Erie, Pa.—Mercyhurst Field Hockey continues their season with a road game against West Chester on Saturday, October 22nd. The Lakers are set to play at Vonnie Gros Field in West Chester, Pa. with the game scheduled for 4:00 PM.
1. Sharing the Ball
Mercyhurst's offense has been one based on sharing the ball with no one player being held responsible for the entire production. They specialize in a team-oriented brand of field hockey, as the team has all seven of their goals coming from seven different players. This time around, the Lakers look to use the well-balanced attack in order to claim an advantage over the Rams.
2. Desormeau Doesn't Stop
Kayla Desormeau has played in all of the Laker games and has accounted for all but 30 minutes in net for Mercyhurst. She has made 102 saves this season which is first in the PSAC and second in the country. She is also third in the nation in saves per game with 9.27 which leads the PSAC. In her career, she has made 304 saves in under two full seasons and has a save percentage of .764.
3. Depth
17 players saw action in the IUP game for the Lakers. The coaching staff has made it known they can trust multiple players and give them valuable minutes on the field. That kind of depth is set to be a key to a good performance through long season. The Lakers are a well-balanced team with a combination of young players and upperclassmen and the valuable experience is set to pay off in the future.
4. Scouting West Chester
The Rams are coming into the Saturday matchup with 9-2 overall record, and 2-2 in conference as the first-ranked team in the nation. Valerie van Kuijck leads her team with nine goals and 10 assists while she is helped by Claudia Jaszczak, scorer of seven goals. Megan Gula has allowed only 11 goals this season and recorded 24 saves. West Chester has scored 48 goals this season while they average 25 shots per game with 62% of them on target. The Rams are going to be determined to win on Saturday as they are coming out of a tough loss against Shippensburg.
5. What's Next
The Lakers have six games left in the regular season. The Lakers are scheduled to play Slippery Rock on Wednesday, October 26th, and follow that with a home match against Kutztown on Saturday, October 29th.
