ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team dropped a 13-10 decision on the road at Mercyhurst University Wednesday evening in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division opener for both teams.
 
The Lakers (4-1, 1-0 PSAC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and SRU (3-2, 0-1 PSAC) could never bring the game back to level. Mercyhurst pushed the advantage out to 12-5 midway through the fourth quarter before Slippery Rock stormed back with a 5-1 run that included four goals in a stretch of just 82 seconds, but The Rock ran out of time on their comeback bid.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with a 34-28 advantage in total shots, but Mercyhurst keeper Kaitlyn Lippert made 16 saves in the game, including nine in the first half and five in the fourth quarter. The Rock also posted advantages of 17-10 in draw controls and 12-11 in caused turnovers, while the Lakers managed a 23-18 edge in ground balls. Both teams turned the ball over 18 times overall, with SRU going 15-of-18 on clear attempts and Mercyhurst going 22-of-28.
 
Emily Benham paced the attack for SRU with four goals on a team-high eight shots. Katie Dlugosz added two goals and Jamie DiCarlo scored one goal and handed out one assist to cap the multiple point scorers.
 
Brooke Wisniewski, Rachel Mahoney and Brooke Kelly each scored one goal to round out the point scorers for The Rock, while Charleigh Rondeau grabbed 13 draw controls. Sara Danowski led the defense with three caused turnovers and three ground balls and Amelia Nitsche added two caused turnovers and three ground balls.

Gillian O'Rourke was credited with 10 saves in goal as she saw her season record drop to 3-2.
 
Mercyhurst got five goals and one assist from Julia Ruscio and two goals and two assists from Maggie Newton on the offensive end to go along with Lippert's 16 saves on the defensive end.
 
Slippery Rock will look to snap a two-game skid with a home game Saturday against No. 18 Seton Hill. First draw is set for 1 p.m. from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 

 
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