ERIE, Pa. — Mercyhurst dropped a tight contest to LIU 2-0 on Thursday at Saxon Stadium. The Lakers finished with a 10-5 shot advantage, including seven shots in the second half, but were held scoreless.
The Lakers went into halftime down 1-0 after LIU scored at 40:42. Earlier, the Lakers' opened with pressure as Ronny Wakelin put a shot on goal in the second minute and Luis Felipe Santos sent another attempt high at 2:52. The half grew more physical through the opening 16 minutes, with the Lakers absorbing and committing fouls while Wakelin added another shot and the LIU goalkeeper saved an attempt at 14:58. The Lakers' later earned corner kicks at 27:03 and 29:23, but LIU broke through late and carried the one-goal lead into the break.
The Lakers' spent much of the second half chasing an equalizer and generated a late run of chances, but Benjamin Buckley's penalty kick in the 65th minute was saved and LIU later added the final goal. Early in the half, LIU was shown a red card at 48:30 during a physical stretch that included multiple fouls and cards, and Jacob Anderson put a shot on frame in the 60th minute. The Lakers built pressure from there, earning corners at 72:36, 73:22 and 81:34 while getting shots from Anderson, Santiago Giraldo and Nathan Katari. Katari forced another save in the 89th minute, but LIU scored at 88:30, and the Lakers' earned one more corner before the match ended in a 2-0 LIU result.
Next, the Lakers' head to Washington, D.C. to take on Howard on October 4th at 1:00 p.m.
