Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's soccer team kicked off the university's Division I era on Thursday night as they traveled to take on Duquesne in their season opener. The Lakers fought hard against their counterpart on the road, but were not quite able to get the job done in the 6-2 finale.

How it Happened

The first 10 minutes of action were quiet as both teams tried to feel out what the other was doing. In the 11th minute of action, though, Duquesne came through with their first goal of the new season. It was an opportunity off of a corner that helped the Dukes get on the board on their own turf, 1-0. The momentum from their first goal of the campaign helped Duquesne add on just a couple of minutes later, 2-0. Laker goalkeeper Kate Costantini managed to save one shot from going in goal, but a second opportunity found the back of the net to help the Dukes add on in the early going.

Freshman Rosie Bandura helped the Lakers put a dent in the scoreboard with the teams first goal as a Division I program with just under 16 minutes to go in the first half. Duquesne's goalkeeper tried to play the ball near midfield and, while getting one stop, could not stop Bandura's shot off of the right foot, traveling close to 150 feet to the back of the net. The Dukes were able to make it a two-goal lead once again in the waning minutes of the first 45 with their defense able to do enough to keep it at 3-1 heading into the locker room.

Duquesne was able to add on to start off the second half, scoring twice in the first eight minutes of the stanza. The Lakers were able to respond with their second goal of the game with it being another newcomer getting the job done. This time around it Annaliese Black who got a free kick from 20 yards out and made the most of the opportunity as she bent the ball to the left and made it a 6-2 game with just under 33 minutes to go.

The Lakers fought hard the rest of the way and were able to get a few more solid runs towards the Dukes' goal, but just fell short. Duquesne's back line proved to be tough to get past with the team helping keeping Mercyhurst's offense from taking off.

Highlights

The Lakers managed to score twice in the game with the pair of goals coming from two freshman, Annaliese Black and Rosie Bandura, who begins heir careers on the pitch with Mercyhurst with a bang. Coach Wall ran out two goal keepers in the game with both putting up strong save numbers as Chelsea Radicia finished with seven while Kate Costantini had six, a new career-high.

Next Game

The Lakers stay on the road for their next matchup with the team going to Buffalo, N.Y. to see Niagara this Sunday, August 18th, with the two teams set to begin battle at 1:00 p.m.