Box Score
Slippery Rock, Pa. – The 18th-ranked Mercyhurst men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision at No. 13 Slippery Rock Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Rock scored once in each half, while Billy Colton's late strike got the Lakers on the scoreboard.
Slippery Rock advances to 8-1, winning its seventh game in a row, and the team is now 4-0 in PSAC West play. The Lakers' record stands at 6-2, including 2-1 in the PSAC West. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for Mercyhurst.
Holding a 1-0 advantage during the second half, Slippery Rock committed many of its players to the defensive side of the field, with few counter-attack attempts. On one Laker rush, a Rock midfielder stole the ball, passing to Kenneth Fultz, who sent a ball through the defense. Jeremy Deighton found the ball in stride, floating a shot into the net at 62:27 for a 2-0 Rock lead.
Slippery Rock applied more defensive pressure in the midfield following their second goal, making extended periods of possession difficult. While the game clock ticked under five minutes, the Lakers were forced to bring several players to the front line. Mercyhurst broke through in the 88th minute, as Arash Fahandezh sent a cross from the left sideline into the box. Christoph Hampel headed the ball toward the post where Billy Colton kicked it home, slicing the deficit in half at 2-1.
Despite a final Mercyhurst attempt at goal, the game ended with Slippery Rock on top, 2-1.
The Lakers and Slippery Rock traded chances in the early going, with The Rock earning throw-ins and free kicks in the attacking third. Mercyhurst controlled a majority of the possession in the midfield, leading to quality build up. The Rock scored the game's first goal at 25:27, as Mitchell Walters found a rebounded shot and then blasted a shot underneath the crossbar for a 1-0 SRU advantage.
From that point on the Lakers pressured, searching for the equalizer. Mercyhurst outshot The Rock 6-1 during the final 15 minutes of play. A feverish last three minutes of the half nearly resulted in a Laker goal, as three clear chances narrowly missed the mark, and SRU took its 1-0 edge into halftime.
Mercyhurst attempted 11 shots to The Rock's six in the first half, while both teams took two shots on target.
For the game, Mercyhurst held a 16-10 edge in total shots and 6-4 in shots on goal.
Slippery Rock's Greg Blum made five saves for the win, while Diego Gustin recorded two stops for Mercyhurst.
The Lakers will play their next three games at Mercyhurst Soccer Field, beginning Saturday, Sept. 26 against Molloy at 1 p.m. Mercyhurst defeated Molloy in their only previous meeting, in 2003.
