MACON, Ga. – Three second half goals in the final 15 minutes of play sank The Citadel women's soccer team's chances at defeating Mercer Friday night, as the Bulldogs fell 3-1 to the Bears in the Southern Conference (SoCon) opener for both teams at Bear field.

The game started an hour and 45 minutes late due to a lightning and weather delay, but once it did, the action on the pitch did not disappoint as the two teams appeared evenly matched for much of the contest. Mercer may have out-shot The Citadel 31-17 over the 90 minutes, but the Bulldogs were more efficient as they placed 11 of their shots on frame while the Bears had 10 shots on goal.

The Citadel (5-4, 0-1 SoCon) and Mercer (7-4, 1-0 SoCon) worked to a scoreless tie through the first 75 minutes of play before Jasmine Spence dribbled into the top of the box and put a shot just out of reach of Logan Leask in the 76^th minute, giving Mercer the advantage.

Rhette Cauilan extended the lead to 2-0 in the 80^th minute as she dribbled to the left of the box and slipped the ball into the net. Her goal would prove to be the game-winner for the Bears.

Ally Fordham finished off the scoring for Mercer with her fourth goal of the season in the 85^th minute.

Graduate transfer Cierra Skyers kept the Bulldogs' hopes alive in the 87^th minute with a goal into the upper left corner of the net, setting the score at 3-1. Logan Dix had the assist on the play as she fed Skyers the ball at the top of the box. Skyers didn't waste any time as she immediately connected with a one-touch into the net. It was the first goal the Bears had given up in over 317 minutes of play dating back to the 39^th minute of a 3-1 win over Alabama A&M on Sunday, Sept. 10.

With a renewed sense of urgency, freshman Hannah Roth came close to pulling the Bulldogs to within one with an excellent shot from just inside the box with 2:00 minutes remaining, but the ball took an unlucky bounce just as it reached the goal and bounced just inches wide to the left.

Both goalkeepers remained busy all night long as they combined for 17 saves. Leask (1-2) ended the game with seven saves as she faced 31 shots by the Bears. 10 of those shots were on frame. On the other end of the field, Jordyn Ebert (5-3) made her sixth start on the year and made 10 saves.

The Citadel will return home for two league games at WLI Field next weekend to close out the month of September and open up October. The Bulldogs will take on Wofford on Friday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. and will then host Furman on Sunday, Oct. 1, in a 2 p.m. matchup.

For more information and score updates on The Citadel soccer team, follow @CitadelWSoccer on Twitter or visit CitadelSports.com.