ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst Women's Lacrosse team will be back in action this week, first on the road at IUP on Wednesday followed by their final game of the regular season on Saturday at home against Gannon.
Laker Overview
The Lakers clinched their PSAC Postseason berth last week as they picked up three big wins, two over Edinboro and one over Lock Haven. The Lakers started the week with wins against Edinboro on Monday and Tuesday, in the two games Mercyhurst outscored Edinboro 38-2.
Sarah Kaska led the Lakers with five goals across the two games against the Fighting Scots.
In Saturday's thriller with Lock Haven, the Lakers found themselves trailing until the fourth quarter when
Rachel Hirst tied the contest at 7-7 with 10:34 remaining in the contest. The teams traded a pair of goals before they entered a sudden death overtime period. That is where
Meghan Nasman capped off the Laker comeback effort, securing them a spot in the PSAC playoffs.
Scouting IUP
The Crimson Hawks will enter Wednesday's contest with the Lakers holding a 11-4 overall record with an 8-2 mark in PSAC play. They are currently the No. 2 seed in the PSAC West and are one spot ahead of the Lakers in the standings. In the previous matchup earlier this season between IUP and Mercyhurst the Crimson Hawks came away with a 12-11 win.
Jordan Kulp leads the team in points currently with 18 goals and 39 assists. Leah Hunter is tops on the squad with 27 scores through 15 games played. Ashley Andrikanich has played every minute in goal for the Crimson Hawks this season, she has compiled a 10.41 GAA to go with a .414 save percentage.
Scouting Gannon
The Golden Knights have recorded a 5-11 overall record with a 3-8 mark in conference play. Earlier in the season the Lakers defeated the Golden Knights by a 9-8 score.
McKenna Woodworth is the teams current leader in points, she has scored 36 goals to go along with 10 assists for 46 points on the year. Caroline Stevens has been the top goal scorer for the Golden Knights this season. She has 40 goals to go with four assists this season.
Lockdown in the Net
Mercyhurst senior goaltender
Kaitlyn Lippert has acted as a brick wall in net for the Lakers all season long. She has compiled 134 saves in 800 minutes played this season on a 8.84 goals allowed average. Her 53.2 percent save percentage ranks her tied for second in the country in that category. Lippert has also registered three caused turnovers and 26 ground balls for the Lakers this season.
Fantastic Freshman
The group of six Laker freshmen in the field have been a pleasant addition to the team this year. They have accounted for 30% of the team's 186 goals this season. All six have now scored at least two goals this season after
Ellie Schau and
Paige Drazek registered their first tallies of their career last week against Edinboro.
Maggie Newton leads all freshmen with 33 goals this season tying her with
Victoria Gottorff for most on the team.
