Box Score

ERIE, Pa. – The thirteenth-ranked Mercyhurst University men's soccer team fell to No. 24 Slippery Rock University by a score of 3-2 in the second overtime in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship match on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers fell to 15-5-0 in the season, while Slippery Rock improved to 13-3-3.

The match was a repeat of last year as both teams competed for the PSAC Championship last season at the Mercyhurst Soccer Field. This season however it took two overtimes to decide a winner, with the roles reversing and Mercyhurst finishing second in the tournament.

The Rock's Dom Francis tallied the first goal after a two on one opportunity arose from an offensive rush. Peter Boylan and Francis rushed against goaltender Mikko Sarkkinen with Boylan passing the ball behind Sarkkinen and into the feet of Francis to create the 1-0 Slippery Rock lead at the 10:43 mark of the first.

Just four minutes later, Joesph Korb scored the equalizer with a direct kick just outside the penalty box at the Slippery Rock defensive end. Korb shot the ball left to right into the top corner of the goal.

Slippery Rock's Stephen Donnelly extended the lead 2-1 after a direct kick for the Rock much like the Lakers just 20 minutes earlier. Donnelly placed the ball to the top right corner.

Just three minutes into the second, freshman Jack Watson tallied his seventh goal of the season and the equalizer. Watson finished off of a rebound that junior Fernando Martinez shot just moments earlier into the Rock goaltender Joe Agerskow. Agerskow slid to the ground to block Martinez's shot at the five yard line then Watson picked up the rebound and passed it into the right corner of the net.

With 7:30 left in the contest, the Lakers were forced to play a man down for the remainder of regulation after junior defenseman Ryan Lund received his second yellow card of the contest. Mercyhurst continued possession however, outshooting Slippery Rock 12 shots to two throughout the second half.

All tied up at two after regulation, the Lakers against maintained possession outshooting the Rock three shots to one throughout the first overtime. Halfway through the second overtime, Slippery Rock ran passed the Lakers defense with a two Slippery Rock players to Sarkkinen. Donnelly scored the game-winning goal to capture himself the tournament MVP.

Sarkkinen made two saves on three shots to suffer the loss in net for the Lakers. He fell to 8-4-0 in the season. Agerskow received the win after making five saves on seven shots on net. He improved to 4-0-3 in the season.

Both teams await their fate for the NCAA playoffs during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m. Before the weekend, the Lakers were second in the region while Slippery Rock was third.