No. 13 West Chester Escapes With 11-10 Win Over No. 20 Mercyhurst

ERIE, Pa. – Drew McKinney (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) scored her only goal of the game on a free position with 45 seconds left, lifting visiting West Chester to an 11-10 victory over host Mercyhurst in a battle for first place in the conference standings Saturday afternoon at Tullio Field.
 
West Chester (9-0, 4-0 PSAC) remains undefeated on the season and takes over sole possession of first place in the conference, after defeating Mercyhurst (5-3, 3-1) in Erie, Pa., for the first time since 2012. The win also ended a personal seven-game losing streak to the Lakers.
 
The Golden Rams' 9-0 start equals that of the 2013 campaign.
 
McKinney's marker avoided overtime and spoiled a comeback bid from the home team in the second half. West Chester led, 7-3, at the break. However, Mercyhurst scored four unanswered goals over a 15-minute span that pulled the Lakers within a goal at 8-7 with 10:37 to play.
 
Trisha Baud (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) answered right back 22 seconds later to increase the margin to two. But, Mercyhurst tallied the next two goals to tie the game at 9-all with 7:45 to play. Maggie Stella (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) put the visitors back up by one with six minutes to go. But, Mercyhurst's Kristin Anderson finished off her second-half hat trick with the game-tying goal at the four-minute mark.
 
The Lakers surrendered a free position opportunity that McKinney made good on for the eventual game-winner. She then won the draw control to salt away the contest.
 
Mercyhurst goalkeeper Raelyn Tiberio was credited with 18 saves in the loss. West Chester's Julianne Clemens (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) improved to 5-0, making seven saves in her first start of the season.
 
West Chester was able to build its first-half lead on the strength of Sami Barnett's four tallies in the first 30 minutes. The Golden Rams rattled off seven straight goals and scored eight of nine in one stretch, after the Lakers had jumped out to a 3-1 lead seven minutes in.
 
West Chester was 22-for-27 on clear attempts and won both the draw controls and ground balls – all signs that the Golden Rams were dictating the play until Mercyhurst began its comeback bid in the second half.
 
West Chester heads to Kutztown on Thursday for another PSAC showdown on the road, before returning home one week from today to host Gannon at 1 p.m.