Box Score
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – With temperatures dipping into the low-30s and a driving rain coming down, The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team put a scare into No. 6 Mercyhurst Thursday night at Thompson Stadium. The Rock held the Lakers to within two goals until the final 18 minutes of play before Mercyhurst pulled away down the stretch for an 18-9 win in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division contest.
Mercyhurst (7-0, 3-0 PSAC) opened the game with the first three goals and jumped out to a 6-1 lead after just six minutes before The Rock (4-2, 1-2 PSAC) came roaring back to put a scare into the sixth-ranked Lakers.
Casey Quinn scored as time expired in the half to cap a 6-3 run with SRU trailing just 9-7 and holding a 15-13 advantage in shots at the halftime intermission. The Rock took advantage of 18 Mercyhurst fouls while committing just six fouls to mount the first half comeback.
Mercyhurst scored the first two goals of the second half to regain a four goal lead, but again a resilient Slippery Rock squad fought back, scoring the next two goals to cut the lead to two at 11-9 with 21:26 remaining.
The Lakers took advantage of a series of draw controls over the next 10 minutes and capitalized, scoring the final seven goals of the game and finishing the second period with a 20-6 advantage in total shots.
The Rock was led by Quinn, who scored three goals while also picking up two ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers.
Samantha Eddy finished the game with a team-high four points on one goal and three assists, while adding three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover.
Emma VanDenburg and
Ariel Knox each scored two goals, while
Amy Halls added one goal. Halls also finished with a team-high five draw controls to go along with two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
Ashley Winkelspecht took the loss in goal, allowing 18 goals and recording seven saves.
Mercyhurst was led by an eight-point performance from Kimberly Masterton, who finished with three goals and five assists. Ally Keirn scored one goal and handed out five assists, while Alisha Catalino netted four goals. Maggie Yackel finished with four caused turnovers, while Masterton led the team with three draw controls and Melissa Leonhard added six ground balls.
Maeve McGoff earned the win in goal after playing the first half, allowing seven goals and recording six saves. Jenny Perkins played the second half and allowed two goals while making three saves.
For the game, the Lakers finished with advantages of 33-21 in total shots, 25-18 in shots on goal, and 23-22 in ground balls while clearing successfully on 11-of-17 attempts. All six failed clears came in the first half.
Slippery Rock finished with a 15-13 advantage in draw controls and cleared successfully on 6-of-11 attempts.
The Rock will travel to East Stroudsburg Saturday for a PSAC-crossover match. First draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. The next home game is scheduled for Tuesday (March 30) against No. 2 Lock Haven at 4 p.m.
Notes: Quinn's three goals give her 52 career goals and move her into a tie for eighth on the all-time scoring ledger at SRU … she is tied with Katie Wills, who played from 1989-91 … number seven on the list is Mary Allen with 62.
