Mercer Women’s Lacrosse team to play in its fifth consecutive NCAA National Tournament

Mercer will face Notre Dame on Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in Gainesville, Florida.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) –For the fifth consecutive season, excluding the canceled 2020 COVID-19 year, the Mercer women’s lacrosse team has captured its conference tournament title, thus sending them to the NCAA National Tournament. Unfortunately for the Bears, they are still looking to earn their first national tournament victory.

“We’ve been working for it for four years now, and every time we’ve gotten a little bit closer, a little bit closer. So I think this year’s the year,” said senior attacker and Big South Offensive Player of the Year, Shannon Urey.

For the last two years, the Bears have had to face the Florida Gators in the opening round, but this time around, they finally get a new opponent, Notre Dame.

“We were more excited to not be playing Florida than it didn’t matter who,” said head coach Samantha Eustace. “Just like as long as we weren’t playing Florida, and I think when a team has worked so hard and had such a great year, you want to just be able to play somebody new and different.”

“It’s super exciting, super fun just to be able to scout someone different and be able to watch their film and see what they do from a completely outsider perspective since we’ve never played them before,” said Urey.

It might sound cliché, but the strength of this year’s team lies in its numbers.

“It really makes a difference when you have 14 seniors on a team and three fifth-years that they came back wanting to be a part of this, and I think there’s a little bit more depth on the team this year,” said Eustace. “I think that’s where we can rest some players because we have a little bit more depth. I think that’s been the difference with this team is we can rest somebody for a little bit and put somebody else in.”

The Bears have gone 17-2 this season and have the second-highest scoring average in the nation, so they just need to go out and play their own game.

“We’re going to have to be ready, and we’re going to have to play the best lacrosse that we played this year on Friday, and we’re capable of it,” said Eustace. “We definitely have the tools. But you know, just like a lot of teams have done with us this year, we get overlooked a whole lot. So we’re ready to compete with Notre Dame on Friday.”

The Bears will face the nation’s 11th-ranked team, Notre Dame, Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in Gainesville, Florida.