MACON, GA. – Top-seeded Mercer withstood a second half push from Campbell, holding off the No. 3 seed Camels 11-10 on Sunday, claiming its second straight Big South Conference Championship.
Mercer moved to 17-2 overall with its 12
th consecutive win, clinching its fifth straight NCAA Championship berth.
Campbell's record-breaking season ends at 12-7 overall after its second Big South title game appearance and first since 2017.
After Mercer took an 8-4 lead into the half, CU bounced back with a 4-1 third period with goals from four different Camels, including a score and an assist from
Kyla Azzato, bringing the third-seeded Camels within one at 9-8 headed to the fourth.
Still holding a one goal advantage late in the final period, Kayla Soltys' score with 4:15 remaining made it an 11-9 Mercer lead.
Campbell took the ensuing draw control, however, and answered 38 seconds later with
Ally Heath's third of the day.
The Camels took back over possession with 1:53 remaining in regulation, and fired off a pair of shots in the last 0:31 before the final horn.
Shannon Urey led Mercer with a game-high five goals, while Chloe Schaeffer collected a goal and three assists. Hannah Lind also scored twice, while Soltys, named the tournament MVP, posted a goal with eight draw controls. Carly Curran also caused three turnovers with three ground balls and Kate Vanderlinde made five saves.
Heath tacked on a caused turnover to go along with her hat trick, while
Joslin Hanbury also registered three points on two goals and an assist for the Camels.
Rasa Welsh,
Lexi Goff and
Kyla Azzato also logged a goal and an assist.
Shae Fitzgerald, meanwhile, caused two turnovers with three ground balls and
Emma Strickland made eight saves.
Campbell's season ends with a record number of total wins (12), goals (269), assists (137), points (406), draw controls (292), ground balls (400) and caused turnovers (277).
Following the game, Campbell's
Chandler Stewart,
Rebekah Taylor and
Rasa Welsh were named to the Big South's all-tournament team.