Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst men's soccer team won the PSAC regular season title and beat Gannon University on Saturday afternoon, 4-2. Freshman
Sten Marcson scored the game-winning goal when Mercyhurst was awarded a penalty kick in the second half.
The crowd of well over 100 bared the weather conditions to watch the cross town rivals, as the two teams played in 14 mph winds, constant rain, and with temperatures in the low 40s.
The Lakers were the first to score 17 minutes into the first half when sophomore
Fernando Martinez scored his seventh goal of the season off a past from senior
Austin Solomon. Gannon answered back a little over three minutes later, with a goal by Golden Knights leading scorer Robbie Bennett. Gannon had a two on nothing against Mercyhurst senior goaltender
Diego Gustin, when Jonathan Simmons beat the Lakers defense and passed it to Bennett for the goal.
Mercyhurst would head into the locker rooms with an 11 to eight shot advantage against Gannon. The Lakers also led in corner kicks six to two.
Gannon took the lead four minutes into the second half, when Tyler Hollingsworth scored his eighth goal of the season. Ten minutes later, the Lakers received a direct kick 20 yards from the goal. Sophomore
Ryan Lund took the kick for Mercyhurst, shooting it into the top right corner of the net to tie the game at two. Marcson scored the game-winning goal at 62:47 when the Lakers were awarded a penalty kick.
The lead would extend to two goals when senior
Alex Manea scored his eleventh goal of the season when the Lakers were granted a corner kick. Manea put the ball into the back of the net off a rebound from Gannon goaltender Jason Barbarino.
Gustin finished 11-5-1 in the regular season, making three saves and allowed two goals in the entire 90 minutes. Barbarino dropped to 12-4 in the net for Gannon, making eight saves in 90 minutes of play.
The Lakers finish their regular season 12-5-1 overall and 7-2 in the PSAC. The victory over Gannon put Mercyhurst as the first place seed in the PSAC, and earned them their first PSAC regular season title. The Lakers will host the second round of the PSAC playoffs next weekend, a date and time is to be determined.
