head coach Brad Ruzzo said. “If he keeps developing the way he’s developing, he could end up being maybe one of the great players in program history.”

Martineau’s performance is on the heels of the graduation of Will Bagrou, who has his own list of accomplishments: 2018 SoCon Male Athlete of the Year and Mercer’s first-ever selection in the Major League Soccer draft when he was selected 75th overall by Sporting Kansas City.

“Coming into the season, I didn’t know what my role was going to be,” Martineau said. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to start, if I was going to come off the bench or if I was going to play at all.”

His role is clear now. Standing tall at 6-foot-4, he’s an imposing presence on the offensive side of the pitch, especially in the box. Martineau attributed much of his success to his aerial game — headers. He said he has used his frame to score many of his goals this year. Ruzzo said he likes at least one of his forwards to be a big, physical presence.

“Fortunately for (Martineau), he has adapted quite well,” Ruzzo said. “Our team, more importantly, has learned how to play to his strengths. That’s the biggest thing.”

Martineau leads the team with seven assists and is tied for the team lead of six goals scored with Leo Toledo. The freshman’s performance has lifted the team, but he hasn’t been the only reason for Mercer’s hot start. Toledo trails Martineau by one point, boasting 18 total. Kobe Perez and Roberto Arteaga also have 12 points each.

“Losing Will Bagrou, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ruzzo said. “Our whole goal this year was to not replace Will Bagrou — because you’re not going to … but how many goals we scored last year, and as a team, can we pick that level up?”

They have. Last season through 14 games, the Bears scored 20 goals. This year, they have 34, two more than Mercer scored all of last season in 22 games.

The Bears lost seven seniors, including goalkeeper Jeremy Booth and three of their four top point earners: Bagrou, Conner Antley and Trenton Whitley. Thirteen freshmen joined the team this season, which left plenty of question marks for Ruzzo heading into the year. But because of newcomers like Martineau and the improved play of others, Mercer finds itself tied atop the SoCon standings with three regular-season games remaining.

“I’ll be honest: I didn’t know what to expect,” Ruzzo said. “You never know how freshmen are going to translate into college soccer. And to be where we’re at right now, you can’t ask for anything better.”