Erie, Pa – Second-ranked Mercyhurst Men's Soccer got their postseason runs started with a bang as they won big in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament. The Lakers were faced with East Stroudsburg with Mercyhurst able to get the better of the matchup by a final score of 3-1.

How It Happened

The beginning of the match saw a lot of back-and-forth action as both teams tried to assert their dominance on the pitch. The Lakers kept pushing the ball forward, as Nic Münch had a decent opportunity early, but his shot missed to the left.

In 30^th minute of the match Sean Kerrigan danced between the defenders and got inside the penalty box, as he was fouled by one of East Stroudsburg players. He capitalized on the penalty kick, putting the Lakers in 1-0 lead.

Kerrigan struck again just five minutes later, as he repeated the same sequence and got fouled inside the box again. He once again netted on the penalty kick extending the lead to two goals, and got his 20^th goal of the season.

The Lakers had one more scoring opportunity on the corner kick with couple second left on the clock, but they didn't capitalize. They still went into the break with 2-0 lead on the scoreboard.

The second half was very similar to the first one. The Lakers started with a bang as they only needed 14 minutes to put the ball in the net. Dylan Sumner passed the ball to Münch, who beat the Warriors' goalkeeper with a nice shot.

The third goal woke East Stroudsburg, as they started pushing ball forward more aggressively. In 74^th minute of the match Laurent Gjonmarkaj scored the goal with a shot to the left.
 

Despite their effort, the Warriors didn't do any more damage, as the Lakers held on to the lead, and won the game by a score of 3-1.

Hear it from Head Coach Ryan Osborne. pic.twitter.com/xC3zvs0xYy

— Mercyhurst Men's Soccer (@hurstmsoccer) November 5, 2022

By The Numbers
The Lakers dominated their opponents on both sides of the pitch. Mercyhurst took 13 shots with four of them on target; their opponent took nine and only three of them on the goal. East Stroudsburg often had to foul to stop the ball, which led to Mercyhurst capitalizing on two penalty kicks.

What's Next
Mercyhurst is set to play against Bloomsburg on Sunday, November 6^th in the PSAC Final to determine the 2022 PSAC Champion. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM at the Steph Pettit Stadium.