URBANA, Ohio – The Mercyhurst men's soccer lost its first matchup in the NCAA Tournament 2-0 to Urbana in a home game that was actually played at Urbana on Sunday afternoon. The loss eliminated the Lakers from the postseason and ends its 2016 season.
 
The first half featured two teams that played very conservatively. Neither Mercyhurst nor Urbana had any particularly dangerous scoring opportunities and neither team took risks to spring an attack and leaving themselves vulnerable to a counter attack. Jorge Gonzalez had the most threatening opportunities of the half for the Lakers, but his touch was just off and he wasn't able to put shots on net.
 
Both teams began the second half much more aggressively and traded chances. Urbana's aggression paid off in the 60^th minute by forcing a Mercyhurst turnover in the Lakers' half of the pitch. Lewis Dunne capped off the turnover with the first goal of the game to put the Blue Knights ahead 1-0.
 
Ten minutes later, Urbana added to its lead thanks to more aggressive play. The Blue Knights attacked with pace into the penalty area and Mercyhurst was called for a foul in the box. The Blue Knights were awarded a penalty kick to be taken by Dunne. Dunne's initial shot was stopped by a diving Alexander Brems, but Dunne one-touched the rebound into the net to double Urbana's lead 2-0 in the 70^th minute.
 
Despite 20 minutes left to work with, the Lakers were unable to develop any offensive threats as Urbana packed its team on the defensive side of the field. The Lakers finished with just six shots on goal in the game and were held scoreless for the first time in 13 matches, the last being a 1-0 loss to Ohio Valley.
 
Mercyhurst finished the season with a 15-5-1 overall record and its third Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title since 2012. Mercyhurst also had multiple conference accolades for players on its team and will await the Atlantic Regional awards announcement to see if any more players have accumulated regional honors.