MACON, Ga. -  The Kennesaw State Owls battled the Mercer Bears Sunday afternoon in a hard-fought match, but came up short in the 1-0 battle at Betts Stadium.

The Owls (1-2) registered nine shots with three shots on target. Tianna Rivera led the Owls with two shots on goal followed by Hayley Dekker who had one shot-on-goal.

Goalkeeper Dylan Pixton had a career-high nine saves against the Bears (3-5-1), who had 17 shots with 10 of them on target.

Mercer scored a goal at 53:42 in the second half thanks to Kendall Cook and the assists by teammates Elizabeth Hargis and Ally Fordham.

The Owls head to the University of Georgia to battle the Bulldogs this Thursday, Feb. 25. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. EST.