Erie, Pa – Mercyhurst Women's Soccer is set to play against Slippery Rock in the PSAC Quarterfinals this Tuesday, November 1st, with a kick-off scheduled for 1:00 PM. The Lakers finished their regular season with a record of 9-5-4 and enter the tournament as the second seed, looking to make a deep run in the post-season action.
1. Regular Season
The Lakers finished another regular season, with a conference record of 8-4-4, as they placed second in the PSAC West Standings and are scheduled to host the first round of playoffs. They are following Gannon, as they recorded an 11-1-4 record and defeated the Lakers in last week's game 3-1. Slippery Rock sits in the third spot and Seton Hill is fourth in the tournament. If the Lakers defeat the Rock on Tuesday, they will take on the winner of the West Chester versus East Stroudsburg match in a semifinal showdown.
2. Individual Leaders
Karah Van Horn leads the Lakers on the offensive side of the pitch with seven goals this season and she is helped by Emily Mijares and Lauren Casey with three goals each. Teagan Mehalko and Taryn Baxter also take a big part in the team's success as they both have two goals and two assists on the season. Madison Hoover scored her first goal last week to put the Lakers in the lead against Gannon. Maddie Elbro has saved 58 shots in 18 games played, allowing only 15 goals all year.
3. Team Success
The Lakers come in this week with a 9-5-4 overall record. In 18 games played so far by the Lakers, they have scored 25 goals and only allowed 15. Mercyhurst plays with great effort and averages 14 shots per game with 57% of them on target. They have also drawn 122 corner kicks and turned many of them into scoring opportunities. 11 players have scored a goal for the Lakers this season, which is a testament to the team-oriented brand of soccer they play and Mercyhurst looks to use that well-balanced attack to claim an advantage over Slippery Rock.
4. History Lesson
The Lakers look for their first win over Slippery Rock this year are tying in the previous two matchups. In the first contest of the season, Van Horn put the Lakers in the lead in the first half after a nice shot to the right. Slippery Rock answered right after the break, as Sydney Patrick put the ball in Mercyhurst's net. The Lakers tried their best to score again, as they recorded 19 shots and 12 of them came in the second half but couldn't do it.
The second matchup of the season didn't see much action as both teams were unable to score throughout the whole game. The Lakers took eight shots and five of them on target, whereas Slippery Rock took 13 but only three of them on goal.
5. Scouting The Opponents
Ashley Rea leads the charge for the Rock with four goals and one assist, and she is helped by Morgan Sarver and Kayla Swope with three goals and three assists each. Slippery Rock is a well-balanced team with a combination of younger and more experienced players. They share the ball well, as 11 different players scored at least one goal for Slippery Rock. Graduate Student Emma Yoder stands in the goal for them, as she recorded 71 saves and allowed only 12 goals on the season. Beating her will be the key to success on Tuesday.
Tickets are available online on here: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/4571757/psac-womens-soccer-quarterfinals-erie-saxon-stadium. They will also be available at the table before the game.
