Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst Lakers Women's Ice Hockey team dropped their regular-season finale, falling 4-2 to Syracuse on Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Despite a late push, the Lakers couldn't overcome a third-period surge by the Orange, who sealed the victory with an empty-net goal. 

How It Happened: 

Syracuse opened the scoring at 6:03 of the first period when Celia Wiegand capitalized on a power play, assisted by Jessica Cheung and Peyton Armstrong, giving the Orange a 1-0 lead. 

The Lakers responded late in the period as Vanessa Upson found the back of the net at 18:30, finishing a setup from Julia Schalin and Mary Sweetapple, tying the game 1-1 heading into the intermission. 

After a scoreless second period, Syracuse regained the lead at 3:42 of the third when Heidi Knoll scored off assists from Jackson Kinsler and Rylee McLeod. The Orange extended their advantage to 3-1 at 7:45, with Maya D'Arcy netting the eventual game-winner off a pass from Sami Gendron and McLeod. 

Mercyhurst battled back late, pulling within one at 18:49, as Kylee Mahoney scored with the extra attacker, assisted by Schalin and Sydney Pedersen. However, Syracuse put the game away just 46 seconds later, with Tatum White scoring an empty-net goal at 19:36 to secure the 4-2 win. 

Notable Performances: 

• Vanessa Upson recorded her 13th goal of the season and extended her point streak to seven games. 

• Kylee Mahoney netted a late extra-attacker goal, her fifth of the year. 

• Julia Schalin picked up two assists, leading the Lakers in points. 

• Jorden Mattison made 20 saves in net for Mercyhurst. 

Up Next: 

Mercyhurst (18-14-2, 13-6-1 AHA) now shifts its focus to the AHA Tournament, where the Lakers will look to make a deep postseason run. The Lakers are locked into the #2 seed and will host a playoff series, against an opponent that is to be determined.