Head Coach Tom Melville took over a Mercer soccer program that had won just three games the year before he arrived in 1995.  How times have changed.  The Bears are turning into a dynasty in the Atlantic Sun Conference.  They were regular season conference champions in 2000, 2001 and 2002.  They captured the conference tournament championship following the 1999 and 2001 seasons.  Mercer lost its NCAA play-in game in 1999 to the University of Rhode Island but advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 for the first time in school history.  The Bears lost 1-0 to the University of Kentucky in the first round.

 

Melville earned Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and 2002 but the team accomplishments are what drives the head man.  "Me getting coach of the year honors is just icing on the cake," uttered the native of Ireland.  "It's a nice honor because it is voted on by my peers and it's reinforcement that we're doing a good job here.  However, if I could trade for a conference championship every year, I would do it in a heartbeat."  

 

Mercer has also had the last two Atlantic Sun Player of the Years in Ramiro Canovas (2002) and Max Rooke (2001) and the Bears have had approximately 80% of its roster earn All-Academic honors.  The only question to ask now is, How long can all this success continue?  According to Melville, "We've established the yardstick as to what is expected out of the men's soccer program at Mercer and that is to be contending for a regular season and conference tournament championship year in and year out.  We can't afford to sit back and be complacent because teams in our league are recruiting and working hard now that we have a target on our back.  All of our newcomers understand the responsibility they have when they arrive and it is up to them to put the work in so we can see the results by the end of the season."

 

Prior to his arrival at Mercer, Melville spent eight successful seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne (L-R) College in Hickory, North Carolina. In just his second season at L-R, he helped lead the school to its first ever NAIA District playoff berth and was named the South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year for his efforts. The highlight of his tenure came during the 1992 season when his squad captured the Conference Championship.

Year	School	Record
1987	Lenoir-Rhyne	7-7-2
1988	Lenoir-Rhyne	5-11-2
1989	Lenoir-Rhyne	10-6-1
1990	Lenoir-Rhyne	11-6-2
1991	Lenoir-Rhyne	10-3-4
1992	Lenoir-Rhyne	11-8-1
1993	Lenoir-Rhyne	11-7-1
1994	Lenoir-Rhyne	9-9-2
1995	Mercer	8-9-1
1996	Mercer	8-10-1
1997	Mercer	3-15
1998	Mercer	7-11
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005	Mercer Mercer Mercer Mercer Mercer Mercer Mercer	12-7-2 9-8-2 13-8 10-7-1 8-9-2 11-9-1 9-9-2
	Mercer total (11 years)	98-102-12
Total	19 years	172-159-27