ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst field hockey team moved into the Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches' Poll at #9 and hosts #1 West Chester on Wednesday, November 5, at Tullio Field. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
 
Mercyhurst enters Wednesday on a four-game winning streak. It won, 2-1 in overtime, at #10 Slippery Rock on Saturday night. Jessica Hillman scored the tying goal late in regulation and then Kelley Hynes had the game-winner at the 82:09 mark in OT. The win gave the Lakers their first four-game winning streak since 2008 and pushed Mercyhurst closer to a PSAC Tournament berth. Mercyhurst's magic number is two, meaning any combination of Laker wins or Kutztown losses that adds up to two clinches a PSAC Tournament spot for Mercyhurst. 

West Chester has a 14-2 record, including an 11-1 mark in the league. It beat Mansfield, 10-0, on Saturday, as Alayna Brown tallied three goals and an assist. The Golden Rams have won seven straight overall and nine consecutive PSAC outings. West Chester has clinched a PSAC Tournament spot and will look to secure the #1 seed this week.
 
West Chester leads the PSAC in scoring at 4.1 goals per game, while Mercyhurst is fourth with 2.8 goals per contest. Ram freshman Rachal Toppi is second in the league in scoring with 39 points. Blair Pembleton leads the Lakers with 31 points, good for fifth in the conference. 

In this week's poll, West Chester moved into the top spot, earning 15 first-place votes. Millersville fell to second, picking up the remaining six first-place nods. Shippensburg, Stonehill, and LIU Post remained third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Limestone was sixth, with East Stroudsburg moving to seventh, ahead of now eighth-ranked Adelphi. Mercyhurst broke into the poll at #9. St. Michael's was voted tenth.
 
The Lakers host West Chester tomorrow in the home finale at 3 p.m. They close the regular season at Bloomsburg on Saturday, November 8, at 1 p.m.
 
This is Mercyhurst's first appearance in the NFHCA Poll this season.