The Mercer Bears secured a 17-9 victory over the VMI Keydets on senior day to improve to 2-2 in Southern Conference play. Before the game, head coach Chad Surman and his staff honored 13 seniors - Nick Rockefeller, Jack Lamb, Luke Sadd, Clay Welch, Will McCarthy, Justyn Jean-Felix, Alex Stock, Brent Bishop, Michael Quinn, Patrick Marks, Colin Hayek, Danny Walsh and Michael O'Brien. Scoring was at a premium for both teams in the first period, and the two squads ended the first 15 minutes tied at two. Walsh put the Bears on the board 1:40 into the Southern Conference match, but the Bears did not score for more than 10 minutes. Trailing 2-1, Sean Goldsmith found Taylor Dooley with 3:19 to play in the period. Dooley responded to a pair of VMI goals to knot the score at two, and Mercer's Colin Kelley made two brilliant saves to end the period, including a stop on the doorstep with 11 seconds remaining in the quarter. Three of Kelley's seven first half saves came in the opening quarter. The first five minutes of the second quarter were quiet for both teams, but with 9:57 to play in the half, Goldsmith picked up a ground ball and immediately scored a man-up goal to give the Bears a lead, which they never relinquished. Two goals in a 1:40 span – one by Daniel Shumake and one by Dooley – increased Mercer's lead to 5-2 before VMI's leading goal scorer, Scout Ripley, answered with 5:45 remaining until halftime. Mercer (5-6, 2-2 SoCon) held a 5-3 lead when the momentum swung heavily in its favor following a three-minute non-releasable penalty. The Bears bench immediately became vocal in support of their teammates on the field, and Mercer killed off the penalty with a pair of man-down goals. With 4:54 to play in the half, McCarthy, the Orange & Black's leader in goals scored, found the back of the net for the first time in the game off a pass from Garrett LeClaire. Kelley fended off a VMI shot at the four-minute mark before Matt O'Connor made his way into the scoring column with 3:44 to play for Mercer's final goal of the quarter. The two man-up scores increased Mercer's to 7-3 after 30 minutes. A halftime break did nothing to affect the Bears' momentum. The Bears needed just 24 seconds to score their first goal of the third period as Quinn, who reached 100 career points in the match, sent the ball past VMI's Bill Osten. The Keydets' Josh Drake scored VMI's first goal of the frame with 10:41 remaining, but five unanswered goals by the Orange & Black extended the Bears' lead to 13-5. Kyle Cox began the onslaught with a goal after a VMI turnover, and Ashton Wood scored immediately following a face-off, pushing Mercer's lead to 10-4 with 9:05 to play. Less than a minute later, Dooley completed the hat trick off a pass from Goldsmith. Wood won the ensuing face-off and found Cole Leggett who quickly fired the ball to McCarthy who scored eight seconds after Wood's face-off victory. Goldsmith's second goal of the afternoon was Mercer's last of the quarter and gave the Orange & Black 13-4 lead with less than seven minutes remaining in the quarter. VMI's (1-9, 0-6 SoCon) second goal of the quarter came courtesy of Michael Santos. Santos scored with 2:24 left in the third quarter, but the Keydets were unable to score again, however, as Kelley stopped two shots in the final 15 seconds, including one from Josh Drake as time expired. After three quarters, Mercer held a 13-5 lead. The Bears continued to add to their lead to start the fourth quarter as two of their first three shots found the back of the net, both courtesy of Leggett. Quinn's goal with 9:08 to play gave the Bears a 16-6 advantage, which Goldsmith extended to 11 goals as he became the second Bear to record a hat trick. VMI scored three unanswered goals to end the contest, but Mercer's lead was never in danger as it earned a 17-9 victory. Mercer outshot VMI, 43-40, and 28-20 in shots on goal. Kelley and Osteen both made 11 saves. Wood was nearly automatic on the X with 21 victories. NOTABLES The Bears' 17 goals tied their highest total this season. Mercer also found the back of the net 17 times in a win non-conference over Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 6. Mercer set a new season high with 26 points (17 goals, 9 assists), surpassing the 25 points that the team recorded in wins Utah (March 27) and Air Force (April 3). The 26 points rank ninth in the single-game records categories. The Orange & Black scored two man-down goals, its first goals while playing down a player this season. Quinn reached 100 career points. Goldsmith's hat trick gave him at least three goals in three of his five appearances. He recorded his 75th career goal in the victory and is tied for fourth all-time in program history. Goldsmith, a sophomore from Jamestown, N.C., now leads the team in 2021 with 26 points – 17 goals and 9 assists. Dooley also recorded a hat trick and has scored 10 goals over the past three games. McCarthy scored a pair of goals on his senior day and leads the team with 19 goals. The 21 face-off victories, all won by Wood, are a new 2021 high. Wood is 17 face-off wins away from 200 for the season. Wood picked up 15 ground balls to surpass 100 for the season. Kelley is 12 saves away from 150 on the season. He stopped 11 shots in the win and extended his streak of at least 10 saves to nine consecutive contests. Kelley is now tied with Justin Bateman (2011) for seventh in the single-season saves category. UP NEXT Mercer will play in Five Star Stadium for the second consecutive day on Sunday when it hosts the 15th-ranked Richmond Spiders at 11 a.m. for a Southern Conference contest. Fans who are unable to make the trip to Macon can watch the game live on ESPN+.