Erie, Pa – Mercyhurst Women's Soccer prepares for a week full of road trips as they travel to Edinboro on Wednesday, October 5th, to take on the Fighting Scots and follow that with another road game against Slippery Rock on Saturday, October 8th.
1. PSAC West Standings
Gannon currently sits at the top of the PSAC West standings with 6-1-2 conference record. They are followed by Mercyhurst as both teams have the same records. However, the Lady Knights defeated the Lakers in their last matchup, putting them in first. Seton Hill is at the third spot with 4-2-3 conference record, and UPJ is fourth with 4-3-2. The Lakers have seven games left in their regular season and are scheduled to finish it on October 26th with a rematch against Gannon in a game that likely decides the top spot in the PSAC West.
2. Team Success In Numbers
The Lakers come into this week with a 7-2-2 overall record after winning a pair of games last week. They first defeated Daemen by a score of 1-0 before facing Clarion and winning by the same score. In 11 games played by the Lakers, they have scored 16 goals and allowed just eight. Mercyhurst plays with great effort and average as many as 13 shots per game, with 53% of them on target. They have also drawn 61 corner kicks and turned many of them into scoring opportunities.
3. Depth
As many as 17 players saw action in Clarion game for the Lakers. Mercyhurst's coaching staff can trust multiple players and give them valuable minutes on the field and has decided to use more of their depth of late. That kind of utility is set to be the key to a good performance through a long season.
4. Individual Leaders
Karah Van Horn leads the Lakers on the offensive side of the pitch with six goals this season and has been helped by Emily Mijares and Lauren Casey with three goals each. Casey's performance in the Clarion game was crucial to the win as she scored the only goal in the match that eventually sealed the game for the Lakers. Teagan Mehalko recorded her first goal in a Lakers uniform last week against Deamen and created many scoring opportunities for the team. Maddie Elbro has saved 37 shots so far this season and she recorded two more clean sheets last week.
5. Scouting The Opponents
The Lakers have already defeated Edinboro once this season, thanks to goals by Mijares, Van Horn, and Dani Hartman. The Fighting Scots are coming into Wednesday's game with 1-6-3 record, as they lost to Cal (PA) and tied with UPJ last week.
In their last game against Slippery Rock, the Lakers tied the game 1-1. Van Horn scored a goal in the first half, but the Rock answered in the second. Despite great efforts, the Lakers couldn't get in the lead again. Slippery Rock is a well-balanced team without a clear-cut leader on offense with nine players that have scored at least one goal this season. Goalkeeper Emma Yoder leads the team on defensive side of the pitch with 52 saves and only seven goals allowed in 11 games, making for a strong matchup in goals in that one.
Mercyhurst is scheduled to take on Edinboro on Wednesday, October 5th at 6:00 pm. They will travel to Slippery Rock on Saturday, October 8th for a rematch against the Rock. Kick-off is set for 3:00 pm.
