Box Score
PEORIA, Ill. - The UNO men's soccer team suffered its first defeat of the season on Friday, falling to Mercer at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic, 2-0.
Despite outshooting Mercer 11-9 and owning play for large portions of the match, the Mavs fell victim to two set pieces for the Bears that resulted in goals. Mercer improved to 1-2, while the Mavericks dropped to 1-1 on the season.
Mercer took a 1-0 lead at the 30:48 mark of the first half when Ryan King headed home a free kick by Joey Heavner. The Bears doubled their lead in the 63rd minute when Will Betts tapped the ball in near the right post after another free kick by Heavner. The goal came against the run of play, as the Mavericks outshot Mercer 7-3 in the second half.
Logan Mendez had four shots for UNO, including two on goal.
Giovanni Giattino had three shots with one finding the frame.
Matt Grosey made four saves for the Mavs. Mercer's Greg Ranjitsingh made five saves for the clean sheet.
UNO plays its final game at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic on Sunday against host Bradley at 2:30 p.m. A
live webcast and
live stats will be available for that game.
