Box Score Erie, Pa. – Mercyhurst Women's Soccer advances to PSAC semifinals as they defeat Slippery Rock in the first round of playoffs. After an intense matchup, the Lakers won the game by a score of 1-0.
How It Happened
The beginning of the game saw a lot of back-and-forth action, as both teams started very patiently and were cautious when pushing the ball forward. The Lakers didn't want to make a costly mistake early in the game, but after feeling out their opponent they started creating scoring situations.
Teagan Mehalko tried her luck in 6
th minute of the match, but her shot missed high. A couple minutes later
Amber Thomas beat her defender and kicked the ball, but it went left.
Slippery Rock had a great scoring opportunity in 24
th minute of the game, as they drew a corner kick and kicked the ball inside the penalty box. Slippery Rock tried to capitalize on the chaos under the Laker's goal, but
Alyssa Poleski was right there on the goal line and stopped the ball from going in.
The Lakers kept applying pressure and pushing the ball forward. Their efforts paid off in 27
th minute of the match, as
Karah Van Horn passed the ball to Thomas, who beat the Rock's goalkeeper with a spectacular shot to the left. The Lakers held on to the lead and went into the break winning by a score of 1-0.
The second half started very similar to the first one, as both teams were cautious to not lose a goal. Slippery Rock's Sydney Patrick had a chance to tie the game in 54
th minute, but
Maddie Elbro was there, and she saved that shot.
Just a minute later the Lakers had a transition opportunity, as
Lauren Casey took a long-distance shot, but the Rock's goalkeeper bounced it out. Van Horn got the rebound, but her shot was once again saved by Emma Yoder.
Slippery Rock got active with ten minutes left on the clock, as they kept applying pressure in desperation. They had a couple of set pieces, but they couldn't capitalize, as Mercyhurst defense did a great job kicking the ball out. The Lakers held on to the lead, and won the game, advancing to the PSAC Semifinals.
By The Numbers
The Lakers created multiple scoring situations as they took eight shots through the game and three of them were on target. Their opponents also took eight shots but only two of them on goal. Mercyhurst drew seven corner kicks whereas the Crimson Hawks recorded five of them.
Alyssa Poleski and
Anna Badar both received a yellow card. Elbro recorded three saves, and another clean sheet of the season.
Hear It From The Lakers
What's Next
The Lakers will take on West Chester on Friday, November 4
th at 12:00 PM. The game is set to take place at Gannon's McConnell Family Stadium in Erie, Pa.
