Jacksonville women fall to Mercer

 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -  Aug. 2, 2009  The Jacksonville University women's soccer team fell to Mercer, 1-0, in a very even, hard fought game on an overcast evening at the Ashley Sports Complex.

The Dolphins (5-6-1, 2-1 A-Sun) created several opportunities in an open game but the Bears (5-5-1, 1- 3 A-Sun) scored the only goal of the match in the second half on a header from a free kick.

"It's unfortunate to come away with the result in such an evenly played game," said head coach Brian Copham. "It was a hard fought game and they managed to capitalize on our mistake. We have to learn from this game and come out read on Sunday against a very good Kennesaw State team."

The opening five minutes of the match was a nervy start between the two conference opponents. Junior midfielder Liz Fink created the first opportunity of the game when she took a pass from 28 yards out and fired a shot, saved nicely by a diving Jean Worts.

The rest of the half saw open play between the two teams with neither side creating many advantageous opportunities.

Early in the second half, JU took advantage of the halftime break and came out pressing forward. Freshman forward Eva Leeper received a pass from sophomore Jessica Hurtado and fired a low shot that narrowly missed the far left post.

The Bears struck for the only goal of the game in the second half on a header from Kacie Hudson. Mercer won a free kick at midfield which was serviced into the box by Patricia-Anne Upson and headed home into the left side of the net.

The Dolphins finished the match with nine shots, three on goal. All three shots on goal came from Fink, who again led the team in shots.

The Dolphins are back on the field this Sunday when they take on Kennesaw State at noon. The game will be a double header with the men playing shortly after.