CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel women's soccer team allowed a pair of goals seven minutes apart early into the second half as the Mercer University Bears bested the Bulldogs 2-0 on Sunday in the regular season finale.

How It Happened:

3' – MER earned a pair of corner kicks minutes into the match with a CIT defender turning away a ball on the far post directly off the first corner attempt.
13' – Grace Duncan made a long run from the CIT side of midfield, culminating in her shot from 20 yards out missing wide left.
35' – Olivia Rhodes followed with a run up the middle of the Bears defense but was cut off at the last moment as she closed in on the MER goalkeeper.
44' – MER tried to break the tie right before halftime off another corner as a deflected ball found a Bears' attacker around the 8' but Nora Sampson cut down the angle to make the save.
51' – The Bears got on the board as a turnover in the CIT defensive third led to a 2-on-1 that MER crossed to a wide-open attacker in the box, Bears 1-0.
52' – CIT attempted to answer seconds later as Nicoletta Anuci charged down the far wing but her cross into the 8' was tipped away by a MER defender with a Bulldogs attacker lurking.
53' – The Bulldogs kept up the pressure, earning a free kick just outside the 18' but CIT was unable to get a solid header on Ariana Paez's good ball to the far post.
58' – MER doubled its advantage as the same duo orchestrated a 2-on-1 but this time the strike from the right portion of the box from close range was buried perfectly into the top left corner, 2-0 Bears.
62' – The Citadel tried to respond minutes later with perhaps its' best scoring opportunity of the match as a shot from inside the 8' was turned away by the MER goalkeeper before the rebound was lifted high over the crossbar.
64' – The Bears came right back and struck one off the right crossbar as the Bulldogs still had a chance with 25 minutes remaining.
77' – Paez made a run down the left side but her pass into the box was just out of reach of the charging Rhodes for The Citadel's last scoring chance of the match.

Inside the Numbers:

3 - The Bulldogs used three goalkeepers for the third time this season (Sampson, Zoe Santos, and Jess Newton) with Newton coming on in the 84^th minute for her 41^st appearance for The Citadel in perhaps her final home match at WLI Field.
4 – Ellie Belcher's 13-match streak of playing the full 90 was snapped as she subbed out in the 80^th minute for an eight-minute breather.
22 – Anuci earned her third straight start for The Bulldogs and fourth this season in 17 appearances.
40 – Rhodes played her most minutes off the bench for The Citadel this season in her 10^th appearance.

Next Up:

The Citadel will hit the road on Tuesday, October 25^th for the first round of the conference tournament with the opponent TBA.