Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's water polo grabbed the exciting win Saturday evening in their lone game of the week over Penn State Behrend, 12-11. The Lakers found themselves in the middle of a back-and-forth affair with the Lions with a last-second shot from Teagan Thomas being the difference.
How it Happened
PSB jumped out in front with the first two goals of the game but the Lakers responded as both Owen Hardner and Ben Gavran found the back of the net with Gavran's score tying things up with just under four minutes to go in the opening frame. The Lions were not rattled by the rebuttal and were able to score two more times and take control as the period continued to wind down as they went ahead 4-3 at the end of the frame.
The Lakers managed to fire the opening salvo of the second second period to help draw even as Nate Cheney dented the twine in the first minute on a power play. After trading goals in the early going the second, PSB began to put some distance between themselves and Mercyhurst as they saw their lead move up to 8-5 with just under five minutes to go until halftime. The Lakers did manage to close the gap before the break, going into halftime down just one, 8-7.
The third period was a tightly contested one that saw both sides try to take control of the game, but neither team could do so. Neither team was able to score until the final minute of the period with Mercyhurst finding the back of the cage to tie things up as a shot by Hardner got past the Lion's keeper to make it an 8-8 score going into the final period of play.
Mercyhurst was able to grab their first lead of the game at just the right time with a penalty shot from Asher Jones finding the back of the cage to make it 9-8 with just under seven minutes to go. PSB did not stay down for long and tied things back up at 9-9 before scoring twice to make it 11-9. Mercyhurst was able to come back and tie things up in the final minute of regulation as it looked like things were destined for overtime. That was not the case, though, as a last-second penalty allowed Tegan Thomas to take, and make, a penalty shot to win the game 12-11.
Highlights
Thomas led the way with eight points in the game with him scoring a team-high five goals to go along with a trio of assists. He was followed by freshman usher Jones who finished with four points with a trio of goals and one helper.
Next Game
The Lakers now eye the WWPA Championships in Lebanon, Ill. this upcoming weekend on the campus of McKendree with competition beginning on Friday, November 17th, and ending on the 19th.
