Mercer men’s soccer team ready to take next step

The feeling is still there nine months later, and it continues to drive the Mercer men’s soccer team.

The Bears won the Southern Conference regular-season title in their first season in the conference last year. But they came up short in the conference championship, losing a 1-0 game to Furman on a late goal. The Paladins took the title and the NCAA tournament trip that went with it.

And the Bears remember how that felt.

“It’s definitely driven me,” Jordan Duru said. “After that game, I was disappointed in myself. I wish I could have helped out my team more and help us win the game. We definitely turned some heads. Going into the SoCon the first year, a lot of teams didn’t know what to expect from us, so we had somewhat of an advantage coming in the first year.

“Now that we have done so well the first year and were successful, a lot of teams know what we’re capable of doing, so we have a target on our back.”

The Bears are looking forward to accepting that challenge.

Mercer finished 14-7 last year, and it was 8-2 in the conference during the regular season. Eight returning starters are back from that team: Duru, Max Poore, Will Bagrou, Airrion Blackstock, Jourdan Gooden, Ian Antley, Mark Riggins and Will Jones.

“The feeling to complete something is there with the returning guys to earn a championship,” head coach Brad Ruzzo said. “And being so close to the conference tournament, there’s an empty feeling there. The guys know there is a lot more out there for them to achieve.”

That begins with a tough stretch to open the season. The Bears play Friday at South Carolina before traveling to Clemson on Sunday.

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Mercer men’s soccer team ready to take next step ."