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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team played 15 games this season without one of its captains and team leaders. It didn't have to play a 16th as Jess Verbic made an emotional return to the team Wednesday night and scored two goals, including the game-winner, to help lead The Rock to an 11-9 upset victory over No. 6 Mercyhurst in a crucial Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game.
 
Verbic dealt with an injury during the offseason that would keep her out of the first game of the year, but she expected to travel with the team on spring break and play in almost all the games in the remainder of her senior season. That was before the news came from home that her father, Doug, was diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis wasn't good.
 
Verbic, with the support of her teammates, coaching staff and professors, returned home to Mansfield, Massachusetts to be with her family. Doug Verbic, always a big supporter of Jess and The Rock lacrosse program over the last four years, battled his cancer for longer than the doctors initially anticipated before passing away at home April 11. Later that day, playing in a "Stick it to Cancer" game, Slippery Rock defeated East Stroudsburg with many of its players taking the field with the initials "DV" painted on their faces. The Rock haven't lost since.
 
After staying home with family for the funeral services last week, Verbic returned to Slippery Rock and her teammates just two days ago and suited up Wednesday night for the first time after practicing just twice in nearly two months.
 
She played sparingly in the first half, entering the game as a substitute, and then made her mark in the second half. She scored her first goal of the season on a backhander in front with 15:08 to play that ended a 4-0 Mercyhurst run and sparked a five-goal SRU run over the next 2:29 that put The Rock out front.
 
Verbic netted her second goal with 51 seconds left to give Slippery Rock a 10-8 lead and that tally stood as the game-winner as The Rock came away with an 11-9 upset victory.
 
"I'm so glad to be back," said Verbic after the game. "It felt so great to be able to come back and be part of this win."
 
The win is the fifth in a row for Slippery Rock and the first ever over Mercyhurst, which was 9-0 in the all-time series entering Wednesday night's game. The Rock have vaulted up the PSAC standings and now sit alone in the sixth and final playoff qualifying position with one game to play.
 
Slippery Rock owns a 9-7 overall record and a PSAC mark of 7-4, one game better than Bloomsburg. The Huskies will play against Millersville in the season finale this weekend, while Slippery Rock will host undefeated and second ranked Lock Haven Saturday. If SRU and Bloomsburg finish with the same league record, the Huskies will win the tiebreaker via a head-to-head win and will earn the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.
 
Mercyhurst entered Wednesday night's game on its own four-game winning streak and ranked sixth in the latest Division II national rankings. The Lakers had lost just one game in the PSAC, to undefeated Lock Haven by one goal on April 8. Mercyhurst drops to 13-3 overall and 9-2 in league action.
 
The two teams struggled to find much offense during the opening period with each team netting just two goals and Mercyhurst posting an 8-5 edge in shots.
 
The offense surged for both teams in the second half with Slippery Rock outscoring Mercyhurst 9-7. One of the key factors in the second half was the goalkeeping battle. The Rock managed just nine total shots in the final 30 minutes and scored goals on all nine shots. Mercyhurst posted 17 shots in the second half, but Rock keeper Jordan Wagner made seven saves in the period.
 
For the game, Wagner made 11 saves to earn her ninth win of the season. Her counterpart, Rebecca Muscella, made just two saves in the loss.
 
They key stretch of the game for Slippery Rock was sparked by Verbic's first goal with 15:08 to play that made the score 5-3 in favor of the Lakers. Chynna Chan scored just over a minute later off an assist from Kaytlin Callaghan to make it 5-4 with 13:58 to play. Overshadowed in the excitement of the upset was that Callaghan's assist established a new single-season record at SRU.
 
Caitlynn Palladino then scored to tie the game at 5-5 with 13:41 to play and just 23 seconds later Callaghan put Slippery Rock up 6-5 with 13:18 to play. The run was capped by another goal from Palladino, assisted by Callaghan, with 12:39 to play to make it 7-5.
 
Mercyhurst answered back and tied the game at 8-8 with 3:00 to play, but Jasey Sanders scored just 30 seconds later to regain a 9-8 edge for Slippery Rock. Verbic netted her goal with 51 seconds left to make it 10-8 and Erin Wilcox added an insurance tally with 22 seconds left to make it 11-8. The Lakers scored the final goal of the game with three seconds left.
 
Mercyhurst finished the game with advantages of 25-14 in total shots, 20-13 in shots on goal and 20-12 in ground balls. The Lakers turned the ball over just nine times and were 12-of-13 on clear attempts. The Rock were dominant in the draw circle with a 15-6 edge in draw controls and finished the game 9-of-14 on clear attempts.
 
Wilcox scored three goals to bring her season total to 50 on the year. Callaghan finished with one goal and two assists to give her a school record 25 assists and a total of 70 points with one game to play, tied for the SRU record. Paige Costantino finished with one goal and two assists despite having to leave the field for a lengthy period after taking a stick to the face and suffering a bloody nose.
 
Chan and Sanders added one goal each and Verbic's two goals rounded out the scoring. Sarah Morris picked up a team-high seven ground balls to increase her season total to 57 this year, establishing a new single-season program record.
 
Mercyhurst was paced by three goals from Mackenzie Jordan and four players that finished with one goal and one assist.
 
Slippery Rock will close the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. against No. 2 Lock Haven. The team's five seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony.