BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The No.4 Mercyhurst College men's soccer team faced off against a determined Bloomsburg University team. The Lakers prevailed in what turned out to be a very close matchup, 3-2. With the win the Lakers improve to 12-0-2, while the Huskies drop to 4-9-2. The Lakers are off to their best start in eight years when they won 15 straight in 2002.

In the first half of play the Lakers outshot Bloomsburg 10-3 but they were outgained in corner kicks 2-1. Despite the Lakers 10 shots, eight were saved by the Huskies goal keeper Bernie Roell. Bloomsburg only took three shots at goal, two found the back of the net, giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead by the end of the first half.

At the first sound of the whistle the Huskies ran rapid, scoring in the eighth minute when Tom Kovack netted an unassisted ball into the Laker goal. Just five minutes later at the 13:39 mark another Huskie found the net, this time it was Bryce Shaffer who broke away from the Laker defense and placed the ball in the top left corner of the goal.

In the second half, Mercyhurst shot the ball six times compared to Bloom's three, and the Lakers totaled 16 shots on the day, 14 of which were on goal. The constant pressure of the Laker offense finally broke through the Huskie defense in the second half.

The Lakers came out in the second half ready to go, rallying around teammate Arash Fahandezh who scored his third goal of the season when he received a pass from sophomore Austin Solomon and ripped it into the net from five yards out. The goal cut the Huskie lead to just one goal. One minute later graduate student Christoph Hampel received a pass from junior Alex Manea and took care of the rest by putting the ball just out of the goalies reach in the lower left hand side of the net. The teams went back-and-forth before the 71:16 mark when Hampel struck again; Hampel took the pass from Manea and beat the Huskie goalie to the left side again for his ninth goal of the season.

Hampel has now scored five goals in three games, adding three assists and has put a charge into the already explosive offense of the Lakers. In the previous three games the Lakers are outscoring opponents, 11-4 and they are outscoring opponents by 25 goals on the year. Mercyhurst is averaging 2.5 goals a game their best average since the 2006 season when they averaged 2.73 a game.

Sophomore Diego Gustin has played solid in between the posts, saving three shots against Bloom and accumulating 45 saves throughout the season. Gustin has only allowed ten goals this season and has posted five shutouts helping the Lakers keep a clean slate. 

The Lakers now look to a two game home stand in which they will face off against two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conferences teams in West Chester University and Millersville University. The squad matches up against West Chester Friday at 2 p.m. on the Mercyhurst Soccer Field. The Golden Rams hold a 5-9 record and are winless in the PSAC.

 For people that are unable to attend the contest live stats will be available, click here.