Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Field Hockey Team opens up their 2022 season this weekend as they head south to take on Belmont Abbey on Saturday and Limestone on Monday.
1. All-Time History
The Lakers last faced Belmont Abbey a year ago as they traveled to Erie. The Crusaders won by a score of 5-0 a year ago, in the only other matchup in 2019 the Lakers fell 3-0 on the road.
Limestone and the Lakers have faced off seven times dating back to 2009. In their first game against the Saints the Lakers defended the home turf and won 6-0. The Lakers all-time record against the Saints is 5-2 with the last game being in 2015 in which the Lakers won 1-0 in overtime.
2. Year Two
Head Coach Brittney Randolph enters her second full season as the leader of the Lakers. On Oct. 12, 2021, Randolph picked up her first career win with a 4-3 overtime win over Seton Hill. Katie Lammando is also back for her second season as the Graduate Assistant in 2022.
3. Preseason Poll
On Aug. 22 the PSAC announced the results of the Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Lakers were tabbed four 10th. The PSAC is a loaded conference as three of the six teams in the NCAA Tournament were from the PSAC a year ago while West Chester fell to Shippensburg in the National Championship.
4. Roster Outlook
The Lakers return 17 players from last season and have added six freshman to the roster. Emerson Polkowski, Maddie Huffer, Jen Kemp, Delfina Magro, and Vera Wevers look to contribute in the field right from the start. Jenna Cavalieri led Mercyhurst last season with four goals while Katie Goodenow is also back after finishing the season with two goals and two assists.
In goal Kayla Desormeau returns after a freshman season in which she had a .754 save percentage and made 202 saves. Freshman Rhyden Wheldon joins the team as the other netminder on the team.
5. Scouting the Opponents
Belmont-Abbey opened the season a 2-0 loss to Bloomsburg on Thursday. In 2021, the Crusaders went 11-8 and 6-6 in conference play. In their opener against Bloomsburg they tallied 10 shots with seven of them finding the goal. Casey Etter led the team with four shots while goalie Chloe Parker made two saves.
Limestone opens their season on Saturday before playing the Lakers on Monday. The Saints lost their top three point getters from last season while Riley DeGrace is the only returner out of their top five scorers. They went 9-8 last season and finished 7-5 in conference play.
