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The Mercer Bears are the 17th Division I team in our 2018 schedule preview series and the fifth team from the Southern Conference. The Bears are always in the hunt to make the SoCon Tournament, but have not made it since the 2015 season. Last year was also the third straight 5-8 season for Georgia’s lacrosse team.
Here’s the entire 2018 schedule:
Mercer’s 2018 Schedule
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes | Last Year's Meeting(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes | Last Year's Meeting(s) |
| 2/3 | Vermont | Mercer | 13-12 L/OT | |
| 2/10 | Lehigh | Mercer | First ever meeting; Mercer defensive coordinator Chad Surman used to be a Lehigh assistant | |
| 2/13 | Mercer | Cleveland State | First ever meeting | |
| 2/18 | Detroit Mercy | Mercer | 10-8 W | |
| 2/28 | Mercer | North Carolina | First meeting since 2012 (20-7 L) | |
| 3/6 | Mercer | Delaware | First meeting since 2012 (14-2 L) | |
| 3/10 | Mercer | Mount St. Mary's | First ever meeting | |
| 3/17 | Mercer | Jacksonville | SoCon | 13-7 L |
| 3/24 | Mercer | Air Force | SoCon | 14-6 L |
| 3/31 | Furman | Mercer | SoCon | 11-10 L |
| 4/7 | VMI | Mercer | SoCon | 11-8 W |
| 4/14 | Mercer | Bellarmine | SoCon | 12-11 L |
| 4/21 | Richmond | Mercer | SoCon | 12-9 L |
| 4/28 | Mercer | High Point | SoCon | 13-12 W/OT |
Mercer’s nonconference schedule is very different than it was a year ago. Gone are Michigan, NJIT, UMBC, and Wagner. In comes a solid group of teams in Cleveland State, Delaware, Lehigh, Mount St. Mary’s, and North Carolina. These teams will certainly challenge Kyle Hannan’s Bears this year.
Let’s check out some notable games on this schedule:
Best Nonconference Game: @ Delaware
The Blue Hens are a rising team that is young on offense with a new head coach in Ben DeLuca. The Bears have shown in the past to play tough against these middle-of-the-pack schools in tough conferences.
Best Conference Game: @ High Point
Last year, the Bears beat High Point in #WhitneyInOT thanks to three goals in the final 2:10 of the game. The Panthers entered the final quarter with a 10-7 lead and lost it. That loss played a role in High Point not making it to the SoCon Tournament last season.
Under The Radar Game: vs. Vermont
This was one of the first #WhitneyInOT games, but the Catamounts were the ones who were celebrating the moment. Vermont scored five of the final six goals in regulation, including three in the final 4:04 of the game. Vermont will also get Ian MacKay back this season, who’s a proven threat on offense.
Possible Upset: vs. Lehigh
Last year, Lehigh almost lost to Jacksonville in their second game of the season down in Florida. It would be a very solid win for this program if the Bears can upset the Mountain Hawks. It might also help that Bears assistant Chad Surman used to be on Lehigh’s coaching staff.