The Jacksonville University women's soccer team fell to the Mercer Bears on penalty kicks in their quarterfinal Atlantic Sun Tournament game Friday night.
The game was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation and neither team was able to score in the two ensuing overtime periods. Because it was a postseason game, a shootout followed where Mercer was able to beat the Dolphins 4-2 on kicks.
"I am extremely proud of the girls and their efforts tonight," said head coach Brian Copham. "They have been an incredible team to train and work with all season. Sometimes soccer can be a cruel game and tonight was definitely an example of when that can happen."
The Dolphins (11-5-3) got on the board early with a goal from freshman forward Kaitlyn Bassett. In the fourth minute, senior Liz Fink served a corner kick into the box which Bassett headed in for the goal. Bassett ends the season with a team leading eight goals. For Fink, it was her fourth assist and 12th point overall.
The game remained 1-0 until the 58th minute when the Bears were able to net the equalizing goal. Mercer's Olivia Tucker headed the ball off the post and the rebound found Casey Barrett who shot it for the score.
Despite a 20-9 advantage in shots, the Dolphins were not able to put together another scoring play after the early goal. Fink paced the team with eight shots.
The Mercer goalkeepers had strong performances. Starter Nikki Atkinson finished the game with seven saves. She was replaced for penalty kicks by Cristina Guilarte who was able to block one of the attempts.
"I want to thank the seniors and all the contributions they have given to the program over these past several years," Copham said. " It has been a great pleasure to work with Liz, Jess, and Kelly and we will really miss them."
Mercer (9-7-2) advances to play the second seeded East Tennessee State next Friday in Fort Myers, Florida.
