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Sports
Hurst homecoming game ends in loss
By Zach Dumais
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Opinion editor
One of the best Homecoming Weekend traditions is the Mercyhurst football game. There are always numerous activities such as the annual tailgate that lead up to the game. There are also a large number of alumni, faculty/staff and of course, students who attend.
For the 2021 homecoming game on Sept. 25, the Mercyhurst Lakers took on the Indiana University of PA (IUP) Crimson Hawks. IUP and the Lakers have a long history as there have been 12 total games between the two schools. IUP leads the all-time series with a 10-2 record. Mercyhurst has not won against IUP since Oct. 9, 2010.
Only time would tell whether this would be the matchup that could break the streak. Mercyhurst was 1-2 heading into this matchup while IUP was 1-1. The game kicked off at 1:00 p.m. and the game did not start out as the Lakers had hoped.
IUP scored their first points of the game when they blocked a punt and returned it for 6 with a touchdown. Mercyhurst came right back with a 70-yard drive however, when freshmen Ayron Rodriguez caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from junior Michael Lowery with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. The 7 points that Mercyhurst received from this play were unfortunately the only points that they would get in the first quarter.
The Crimson Hawks went on to score 21 unanswered points in the late first quarter and early second. They scored on a 7-yard pass, 13-yard pass and a 1-yard run. The score by this point was now a 28-7 Crimson Hawk lead.
Brian Alsobrooks, junior, played well for the Lakers, hitting two field goals to make the game 35-13 going into the second half. The field goals were from 39 and 30 yards respectively.
Mercyhurst was unable to get any sort of offense going in the second half while the Crimson Hawks added two more scores. The Crimson Hawks scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass and a 3-yard run. The final score resulted in a 48-13 win for the IUP Crimson Hawks.
It was a disappointing game for the Lakers given that it was Homecoming Weekend. The Mercyhurst Lakers fell to a 1-3 start to the season while the IUP Crimson Hawks moved to 2-1.
The Lakers also took on the #25 ranked Cal (PA) when they traveled to California, PA on Oct. 2. The Lakers attempted to shake off a three-game losing streak, but it was ultimately not in the cards for them. The Lakers were held to just 106 total yards of offense with only 7 rushing yards. They were unfortunately shutout against a tough opponent and the game ended with a final score of 37-0.
The first quarter looked promising for the Lakers since it was only a 3-0 Cal lead. After the first however, it was all downhill as Cal scored 34 unanswered points throughout the game, resulting in 359 total yards of offense.
The Lakers fell to a disappointing 1-4 start and they hope to break this streak when they go against Seton Hill on Oct. 9.
Hurst Athletics photo
Lakers linebacker, Jacob Holl, senior, looks for the ball admist teammates and IUP oponents while playing in the Homecoming game.
Women’s soccer pulls out a win against IUP
By Samantha Weber
Managing editor
The Mercyhurst women’s soccer team played Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) on Oct. 2. The Lakers were victorious over the Crimson Hawks with a final score of 3-1. The match was the first between the two teams since Nov. 6 of 2019, where the Lakers defeated the Crimson Hawks with a final score of 5-0.
In their last 10 games against each other, the Lakers have won five, lost four and tied two matches. The Lakers were also coming off of a 4-0 win against Clarion, so they were on a winners high.
The Lakers were the first on the scoreboard during the 32 minute of the first half. Dani Hartman, junior, passed the ball through the defenders and sophomore, Emily Mijares was able to get the ball and send it past the IUP goalie. That was the only goal scored during the first half.
Entering halftime, the Lakers, outshot the Crimson Hawks 143. After only three minutes into the second half, IUP scored their first and only goal of the game. IUP sophomore, Chloe Thoericht, helped the Hawks get on the scoreboard.
In the 59 minutes, the Lakers gained the lead back after Madison Hoover, junior, played a corner kick perfectly into the box. The ball bounced back and forth between multiple players before credit officially went to Mijares for her second goal of the game. This was Mijares’s third goal of the season.
The Lakers were not done yet as two freshmen, Teagan Melhalko and Karah Van Horn, ran the ball up the field passing back and forth to each other until Melhalko was one-on-one with the opposing team goalie and shot the ball and it sailed right past the Hawks keeper in the 85th minute. This was Mehalko’s first goal of the season.
The Lakers were able to hold off the Hawks for the remaining five minutes until the final whistle blew indicating the end of another victory for the Lakers. This is Mercyhurst’s fourth PSAC West win during the season.
The Lakers were able to keep the Hawks from taking any corner kicks throughout the game while they had nine for their team. Mercyhurst outshot the IUP 25-7 with 10-4 of them being shots on goal.
Mercyhurst goalkeeper, Maddie Elbro, sophomore, had a good game with three saves on four shots. This is Elbro’s fifth win of the season.
The Lakers will hit the field again on Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. at California, Pennsylvania when they take on the California University of Pennsylvania Vulcans.
The Mercyhurst women’s hockey team traveled to Hamilton, NY over the weekend to take on the Colgate Raiders for a two-game matchup for the Lakers.
The first game was on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, and the Lakers put up a hard-fought effort. They were a bit outmatched in terms of shots in the first period as they were at an 8-2 disadvantage. The Lakers goalie, Ena Nystrom, junior, only let in one shot.
The matchup proved to be up to the hype as it was still a 1-0 effort going into the third period. The game truly opened up for both teams in the third period.
