Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Men's Soccer team will take the pitch on Friday in the PSAC Semi-Finals. The Lakers will have home field advantage as they will host the Millersville Marauders.
The Match Up
Mercyhurst and Millersville first played in 1992 and the Lakers have an all-time record of 10-7-0 against the Marauders. The two teams last matched up on Nov. 15, 2019 in the PSAC Semi-Finals, Millersville won 2-1 as they went on to win the PSAC Championship. Millersville has won the last three games, prior to that the Lakers had won the last five matchups dating back to 2013.
How We Got Here
The Lakers finished the regular season with a 12-3-2 record and a 7-1-2 record in the PSAC West. After starting the season 0-2 the Lakers went on to win 12 of their last 15 games. They closed the season out with points in nine straight PSAC West games with seven wins.
Sidney Warden ended the regular season leading the PSAC in goals with 18 goals. Dylan Sumner and Nevado Elliott each tied second in goals with seven goals. 13 different Lakers scored a goal for the Lakers while 19 Lakers recorded points this season. Jonathan Gomes played all but 45 minutes in net for the Lakers and finished the regular season with six clean sheets and a goals against average under one.
Home Sweet Home
The Lakers finished 7-1-1 at home in 2021. By earning the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, the Lakers will host the remaining games at Saxon Stadium. In the shortened spring 2021 season the Lakers went a perfect 4-0 on their home pitch. In 2019, the Lakers were 4-1-2 at home.
National Rankings
For the first time this season the Lakers found their name on the Super Region 1 rankings, they were ranked 11th in the final poll before the selection show on Monday.
Conference Honors
Warden was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year on Thursday, he led the PSAC in goals while scoring in his last six games and seven of the last eight games of the season. The London, England native is currently third in the country in goals.
Sumner has been named the PSAC West Rookie of the Year. Sumner finished the regular season with seven goals, the most for a freshman in the Western Division. He also found himself in the top 10 for points, shots on goal and assists.
Head Coach Ryan Osborne was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year that was voted on by his peers. In his first championship season with Mercyhurst he led the Lakers to the No. 1 seed in the PSAC West and a 7-2-1 record in conference play.
Nic Münch, Tom Barry, and Sean Kerrigan joined Warden and Sumner on the All-PSAC West First Team while Salvador Rang was named to the second team.
Scouting Millersville
The Marauders are currently 13-5 this season, they beat West Chester on Tuesday to punch their ticket to Erie and play in the PSAC Semi-Finals. Spencer Shortt leads the team with 22 points while being tied for the team lead in goals. Anthony Calamla also has six goals while adding four assists. Bobby Bosch has played most of the games in net for Millersville and has a .730 save percentage.
Up Next
The winner of the Semi-Final will take on the winner of Gannon-Lock Haven on Sunday at Saxon Stadium.
