The top-ranked West Chester University field hockey team took to the road on Saturday afternoon to square off against Mercyhurst in a PSAC matchup as both sides enter the final month of the regular season. West Chester utilized a big second half to come away with a 3-2 road victory over an upset-minded Mercyhurst team.
In the 15th minute, Mercyhurst got out to an early lead scoring the first goal of the game when Katelyn Smith scored to give the Lakers the early 1-0 lead over their visitors.
Mercyhurst saw its lead increase in the 21st minute when Haley Skidmore took an assist from Alexis Skibitsky to make the score 2-0 heading to the halftime break.
Katie Thompson was key in the second half comeback scoring two goals in a six-second span in the 41st minute to even the score at 2-2.
Emily Evans (Newark, Del./St. Mark’s) added a goal of her own just two minutes later in the 43rd minute to give West Chester a 3-2 lead with just over 27 minutes left to play.
West Chester ended the game with a huge 30-6 advantage in shots including a 15-6 advantage in shots on goal. West Chester also held a 16-5 advantage in penalty corners at the end of the match.
Marissa Elizardo (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) played well between the pipes making four saves to hold off the Mercyhurst offense while her counterpart Mercyhurst goalie Libby Jones made 12 saves on the afternoon in the loss.
Two goals is the largest halftime deficit the Golden Rams have overcome this season and it is just the third time in nine games that WCU has allowed its opponent to score two goals.