MACON, Ga. – The Wofford women's soccer team concluded the regular season in a 0-0 deadlock with Mercer on Sunday afternoon at Betts Stadium. The Terriers will receive the No. 8 spot going into the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament, which is set to begin on Tuesday, October 28.

The Terriers went into the match with hopes of continuing their win streak to end the season on a high note. However, the Bears' solid defense held the Wofford offense to minimal opportunities.

The first half saw a determined Terrier frontline that had several close opportunities to put themselves on the board first. Their first chance came in the 11^th minute when Julia Grier's attempt went out wide left. The Terriers' front line kept breaking the Bears' defense with back-to-back chances by Ellie Gower and Delaney Minor in the 15^th minute, but each chance was saved by Mercer's goalkeeper Lindsay Bell.

Wofford's solid backline was tested by the Bears' offense with four shots in a row but held strong to continue the match nil-nil. Gower attempted a shot from the top of the box, but it went left to send the Terriers into the halftime break in a deadlock.

The Terriers saw seven shots compared to the Bears' nine. Elizabeth Navola saved five shots while Mercer's saved two.

Wofford came back from the break with an opportunity by Kate Markey to take the lead, but her shot was saved by Mercer's Avery Parker. After this, the Bears began to dominate possession. Mercer would hold the Terriers to one more shot attempt in the 58^th minute by Minor, which was saved by Parker.

With the Bears in control of the match on the front end, the Terriers' defense switched to preserving the nil-nil draw. The remainder of the match saw close opportunities by Mercer, but Navola held her position in the net, strongly denying all.

A physical match from the start to the finish, Wofford and Mercer concluded their regular season in a scoreless draw to lock their spots in the conference tournament.

"I am super proud of this team," head coach Kevin Dempsey said. "We've only allowed one goal in the last five games. It just shows the mentality they have; this group fights."

The Terriers saw a total of nine shots, four on goal while the Bears saw 28 shots, 17 on goal. Navola faced a season-high of 28 shots and 17 saves compared to Mercer's four saves.

"We are looking forward to the postseason," Dempsey said. "It'll be great to play at Snyder Field again. It'll be a great crowd to help us continue our season. I'm just super proud of this team and program, but we're not done yet."

Notes:
Navola had a season-high of 28 shots faced and 17 saves in today's match.

Navola also earned her third-straight shutout and sixth on the season, a career-high.

The Terriers will be going into the conference tournament on a three-game unbeaten streak. This will be the first time since 2023 that the Terriers will enter the conference tournament with a positive result.

The Terriers have only allowed one goal in the past five games.

Wofford will open the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament at Snyder Field on Tuesday, October 28. The No. 8 Terriers will host No. 9 seed The Citadel at 6 p.m., streaming on ESPN +.