ERIE, Pa. - After suffering their first loss of the 2020 campaign away at then No. 2, but now No. 1 Le Moyne College last Sunday, the No. 20 Mercyhurst women's lacrosse team will continue their road trip when they visit the Dragons of Tiffin University on Saturday afternoon.
Game Information
Opponent - Tiffin University Dragons
Date - Saturday, March 7
Time - 1 pm
Location - Tiffin, Ohio (Frost-Kalnow Stadium)
Series History - Hurst leads 8-0 (Lakers won last meeting 16-6 on 3/3/19 in Erie)
Live Stats
Watch
Last Meeting against Tiffin - LAKERS 16, Dragons 6 (3/3/19)
Mercyhurst got the early lead thanks to
Emma Hubert, before Tiffin got strikes from Elle Hamilton and Leah Davis to go ahead 2-1 just 10-minutes in. Hubert bagged two more to make it 3-2, but Hamilton answered back for the 3-3 score.
Kiera Boettcher,
Angelina Simon,
Lacey Netti (2), and
Jenna Hagen (2) responded with six consecutive markers allowing Mercyhurst to storm ahead 9-3. Maddy Batley and Hamilton netted back-to-back tallies to close within 9-5. However, Mercyhurst finished the game on a 7-1 goal run with markers coming from
Brenna Fosco, Hubert (3), Netti (2), and Simon for the comfortable 16-6 victory. Netti had eight points (four goals and four assists), while Hubert tacked on six goals. Hagen, Simon, Fosco, and Boettcher combined for nine points (six goals and three helpers).
Raelyn Tiberio made nine saves in cage.
Last Time Out - #2 Dolphins 19, #17 LAKERS 2 (3/1/20)
A goal by Fosco got Mercyhurst to within 3-1 at the 7:29 mark of the first half, unfortunately, Le Moyne scored the following 11 goals to explode out to a 14-1 advantage six minutes into the second half. Tori Sullivan stopped the run thanks to the setup from Netti, but the Dolphins added five more to win 19-2. Gemma Addonizio and Sidney Hall each had four markers to lead Le Moyne.
Kaitlyn Lippert turned away eight shots in goal.
Scouting the Lakers (1-1, 0-0 PSAC)
Stat Pack
Mercyhurst is being outshot by their opposition 54-48 (27-12 on goal). The Lakers are struggling in the groundball game as their opponents have a 43-27 advantage. Mercyhurst turned the ball over 21 times against Le Moyne, and now have committed 31 turnovers to their competition's 29. The Lakers went 9-18 on clears Sunday and now sit at a .763 percentage (29-38).
Free Position Struggles
After going 3-3 versus Walsh in their first contest the Lakers were limited to 0-5 on Sunday. For the season Mercyhurst is now 3-8 for a .375 conversion percentage.
Draw Circle Control
Six players won draws against the Dolphins led by two from
Molly Meegan and one each by
Paige Cocina,
Marissa Comerate,
Kira Kolb, Netti and Sullivan.
Balanced Attack
Netti is pacing the Lakers attack with seven points (two goals and five assists), followed by five for Fosco (three goals and two helpers).
Julia Rescott and Hubert both have recorded three points combining for six goals.
Gina Perna along with
Rachel Plumley each have two points. Four others players have one apiece.
Between the Pipes
Lippert had a strong outing in the opener against Walsh, but conversely struggled on the road at Le Moyne. So far on the season she has allowed 20 goals and totaled 11 saves. Tiberio appeared versus Walsh in relief making two stops, while surrenderring five goals.
Preseason Poll
Mercyhurst enters the 2020 season as the No. 19 team in Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association preseason poll after going 13-7 overall and 9-3 in the PSAC a season ago which ended in an NCAA Tournament First Round loss to East Stroudsburg University. This is the first season that the PSAC is going to break up into East and West divisions. In the West, the Lakers were picked to top it, followed by Seton Hill, Indiana (Pa.), Slippery Rock, Lock Haven, Gannon, and Edinboro. Out East, national runner-up West Chester is chosen to win, with East Stroudsburg, Millersville, Bloomsburg, Shippensburg, Kutztown, and Shepherd rounding it out.
Tough Schedule
The Lakers will play three nationally ranked teams as they take on No. 3 Le Moyne (Mar. 1), No. 21 Seton Hill (Mar. 17 and Apr. 11), and No. 25 Indiana (Pa.) (Mar. 28 and Apr. 22). Mercyhurst will also take on Walsh, Lake Erie, Tiffin, and Roberts Wesleyan in non-conference action. In addition, the Lakers will play the other teams in the PSAC West, Slippery Rock, Lock Haven, Gannon and Edinboro twice as part of the conference restructuring.
Scouting the Dragons (1-2, 0-0 G-MAC)
Tiffin won their first game of the season 19-10 versus Ashland, but have dropped the next two to Lindenwood (3-21) and Slippery Rock (3-19). For the campaign so far they are averaging 8.33 goals per game on 17.7 shots. Tiffin has totaled 46 shots on goal out of their 53 total. The Dragons have been solid on their free position chances going 9-15 for a 60% success rate. As a unit they win on average 10.7 draw controls per game, while for the year Tiffin holds a 30-49 mark in clears. Elle Hamilton is the only Dragon with double-digit points totaling 14 so far on 13 goals and a solo assist. Daniela Carey has five goals. The group of Ashley Osbeck, Emily Chapman and Leah Davis all have three points combining for four goals and five helpers. Erica Brown is leading Tiffin for the eighth season.
On Deck - Home Opener Round 2
After having their first chance at a home opener versus Lake Erie cancelled on Thursday the Lakers will welcome Slippery Rock University for theiir PSAC and Home Opener on Wednesday, March 11th at 4pm.
