SPORTS
PAGE 14
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Women’s soccer takes on the playoffs By Sydney Dietz Sports Editor
The Women’s soccer team was back in action on Nov. 9 when they played in their first PSAC playoff game. The Lakers hosted the Edinboro Fighting Scots for the first round of the playoffs. Going into the game, the Lakers were on a six game winning streak. The result of this game once again kept the streak alive and it will now be a seven game streak. The final score was 2-0, with Mercyhurst scoring both goals and Edinboro ending the game with no points. Mercyhurst got their first goal during the 17th minute of the game. Junior midfielder Amber Thomas kicked a penalty shot that allowed the ball to sneak past the goalie and into the back of the net. This goal gave the Lakers the first point of the game, and also gave them the confidence they needed to score again. “I was excited but knew we had to keep working to get another goal,” Thomas said in response to the penalty shot. The Lakers ended the first half of the game outshooting the Fighting Scots 13-1. The second goal was scored in
Hurst Athletics photo
Mercyhurst sophmore goalkeeper, Maddie Elbro making a save against the Edinboro Fighting Scots.
the second half of the game by freshman forward Karah Van Horn. Van Horn’s goal was assisted by sophomore forward Emily Mijares. This goal added another point on the board for the Lakers making the final score for the Lakers 2-0. This is what Thomas had to say about the win against Edinboro, “It felt great to get that first win under our belt and to advance as a program but we know we need to keep working to improve to achieve our overall goals.”
Because of the win against Edinboro, the Lakers would be advancing to the PSAC semi-finals. “I am proud of how we played. We really came together especially at the end to keep winning out and secure our first place spot going into playoffs,“ Thomas said. “We had a rough start to the season but we didn’t let that stop us from reaching our goals as a team.” The Women’s soccer team has not made it to the PSAC semi-finals since 2008, when they won the championship.
The PSAC semi-finals game was played on Nov.12 at 12:30 p.m. in Bloomsburg, PA. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Bloomsburg Huskies brought home the win, and will play against Millersville in the PSAC championship. “Moving forward we will just keep working hard and taking it day by day,” said Thomas. The final score of the game was 0-2. Before this game, the Lakers have faced the Huskies 19 times. The last time these two teams battled was in 2018, in which the
score resulted in a 0-0 tie. Overall, over this past season the Lady Lakers are 7-2-1 on road games. However, despite the semi-finals loss, Mijares and sophomore goalkeeper Maddie Elbro are being awarded for their accomplishments over this past season. Mijares was named PSAC West Rookie of the Year along with Athlete of the Year. She ended the regular season tied for the most goals, which was 13, and also ended the season with 40 shots on goal. Elbro was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year. Elbro played every minute of every game this season and recorded a Western Division-best ten clean sheet. Her save percentage was 82.4, which was in the top five of the conference. Not only were Mijares and Elbro at the PSAC Western Division All-Conference First Team, but they were also accompanied by junior defenceman Taryn Baxter and Amber Thomas. Junior midfielder Madison Hoover received Second Team All-Conference honors also. Mercyhurst has been ranked eighth in the regional rankings that have been released.
Men’s basketball plays opening game By Gillian Mazur Editor-in-chief
With their overall score last season being 12-1, the Mercyhurst Men’s basketball team is back at it again with their winners’ energy. This past weekend on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13, the Lakers traveled to Shepherd, West Virginia to play against Bowie State University and Fayetteville State University in the Dave Russell Conference Challenge, which is a tournament hosted by Shepherd University. Both Bowie State University and Fayetteville State University were selected to finish first in their respective conferences for the CIAA Preseason Poll, which makes the Lakers’ performances even more impressive. “We played two good teams. This tournament was a great opportunity to show how great our team chemistry is and the excitement to get back on the floor,” said forward graduate student, Cameron Gross. The Lakers first played the Bowie State University Bulldogs on Nov. 12 and dominated the game, coming out with a 96-56 win. Starting strong, the Lakers put nine points on the board within the first three minutes. Senior guards, Steve Cannady hit a three, MiyKah McIntosh scored four and Nicholas Lang got a layup. With four players who had
Hurst Athletics photo
Mercyhurst senior guard Miykah Mcintosh attempting to make a shot against Shepard University.
scored at least five points, at the end of the half, the Lakers dominated 48-17. Cannady led the team with 15 points, McIntosh had nine, junior guard Michael Bradley had eight and Gross had seven. In the first half, the Lakers shot 57.1% from the paint with 33% on three-pointer attempts. The Lakers doubled their score in the second half, adding another 48 points. The Bulldogs were able to break through the Lakers’ defense and score 39. McIntosh and freshman
Pipeloluwa Ajayi both had eight points. In the second half, the Lakers’ statistics both declined slightly and improved with 56% from the paint and 44.4% from behind the three. Cannady and McIntosh both had game-highs with 17 points each while 14 of the 18 players on the team had points on the board for Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst had 13 steals total for the game along with blocks from redshirt sophomore guard Jeff Planutis, Lang and Bradley.
The following day, the Lakers played the Fayetteville State University Broncos and took home a win with a 17-point deficit for a 77-60 win. In the first half, the Lakers and Broncos fought hard, but Mercyhurst prevailed with a one-point lead for a 32-31 score on the board. McIntosh and Planutis tied to lead the Lakers with seven points each for the half. Two of the Broncos’ players scored the same halftime scoring high. Both the Lakers and the Broncos had a 40%
shot accuracy from the first half. At the start of the second half, the Broncos came out hot from their gate and took the lead within the first five minutes. They scored six points, turning the tide of the game for a 48-42 lead. Mercyhurst was able to take back control for the rest of the game which would lead to the game’s final score. Cannady hit his free throws to score 12 points halfway through the second and Bradley put 11 in the back of the net as well. Cannady finished the game with a team-high of 18 points. Freshman Aidan Reichert scored 12 and got five rebounds along with Lang’s nine points from the freethrow line. Together the Lakers outscored Fayetteville State 28-12 in the final ten. “I am very proud of my team on playing hard, and playing together throughout the weekend especially with guys making clutch plays in Saturday’s game,” McIntosh said. “I feel like I helped impact my team on both ends of the floor, and I am looking forward to doing whatever my team needs to do the rest of the season.” The Lakers’ next game is scheduled for Nov. 18 at the newly renovated Mercyhurst Athletic Center versus Daemen College at 7:00 p.m.
