Box Score

ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College men's soccer team pulled off a thrilling 2-1 victory over Slippery Rock University on Thursday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Soccer Field.  The Lakers scored with just five seconds remaining in the first half to knot the game up and parked the game-winner with just 25 ticks remaining in the second half.

The win gives the Lakers their first conference win of the season and boosts their record to 6-1-0 overall.  Slippery Rock drops to 3-3-0 overall as they maintain a 2-2-0 conference record.

The Rock's defense tested junior goalkeeper Deigo Gustin early with two one-on-one opportunities in the first two minutes of the match.  Gustin moved up in the box on both breakaways, denying Slippery Rock's early opportunities.    

Mercyhurst saw its first scoring chance six minutes into the match after freshman Ryan Lund ripped a low liner at the net but a defender stood in the crease kicking the threat away from the goal.  Mercyhurst remained on the offensive attack and two minutes later senior Billy Colton struck a ball that ricocheted off the near post and out of bounds.

Moments later The Rock's keeper Timothy White booted a ball past midfield into Lakers' territory. The ball was tracked down by Christopher Davis, who made a run through the Lakers defense then kicked a low roller past Gustin for the first score of the match.  White was credited with the assist and Davis tallied his second goal of the season.

Freshman Patrick Gehring found the equalizer with only five seconds remaining in the first half.  Lund took a free kick in front of the net where Gehring headed the ball out of the air past a diving goalie.  The tally marks Gehring's first goal of his collegiate career.  The assist was given to Lund marking his first in his young collegiate career.

The first half was a battle as Mercyhurst held a slight shot advantage 13-9, the defense for the Lakers held The Rock without a corner in the first half as their offense took the set piece four times.

The second half remained as intense as the first, with a back-and-forth battle occurring up and down the field.  The Lakers were awarded a free kick 30 yards out from the opposition's goal after a foul was called, Colton took the free kick and placed it perfectly in line with the right hand corner of the net but White was there to make a diving save keeping the match 1-1 heading into the last 30 minutes of play.

The match seemed to be heading to overtime but freshman Fernando Martinez had other intentions.  Junior Austin Solomon played a corner kick softly, just to receive the pass right back.  Solomon found an open Martinez who struck the pass on the far side netting his fourth goal of the season and his second game-winner of the season.  The clock stopped at the 89:35 mark giving The Rock little time to mount a comeback. 

Martinez is now tied for the team lead with Colton with four goals each. 

Gustin made three saves throughout the match, all of which had a high degree of difficulty.  Gustin moves to 6-1-0 overall this season and has a 0.78 goals against average.  His counterpart White suffers the loss after making seven saves. White moves to 3-2-0 on the season.

The win marks the Lakers first win against The Rock since 2009 when they beat them 2-1 at home.

The Lakers will be taking the pitch this Sunday, Sept.25 when they face off against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Ashland University.  Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Mercyhurst Soccer Field.  Live stats will be available, click here.