Macon, Ga. – The Jacksonville University men's soccer team traveled to Macon, Georgia on Tuesday evening to face Mercer University before entering conference play next week.

The Dolphins (3-1-1) defeated Mercer in a final score of 2-1.

"It is vital to have positive momentum to start conference play with great confidence," commented Head Coach Mauricio B. Ruiz

The Dolphins, who started the game with an early corner kick recorded six shots in the first half.Freshman defender Gabriel Simoneau got off the first shot of the night. Following quickly behind were sophomore forward Inti Antunez and junior midfielder Steven Saunders to record the second and third. Later into the first half sophomore midfielder Jake Johnson recorded a pair within five minutes of each other, both resulting in corner kicks for the Dolphins. Junior Forward Jose Manzo fired the last shot at 36:06.

 After 45 minutes of play JU and Mercer were scoreless.

Jacksonville came back and recorded six more shots on goal in the second half. Senior forward Jesus Colombo, freshman midfielder Jake Duncan-Smith, and Manzo each contributed one for the visiting team. Antunez contributed two, raising his total for the night to three.

In the 81st minute junior midfielder Connar Lufkin opened scoring with help from Intunez and senior forward Kai Bennett to put the Dolphins on the board. Lufkin, who recorded two goals in last week's matchup against Presbyterian earned his first ASUN Player Of The Week honor on Monday morning.

 "Connar and Steven continue to be our teams engine in the midfield. Their work ethic and leadership is guiding our team at the moment," added Ruiz.

Mercer quickly responded in the 87th minute to tie the game at one. Ricardo Packer found the back of the net with the help of Kevin Kim to close out scoring in regulation and force an overtime.

Three minutes into overtime Manzo, who is recognized as the Hodges Mazda Player Of The Game single-handedly fired one past the Mercer keeper to secure the third victory of the season for Jacksonville.

"Players have been stepping up big, which is what you need to win these types of games.I am very proud of our fight and resiliency every game," Ruiz concluded. 

The Dolphins will face their first conference matchup on Saturday night when they travel to Nashville, TN to play Lipscomb.