Mercyhurst was able to tie the game at 1-1 with Emily Pinto, senior, assisting Vanessa Upson, freshman.
Unfortunately, Colgate was able to go on an unanswered streak of three goals within 2:30. The score was now 4-1, but all hope was not lost as Mercyhurst forward, Liliane Perrault, senior, was able to score an unassisted goal at the 13:58 point.
The score was now 4-2 until the last minute when the Raiders scored an empty net goal.
Mercyhurst was outmatched in terms of total shots as the final total was 32-21. Nystrom had a respectable effort in net, saving 27/31 shots. In the second game, it was also extremely competitive. Mercyhurst got off to a hot start, as they scored four minutes into the game on a powerplay from a tripping penalty. Jersey Phillips, sophomore, scored the goal with Grace Nelles, sophomore, and Perreault getting credit for the as-
Two-game series for women’s hockey sists. The Raiders were able to tie By Zach Dumais the game at 1-1 at the 13:57 mark Opnion editor in the first period. Mercyhurst was unable to take advantage of a later power play in the first quarter. The second period was once again quiet in terms of scoring. Mercyhurst had eight shots on net, but none of them were able to find the back of it. The Raiders gained their first lead of the game with a score at the 5:35 mark. Colgate once again opened up the scoring in the third period with another goal which increased their lead to 3-1. There was hope again for the Lakers when Kristy Pidgeon, grad student, was able to score the second goal for Mercyhurst which made the game 3-2. Perreault and Sara Boucher, sophomore, were both credited with assists. The comeback came up short, as Mercyhurst unfortunately was not able to score any other goals. Hurst Athletics photo Colgate made the final score 4- 2 with a late empty net goal. JenForward, Emily Pinto, senior, hits the puck closer to the net. na Silvonen made a valiant effort in net for the Lakers as she saved 24/27 shots. The Lakers are now 3-2 on the season and hope to get back on track against Franklin Pierce University in a two-game series that starts on Friday.
LET’S GO, LAKERS!
Oct. 8, Minneapolis, MN @ 8:00 p.m.: Men’s hockey vs Minnesota
Oct. 9, Lebanon, IL @ 10:30 p.m.: Men’s water polo vs Gannon University
Oct. 9, Erie, PA @ 4:05 p.m.: Women’s volleyball vs Edinboro University Lightweight rowing heads to Findley Lake
By Gillian Mazur Editor-in-Chief
While students, faculty, staff and alumni celebrated with different Homecoming festivities back on campus, on Sept. 26, the Mercyhurst rowing team headed to Findley Lake, NY for one of their four regattas of the year.
A regatta is a series of boat races and typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed watercrafts but can also include powerboat race series.
Hosted by Mercyhurst at the Gillard Rowing Center at Findley Lake, the MU teams raced in the Findley Lake Autumn Classic.
This regatta celebrated Mercyhurst’s 50th year of rowing at the Hurst during Homecoming Weekend. “This regatta was a great success not only with the quality of the racing and results, but for the alumni that had returned for the 50th anniversary celebration. It was especially great to see the members of the first ever crew come home and cheer on the current team,” said Mercyhurst’s Director of Rowing, Adrian Spracklen.
Both Mercyhurst Men’s heavyweight and lightweight rowing teams competed along with the Mercyhurst Women’s rowing team.
The Mercyhurst University Lakers competed against schools such as the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers, the Penn State Behrend Nittany Lions and the Marietta College Pioneers.
Hurst Athletics photo
Women’s rowing team participating in the regatta at Findley Lake.
The Lakers came out strong at the regatta with the men’s eight races winning with a final time of 22:19.67. With two boats in the race, the Lakers’ second boat came in third with 23:17.02 for a final time.
After the race, the women’s team, the NCAA Division II National Runners Up, got to go in the water for the first time in the 2021 season. The women’s eight won first place with a final time of 25:43.39. With this time, the Lakers defeated two RIT boats and a Marietta and Penn State boat.
Men’s varsity then completed four races and finished with a final time of 25:34.58 defeating both the Pioneers and the Tigers to take the first-place title. In the M1X race, the Lakers closed out the first flight to take second place.
The Mercyhurst men’s freshmen fours then raced and once again got the Lakers back to their winning streak. The men’s first boat finished with a final time of 25:52.25 with the second boat taking fifth with a final time of 27:16.42.
In the men’s twos race, the Lakers took the win over the Pioneers and Lions with a time of 26:56.39. The Lakers also took first, third and fourth respectively in the second men’s duo race with times of 27:06.35, 29:40.52, and 21:16.59.
The women then raced again in the fours race and were able to beat two Marietta boats and two Penn State Behrend teams with a total time of 32:09.66. The Laker’s second team finished over a little over a minute after the first team, earning themselves second place.
The Lakers also came in first for the women’s twos race at 29:39.96 defeating two Marietta boats.
The Men’s singles race was the last race of the day. The Lakers’ first teams placed second at 28:56.06 and fourth at 30:30.68.
“The racing was fun, competitive and an overall success. A big thank you to Marietta, RIT and Penn State for making the trip and for such a great experience for all. We had many wins including all the varsity sweep events which pleased the home crowd,” said Spracklen
Mercyhurst was supposed to race on Oct. 9 at Howard, PA for the Nittany Lion Chase regatta, but it now shows that it has been canceled on the HurstAthletics. com website as of Oct. 5.
The Lakers’ next race is set to be another all-day regatta on Oct. 24 in Boston, MA for the Head of Charles Regatta.
