Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst Lakers Women's Ice Hockey team fell to RIT in a close 4-3 contest on Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Despite a strong effort, including three unanswered goals to take the lead, the Lakers were unable to hold off a late RIT surge. 

How It Happened: 

RIT opened the scoring late in the first period when Linda Rulle capitalized on a power play at 19:19, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Early in the second period, Athena Vasdani doubled the advantage with another power-play goal at 2:32. 

The Lakers responded midway through the second frame. Julia Schalin put Mercyhurst on the board with a power-play goal at 13:18, assisted by Vanessa Upson and Megan McKay. The Lakers tied the game just before the second intermission at 19:51, with Upson netting her third goal of the season, assisted by Regina Metzler and Makayla Javier. 

Mercyhurst grabbed the lead early in the third period at 1:31 when Chantal Ste-Croix scored an even-strength goal off assists from Marielle Parks and Julia Schalin. However, RIT responded quickly, with Emma Pickering tying the game at 3-3 on a power play at 3:53. Pickering struck again at 7:36 with the game-winner, an unassisted power-play goal that sealed the victory for the Tigers. 

Notable Performances: 

• Vanessa Upson recorded a goal and an assist. 

• Julia Schalin stayed red hot, scoring her fifth goal of the season and fifth in the last three games. 

• Chantal Ste-Croix notched her second goal of the season, giving the Lakers a brief lead in the third period. 

• Goaltender Jorden Mattison made 16 saves in the loss. 

Up Next: 

The Lakers will host New Hampshire in a two-game set.  Puck drop for the first game is scheduled for Tuesday evening at 7 PM.