Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Field Hockey sees their regular season come to a close on Saturday, November 12th, when they play host to one of the top teams in the country: Shippensburg.
1. Week in Review
The Lakers had two games on the docket last week, walking away 0-2. First, they hosted #9 Mansfield on Tuesday, November 1st, to open up the new month with Mercyhurst unable to get the win. The Lakers fought hard on their own turf but were unable to get it done in a tightly contested 1-0 loss. Their second game of the week came on Saturday, November 5th, when the team traveled to East Stroudsburg to take on the Warriors, falling 5-0 to the top team in the country.
2. Coming Close
Mercyhurst is faced with a tough task in the form of #2 Shippensburg, but they are no strangers to that. Four of the team's last six opponents were all mentioned in the most recent NFHCA poll as the Lakers have faced a gauntlet of opponents to this point. Despite being faced with tough opponents, Head Coach Brittany Randolph's team has hung right in there as three of those games have been one-goal contests.
3. Desormeau Doing Work
Laker goalie Kayla Desormeau continues to be a bright spot for Mercyhurst as she mans the cage. Desormeau has had a season for the record books as she currently has 185 saves on the season in 16 games for an average of 11.56 to be the only goalkeeper in the country with double-digit saves a game. Her 185 saves lead the country and she has been far more than just volume as she is fourth in NCAA DII in save percentage at .826.
4. Team Leaders
Jillian Blas has been as consistent as they come in terms of playing time with the most minutes of anyone on the team with 960. Maddie Huffer and Elizabeth Jackson are tied for the team lead in goals with two apiece while there is a trio tied for assists. Delfina Magro, Jenna Cavalieri, and Allyson Doran each have one apiece to be tied at the top. Magro leads the way in shots as well with 13 while Cavalieri is close behind with a dozen.
5. Scouting Shippensburg
The Raiders come into the game ranked second in the nation and hold a 14-2 record overall and 6-2 in conference. Shippensburg has won six of their last seven games with their lone loss coming against Millersville by a score of 4-1. The team is led by Agus Garibaldi and Tess Jedeloo who both have double-digit goals on the season with Garibaldi having 16 and Jedeloo 12. Garibaldo also sits atop the team leader boards in assists with six so she is a focal point for Mercyhurst if they hope to grab the win.
