Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Women's Soccer team faces Bloomsburg in the PSAC Semi-Finals on Friday afternoon.
The Matchup
Mercyhurst and Bloomsburg have played 19 times with the first time being in 1990. The two teams did not play each other from 1999 to 2010. The Huskies hold the all-time series lead as they are 9-7-3 against the Lakers all-time.
The two last met in 2018 when they tied 0-0 at Mercyhurst. In the last five matches Mercyhurst is 1-2-2 against the Huskies.
We're Here
The Lakers advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Edinboro on Tuesday by a score of 2-0. Amber Thomas scored the first goal on a penalty kick and Karah Van Horn scored the second goal in the second half.
Mercyhurst closed out the regular season with six straight wins which included four straight clean sheets. The Lakers started the season 1-2-1 and went on to win 12 of their next 14 games in the regular season.
Road Warriors
The Lakers are 7-2-1 on the road this season with their lone conference road loss coming against Seton Hill on Sept. 25. The Lakers outshot the Griffins 24-3 in the loss.
National Rankings
On Wednesday, the NCAA released their final regional rankings ahead of the selection on Monday. The Lakers were ranked eighth and it was their third time in three weeks being ranked.
Conference Honors
Emily Mijares was named PSAC West Rookie of the Year and Athlete of the year. Maddie Elbro was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the year, topping a list of five Lakers to be recognized as All-Conference players.
The Brooklin, Ont. ended the regular season tied for the most goals scored in the conference with 13, including a conference-best seven game-winners that was good for second in the nation. Mijares' 40 shots on goal led the PSAC Western Division as well.
Elbro played every minute of every game in net for the Lakers this season, recording a PSAC Western Division-best 10 clean sheets. Her .614 goals-against average was the lowest in the division while her 84.2 saves percentage was in the top five in the conference.
Mijares and Elbro were joined on the PSAC Western Division All-Conference First Team by Taryn Baxter and Amber Thomas. It was the second First Team appearance for Baxter. Madison Hoover received Second Team All-Conference honors as well.
Scouting Bloomsburg
The Huskies entered the playoffs as the second seed in the east and defeated West Chester 1-0 in the quarterfinals. Bloomsburg is 13-4-2 on the season including a 11-3-2 record in conference play. They have allowed just eight goals this season while scoring 33 as a team. Their leading scorer is Natalie Homes who has scored five goals and added four assists. 11 different players have scored for the Huskies while 15 have recorded points. Alexa Ryan has played every minute in net for Bloomsburg and has a .810 save percentage.
Up Next
The winner of this game plays the winner of Gannon and Millersville in the PSAC Championship on Sunday.
