ERIE, Pa. – Freshman Kayla Minner's free-position goal with 5:44 remaining capped off a furious seesaw battle, as the fifth-ranked Mercyhurst College women's lacrosse team defeated No. 9 Gannon, 11-10, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division showdown Monday afternoon at Tullio Field.

The Lakers (12-1, 6-1 PSAC West), winners of three straight since suffering their only loss of the season nine days ago, broke a 10-10 tie when Minner buried her second goal of the game past goalkeeper Acacia Cook.

Mercyhurst, which captured its first season sweep of Gannon as a member of the PSAC, battled the Golden Knights in a game that saw five ties and six lead changes.

MC took command of the game early on, rolling out to a 4-1 lead in the opening 11 minutes. Goals by freshman Alisha Catalino and juniors Elizabeth Tice and Kimberly Masterton produced the Lakers with a 3-0 advantage until Rachel DerCola got GU on the board at the 21:12 mark. Minner netted her first of the game at 19:00 to give the Lakers a three-goal advantage.

Gannon got its offense going shortly after, scoring four straight to take its first lead of the game, 5-4, heading into the final 10 minutes.

Mercyhurst answered the run with four of its own sandwiched around a pair Golden Knight scores. Catalino netted back-to-back markers at 7:32 and 6:31, before Taryn Millerd and Mary Eshenour found the back of the net at 5:41 and 1:48. Two from Masterton in the final 1:13 gave Mercyhurst the lead again, at 8-7.

The high scoring affair would turn into a defensive struggle in the second half as both teams saw their offenses combine to produce six goals and 21 shots, 16 of which came off the sticks of Gannon shooters. Senior Maeve McGoff stifled the Golden Knights by making 10 of her season-high 14 saves in the frame.

Each team struck paydirt in the opening minutes of the stanza, as Masterton netted her fourth of the game at 29:19 and DerCola beat McGoff with her second at 27:01.

After a goal from freshman Melissa Leonhard at 20:50, Gannon tied the game at 10 with tallies at 16:02 and 6:28.

Offensively, Masterton led the way for Mercyhurst with four goals and five points. Catalino recorded three goals and four draw controls, and sophomore Ally Keirn dished out three assists.

Gannon outshot Mercyhurst 32-24 and held advantages of 19-18 in ground balls and 12-11 in draw controls. Cook suffered the loss in goal with six saves.

Mercyhurst continues its homestand this week when Slippery Rock visits Tullio Field for a 4 p.m. contest on Thursday, Apr. 15.