ERIE, Pa. – The eighth-ranked Mercyhurst College field hockey team closed out the regular season Wednesday afternoon, defeating Seton Hill by a score of 5-1 at Tullio Field in Erie, Pa. With the win, the Lakers (10-7) become the fifth team in the 13-year history of the program to finish the regular season with a winning record at 10-7.  Last year's squad posted a mark of 10-9.

Four different players found the back of the cage as the Lakers unleashed their largest first-half scoring output of the season, taking a 5-0 lead into halftime. Junior Sara Wowkowych led the offense with two goals and an assist, while sophomore Rachel Sluberski and seniors Courtney Loper and Kristen Fogle each had a goal.

Sluberski gave Mercyhurst an early 1-0 lead when she connected off of one of senior Kelsie Weber's two assists in the game at the 5:57 mark. Less than 13 minutes later, Loper pushed the score to 2-0, knocking in a cross-crease feed from Wowkowych at 17:04.

After a short break, Mercyhurst got its offense pumping again with three goals all within a three minute and 29 second span. Fogle pushed the score to 3-0 with a lob shot that sailed over the goalkeeper's head at 27:09, followed by back-to-back scores from Wowkowych at 28:07 and 30:38.

Seton Hill got on the board late in the second half with a goal from Krista Archembeau at 55:28. Archembeau scored both goals in a 3-2 setback to the Lakers back in mid-September.

Sophomore Ashley Wiskup improved her record to 10-7 with three saves in 55:28 worth of action. Freshman Jess Richards closed out the game with a stop. Mercyhurst outshot Seton Hill 25-7, including 15-1 in the first half, and held a 7-5 edge in penalty corners.

The Lakers return to action this Friday, Oct. 30, when they take on top-ranked Bloomsburg in the first round of the 2009 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Field Hockey Tournament at 12 p.m. in Shippensburg, Pa.