Washington, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's water polo competed in their lone contest on the weekend Friday night with the team dropping their matchup to Washington & Jefferson. The Lakers were able to stick with their counterpart in the early going, but a 6-2 scoring deficit in the second half left to a 9-5 loss as the Lakers move to 3-13 on the year.
How it Happened
Mercyhurst was able to jump out in front with a pair of goals in the opening frame to the President's one. Teagan Thomas got the scoring starter to help the Lakers jump out in front before a W&J goal knotted things up. Asher Jones then dented the back of the net to help Mercyhurst reclaim the lead going into the second period, 2-1.
After Washington & Jefferson managed to tie thins up once again in the early going of the second, Owen Hardner scored his lone goal of the game to help Mercyhurst once again find themselves up by one. The Presidents did not stay down for long as they managed to score one more time in the opening half of play to go into the halftime break tied 3-3.
W&J opened the second half with the first goal to claim their first lead of the game but it did not take long for the Lakers to respond as Keller Sens found the back of the net midway through the third to make it 4-4. From there, the Presidents found their rhythm and managed to score back-to-back goals to close out the frame and take a 6-4 lead into the final period of play.
Nate Lutz kicked off the quarter with a goal to bring Mercyhurst back within one, but his goal proved to be the final one of the game for the Lakers as W&J managed to keep their opponent at bay while three times themselves to secure the four-goal win.
Highlights
Five different Lakers scored in this one with Teagan Thomas, Asher Jones, Owen Hardner, Keller Sens, and Nate Lutz all tickling the twine. Tony Golin had another solid outing in net for Mercyhurst with 14 saves to his line while allowing just nine goals in the loss.
Next Game
Coach MacDougall and company now eye the WWPA Erie Classic which is set to begin on October 28th, finishing up the following day. The Lakers will be inside their friendly confines for those contests, looking to use the Hallman Aquatic Center to their advantage in the series of games.
