Narrow Loss to Bulldogs Still Shows Improvement

J. Andrew Lockwood
Senior Editor / Columnist

Despite losing 2-1 to the visiting Alabama A&M Bulldogs, the Mercer Bears looked much improved from their 2008 campaign. On the offensive end, they pressured the Bulldogs for most of the night and looked to be in mid-season conditioning form, yet they still came up short due to two late second-half goals.

“We battled and competed the entire match,” Mercer head coach Brad Ruzzo commented after the game on MercerBears.com. He added, “We have some guys injured and we are not a deep team right now. We are going to have to ask more from our reserves. They are a really talented team and we had a lot of chances, but 1-0 and even 2-0 is not good enough against a team like that.”

Ruzzo’s words echoed the depth problem for Mercer heading into their season opener with senior Thomas Knerr sidelined for the night with an injury despite participating in pre-game warm-ups. Yet Mercer looked gritty against the team that went 9-5-3 a year ago and saw graduate Futhi Bhembe get drafted by Salt Lake City (MLS). In comparison to last year’s contest, a 5-0 loss, this contest appeared to be quite balanced.

The Bears pressured Alabama A&M’s goal keeper Paul Musoke early in the first half, but couldn’t muster a goal despite their eight shots on goal and three corner kick opportunities. The second half opened with the Bulldogs looking to control the ball more than they did in the first half, however Mercer’s attack in the 72nd minute of the match led to an unorthodox goal from senior Chrispine Ong’Ango. After Musoke blocked Ong’Ango’s initial shot, he couldn’t block a rebound opportunity as Ong’Ango slid to the right of the goal. It was the first collegiate goal for the senior from Nairobi, Kenya, and an exciting moment at Bear Field.

Unfortunately for Mercer, the lead didn’t last too long. Alabama A&M’s Eric Kamya scored on the other end of the field off of an Abraham Kassaye pass. With time running out in the second period, it appeared that the game might end in a tie, but an unassisted goal in the 84th minute by Abraham Kassaye ultimately put the Bulldogs over the top for the 2-1 victory.

The loss wasn’t a complete disappointment for Mercer though. Ruzzo liked what he saw on the offensive end, saying, “We were organized on the attack and knew what we wanted to do. This game is a lesson learned for a young team to focus minutes after taking a lead.” It’s a tough loss…and lesson to learn indeed, especially considering that the Bears outshot the Bulldogs 17-12 for the game and had several good looks on the goal.

The Mercer men continue to look for their first win as they play out their non-conference slate in Illinois, taking on Eastern Illinois and Bradley before returning to the south to play Georgia State and Wofford.

Photos courtesy of Alex Lockwood Photography