GREENSBURG, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team showed they are a force to be reckoned with in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference during the 2021 season as they knocked off No. 3 Seton Hill University by a score of 17-12, in a Top-5 showdown on Saturday afternoon at Dick's Sporting Goods Field.  With the win Mercyhurst now occupies the top-spot in the conference and sets themselves up for home-field advantage in a potential G-MAC Tournament Final. 
 
Seton Hill applied the early pressure recording five shots in the first two minutes, but not cashing in.  That would be something they came to regret as Devin Pipher setup Caleb Kueber for his 11^th of the campaign, followed by markers from Nathan Grenon (man-up) and another by Kueber had the Lakers in front 3-0 with 5:33 gone.  Robert Hofseth and Thomas Hanulak gave the home fans something to cheer about making it 5-2.  However, Grenon netted another one man-up off a feed from Bryce Johnson, while Gavin Farrell buried his second of the year extending the visitors edge to 5-2 through one.
 
The scoring significantly dried up in the second as there were just three total goals scored.  A push called on Farrell at 4:43 led to Hofseth netting his second of the contest on a dish by Logan Maloni just 15-seconds later.  It would take until the 12:48 mark for the Lakers to get another one past Kevin Mo as Johnson cashed in after Tommy Angelicola forced a turnover at the other end.  The game appeared to be headed to the break at 6-3, but Dan Rupert had other ideas as he let a long bounce shot go with two ticks remaining that beat Cole Pellicano leaving it at 6-4. 
 
Seton Hill began the third strong with Zack Estabrooks finishing off a Maloni pass after Pellicano denied Hofseth.  The Lakers then took over the momentum for a while scoring the next four goals in a row.  First, Kueber notched his second of the day from Jacob Emerson.  Then, Peyton Manko hit the twine for the first time with an unassisted tally.  Johnson scored man-up while Jacob Motiuk was serving an offside penalty.  The run would then be capped off at the halfway point of the frame when Braden McCard scored unassisted to make it 10-5.  Hofseth halted the charge for just a moment before Shawn Doran got his opener and Manko added another.  Hofseth got one more to have it 12-7 through three. 
 
Nicholas Mabe and Maloni exchanged markers in the first two minutes of the final quarter keeping the margin at five, 13-8.  A few minutes later the Lakers engaged in some "make it take it" lacrosse as Kueber setup Grenon, before off the ensuing Doran faceoff win Emerson hit the back of the net to increase the gap to 15-8 with 8:11 to play.  The Griffins scored three of the next four with Kueber notching the only marker for the Green and Blue leaving it at 16-10 with four minutes remaining.  Angelicola would get the final goal for Mercyhurst on the afternoon as the hosts added two more for the 17-12 final. 
 
Team Stat Pack
Shot Attempts - Hurst, 46 / SHU, 37 
Shots on Goal - Hurst, 32 / SHU, 19
Clears - Hurst, 16-17 / SHU, 17-22
Faceoff Wins - Hurst, 20 / SHU, 13
Ground Balls - Hurst, 27 / SHU, 25
Turnovers - Hurst, 14 / SHU, 19
Man-Up Opportunities - Hurst, 3-12 / SHU, 2-5

Mercyhurst Individual Stats
Points – Kueber (6), Pipher (4), Grenon and Johnson (3)
Goals – Kueber (4), Grenon (3), Johnson and Manko (2)
Assists – Pipher (4), Kueber (2)
Faceoffs - Doran (20-32), Columbus (0-1)
Saves - Pellicano (7)

SHU Individual Stats
Goals – Hofseth (4), Maloni (2)
Faceoffs – Gray (13-30)
Saves - Mo (14)

On Deck 
The Lakers are right back at it in two days when they visit Wheeling University for another G-MAC contest at 4pm on Monday afternoon.