No. 17 Georgia Shuts Out Mercer, 2-0

Sunday, August 30

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

University of Georgia

3-1-2, 0-0-0

Mercer

3-3-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Georgia	1	1	2
Mercer	0	0	0

August 30, 2026 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

MACON, Ga. – The 17^th-ranked University of Georgia soccer team picked up its first road victory of the season with a 2-0 shutout of Mercer Sunday evening before 672 spectators at Betts Stadium.

Fast Facts

Georgia (3-1-2) earned its fourth clean sheet of the season by outshooting Mercer (3-3-0), 22-9, including a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Sophomore defender Grayson Rogers led all players with four shots, while senior midfielder Kiera Staude, sophomore forward Mya Townes, and freshman forward Mary Hartofilis each tallied three. Graduate goalkeeper Jordan Brown posted one save in her third victory of the season.
For the third time in four matches, Townes gave the Bulldogs the lead in the first 10 minutes of play, knocking in a goalie rebound from Staude's initial shot in the fifth minute. The score, ruled a goal after VAR, was Townes' third of the season, matching the total from her 2025 freshman season. Staude was credited with her second assist of the season and fifth of her career.
The Bulldogs nearly added a second goal in the 30^th minute as freshman forward Lola Manuel's strike hit off the cross bar, leading to a scramble near the end that eventually went fruitless for Georgia.
Mercer's best scoring opportunity came in the 50^th minute as a Bears breakaway created an open lane for Olivia Bori, who kicked the ball straight into Brown for the save.
Georgia clinched the match in the 74^th minute as Hartofilis knocked a cracking shot into the upper left corner of the net from beyond the 18-yard line. Hartofilis' first career goal was set up by assists from Rogers and fifth year midfielder Sage Glover.

Post-Match Quotes
Georgia Head Coach Keidane McAlpine
On the victory over Mercer…
"All in all, I thought it was a bit better performance. Growth from the last game. We still have to be a little more efficient in the final third, but I thought Mercer did a great job of making it difficult and hard for us to break down. It gave us some things to work through. The best part was we got a lot of players into the game to get really good minutes before we head into Thursday's match."

On preparing for Thursday's matchup against Florida State…
"We just need to keep cleaning up on the things we do. I think if we do what we do well, we'll give ourselves a chance to compete with a Florida State team that's shown the ability to hurt you in many, many ways. But we're going to have to value the ball and be efficient with the chances we create."

Up Next
No. 17 Georgia returns home for its non-conference finale against 16^th-ranked defending national champion Florida State on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Turner Soccer Complex. Admission is free for all spectators, and the match will air live on ESPNU.