Mercer Bears Men’s Soccer – Illinois Road Swing

Adam Hunt
Sports Columnist / Reporter

The Mercer Bears Men’s Soccer team faced some tough opposition in their two-game away swing in Peoria, Illinois.

Looking to avenge an unlucky 2-1 home defeat to Alabama A&M less than a week earlier, The Bears took part in the Busey Bank Kickoff Invitational hosted by Bradley University.

Coach Brad Ruzzo’s side battled to a 0-0 tie with Eastern Illinois at Shea Stadium in their first game.

Mercer freshman Brett Petricek had a stellar game in goal for the away team, playing the whole game, notching seven saves and a perfect shutout.

“Petricek is a true freshman, but based on how he played tonight you would not have been able to guess that at all,” said head coach Brad Ruzzo, speaking on MercerBears.com. “He was very poised and composed tonight, making three huge saves to keep our team in the game.”

For the majority of the contest Eastern Illinois controlled the field of play, out-shooting the Bears 24-10 overall and 7-2 on goal.

The best chance for either team in the game undoubtedly came in the 75th minute for Eastern Illinois. Panthers striker Jeff Kupiec was awarded a penalty shot after a Mercer foul, but was denied by Petricek to keep the game at 0-0 until the finish.

A day later The Bears were back in action, facing tournament hosts Bradley.

The home side brought a formidable reputation to the field and lived up to it as they swept Mercer aside 3-0.

Ruzzo’s team could not seem to generate any offense against an organized Bradley defensive unit. Overall, the Braves out-shot Mercer 18-4 including a 6-0 margin on shots on goal.

The Braves jumped all over Mercer right from the opening kick. Senior forward Chris Cutshaw netted the first of his three goals in the contest, just three minutes in, by heading home a corner kick service to make the score 1-0 Bradley.

Cutshaw, the tournament MVP, completed his hat trick by scoring two more insurance goals in the 41st and 64th minutes, respectively, to put Bradley on top 3-0. They later went on to win the tournament.

Despite a difficult loss, Mercer showed plenty of resolve in their first away match of the season and will look to build on a resolute defensive display.