The Mercer men's lacrosse team dropped its Southern Conference-opening contest to Air Force, 20-8, on Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium. The Bears (0-7, 0-1 SoCon) remained winless after a pivotal first period went in favor of the visiting Falcons, who improved to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Air Force jumped out to a 10-2 advantage through the first 15 minutes of play and never looked back. Freshman Sean Goldsmith netted a hat trick, highlighted by a pair of fourth-quarter goals that ended the match. Six Bears scored in the contest. Josh Tarver took the loss between the pipes and tallied seven saves overall. Mercer out-scored Air Force, 5-4, in the fourth quarter on goals by Cade Blouin, John Tarver, Clay Welch and Goldsmith, who netted a pair. Notables » Mercer out-shot Air Force, 41-40, and notched 17 shots on goal. » The Bears were 12-for-15 on clears. » Will McCarthy led Mercer with four ground balls. » Bradley Hodoval saw time in goal, logging 23 minutes. » Luke Saad won nine of his 20 face offs. Records Update » Mercer: 0-7 (0-1 SoCon) » Air Force: 5-2 (1-0 SoCon) Next Game The Bears will travel to Lexington, Va., to face VMI in SoCon action on Saturday, March 23.