Erie, PA—The Mercyhurst Men's Soccer team will play their first game in 657 days as Mercyhurst hosts the West Liberty Hilltoppers on Thursday. The Lakers then travel to Bloomsburg on Sunday for a non-conference matchup with the Huskies.
The Matchups
The match between the Lakers and Hilltoppers will only be the second time the teams have played each other. The last time the two faced each other was 1985 when the Lakers defeated the Hilltoppers 4-0.
Mercyhurst and Bloomsburg have more history as the two squads have played 11 times since 2009. Most recently the Lakers fell to Huskies in 2018 by a score of 4-2. The Lakers are 3-2 in the last five matchups with Bloomsburg and are 9-2 since 2009.
A Squad of New Faces
Head Coach Ryan Osborne will finally be able to coach his first competitive season after being hired in January of 2020. Osborne brought 34 new faces in over the last two seasons while also having 10 return from the 2019 roster.
Sidney Warden will look to lead the attack up the field after earning the Golden Boot in the NPSL as he tallied 16 goals and six assists in just 12 starts for Duluth FC this summer. Nevado Elliott joins the Lakers after playing four seasons at Alderson Broaddus while scoring 10 goals in 32 matches with the Battlers.
Keeping Up With The Keepers
Osborne has not named a starting goalkeeper yet, and throughout the preseason and last spring's exhibition season Mattias Odelius and UNC Wilmington transfer Jonathan Gomes have seen time in net for the Lakers.
Odelius came to Mercyhurst last year as a freshman, while Gomes comes to Erie after starting his collegiate career at Division I UNC Wilmington. Both keepers bring size to the net as they are both 6'3" respectively.
It's Go Time
After being ranked first in the annual PSAC West Preseason Poll, the Lakers know that they need to continue to work hard. "We are under no illusions of the hard work that will be needed to make this a reality" Osborne said. "We will embrace the challenge and we look forward to starting our season and chasing our goals as a program."
Scouting West Liberty
The Hilltoppers went 4-4 last spring while ending their season on a two-game winning streak against Alderson Broaddus and Frostburg State. In 2019, West Liberty finished 3-14-1 with their only wins coming against Wheeling, Frostburg State, and Concord University. Sean Regan enters his third season with the Hilltoppers while having a 7-18-1 record.
Scouting Bloomsburg
Due to COVID-19 the Huskies haven't suited up since the 2019 season when they finished 7-11 on the season, they went 5-7 in PSAC East play and missed the playoffs. Head Coach Mark Bassett enters his first season as the manager after being named head coach in March 2021. Prior to joining the Huskies, Bassett had a 159-89-28 record with King's College over 14 seasons.
What's Next?
The Lakers continue non-conference play on Friday Sept. 10 as they host the University of the District of Columbia.
