SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Mercyhurst College women's lacrosse team scored nine goals in the second half to break open a 9-7 game and defeat Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division rival Slippery Rock, 18-9, Thursday evening in Slippery Rock, Pa. With the victory, the Lakers improve to 7-0 for the second-straight season and 3-0 in conference play.

Junior Kimberly Masterton orchestrated an offense that saw eight players combine for 29 points with three goals and five assists. Sophomore Ally Keirn tallied a goal and added five assists to mark her fourth-straight game with three or more helpers, and freshman Alisha Catalino scored a game-high four goals. Freshman Kayla Minner matched Catalino's point output with four of her own, scoring three goals and adding an assist.

Senior Celeste Shefferly scored two goals and dished out an assist, while sophomores Laura Trenti and Jessica Lincoln tallied two goals apiece. Freshman Melissa Leonhard added to the offense with a single tally.

Mercyhurst had to fend off a pesky Slippery Rock squad in the first half before coasting to its fourth-straight win over The Rock.

Both teams battled through the opening stanza, with MC jumping out to a 3-0 lead on back-to-back goals by Catalino and a strike from Minner. After Slippery Rock answered with a goal by Amy Halls, Mercyhurst got back to business, rattling off three straight to build a 6-1 advantage with less than six minutes elapsed into the contest.

SRU started to creep back into the game from that point, countering the Lakers' three with three of its own. Ariel Knox made it a 6-2 game before Casey Quinn connected on consecutive free-position goals to close the gap to two with 21:20 to play.

After an exchange of scores to make it 7-5, both teams reeled off consecutive goals, with Catalino and Minner rounding out the MC scoring in the first half.

Slippery Rock had the upper hand in almost every statistical category in the first half except for the score. The Rock outshot the Lakers, 15-13, and tied them in ground balls, 13-13. Senior Maeve McGoff recorded six saves and allowed seven goals through the first 30 minutes before giving way to sophomore Jenny Perkins, who finished the game with two stops and two goals allowed.

MC turned aside its host in the second half with a 9-2 scoring advantage. Trenti opened the frame with her second of the match, giving the Lakers a 10-7 advantage at the time. Catalino then made it 11-7 before SRU netted its only scores of the frame on back-to-back free-position attempts a little over three minutes apart.

After a goal from Masterton at 17:51, Shefferly found the back of the net twice, followed by Lincoln's second and two more from Masterton. Keirn closed out the scoring with her first of the game at the 1:32 mark.

Mercyhurst finished the game with a 33-21 edge in shots and a 23-22 advantage in ground balls. McGoff moved her record to 7-0 on the season with Mercyhurst maintaining the lead with Perkins in net. SRU's Ashley Winkelspecht suffered the loss with seven stops.

The Lakers return to non-conference action this weekend with a PSAC crossover game at Bloomsburg on Saturday, Mar. 27 at 1 p.m.