Austin Miller alludes two Mercer defenders over the weekend in Men’s Soccer final game of the year

By Brandon Boyer, Staff writer

Published in print Nov 19. 2014

On the coldest night of the season, the Spartans had a chance to upset the best team in the conference. Mercer, the team that won the regular season and was packed to the gills with the Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and four out of eleven of the All-Conference first team, was on the ropes for most of the night.

But, in one unbelievable moment, it was all gone.

The Spartans outplayed Mercer. Let no one tell you otherwise.

With 21 shots on goal to Mercer’s measly six shots on goal, an unbelievable amount of possession throughout, and with players coming in and replacing each other like cogs in a well-oiled machine, it was UNC-Greensboro’s night to win.

It just wasn’t to be.

There were more opportunities on the night than had ever been seen before for the Spartans.

Sure, they have had more shots on goal before and polished many off, but none that were quite this close.

All of these chances — a whopping 13 on target, including a penalty kick – were all saved by Mercer’s wonder of a goalkeeper, Greg Ranjitsingh.

The 13 saves recorded were a career high for the Southern Conference Men’s soccer Goalkeeper of the Year.

It was not just the saves that Ranjitsingh made that were close.

There were at least four shots from the Spartans that skirted the Mercer net minder’s far post, failing to deflect off the post or roll in favor of the shooter.

Right fullback, Quin Lima, and the ever-dangerous, Jacques Francois, had the two best chances of these missed opportunities, with both of their shots mere grass blades away from giving UNC-Greensboro the lead.

Francois was even more energetic than usual, weaving in and out of from Mercer Bear defenders with incredible ease, never really losing touch of the ball.

His control and skill on the ball was so close, it was as if the ball was tied to his boot with a string.

The Spartans, being the second half team that they are, shot 14 out of their 21 total shots in the second half.

The Blue and Gold desperately wanted to win, but just couldn’t find the angle to slip one past Ranjitsingh.

With a tied score of zeroes at the end of regulation, on came the ever-so-wonderful sudden death, Golden goal overtime that so wonderfully graces college soccer.

Francois nearly won it in the first minute of overtime, latching on to an over-the-top through ball from Lukas Zarges, blasting his shot toward the upper 90 at the near post, but Ranjitsingh was not having any of that and latched on to the rocket of a shot easily.

In the second overtime, 103 minutes into this long-winded, chilly affair, Mercer Bears midfielder Chandler Klemm plays an innocuous ball in from the left, a slow roller to the feet of the goalkeeper.

What happened next is the stuff of what ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries get made from.

Freshman goalkeeper, William Pyle, misread the ball with a Spartan defender in front of him, allowing the ball to roll between his legs on to the goal line.

There the hammer blow was struck. Mercer forward and SoCon Freshman of the Year, Will Bagrou, pounced and finished with authority, pounding it into the back of the net, turning to the Mercer bench and greeting his onrushing teammates as they stormed the field in victory.

“I’ve never been a part of a more lopsided loss in my life,” said Men’s soccer head coach, Justin Maullin.

“[We were] By far the better team, playing some fantastic stuff and to go out the way we went out with that goal is really unfair for this group of kids.”

“We were by far the better team. It wasn’t even close.”

The Mercer Bears went on to face  the Furman Paladins in the Southern Conference Men’s soccer Championship game.

In the battle of which featured a Furman team who had upset second seated Wofford, the Paladins continued to extend their streak as the team came out on top by a score of 1-0. With the win, the Paladins clinched a ticket to the NCAA tournament.

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