GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs for all sports in 2023-24. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's game. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit
rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will be in search of its fourth straight win when it hosts nationally ranked Mercyhurst University 4 p.m. Wednesday at James Egli Field.
The Rock enter with an 8-3-2 overall record and a 7-2-2 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Lakers have won 12 straight, coming in at 12-1 overall and 11-0 in PSAC West play.
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch Wednesday's game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU athletic communication office.
• Search for Rock Athletics Digital Network in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices. The streaming web player linked above will also integrate with Chrome Cast devices to allow viewers to cast the game to those devices.
GAME 14 of 18
Opponent: No. 18 Mercyhurst
Date: Wednesday — 4 p.m.
Venue: James Egli Field
Location: Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Live Video: Rock Athletics Digital Network
Live Stats: Slippery Rock Athletic Communication
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS GAME
The Slippery Rock women's soccer team announced that Wednesday's contest will be a "Pink Out" for Breast Cancer Awareness, all fans are encouraged to wear pink for the match.
SERIES HISTORY vs. MERCYHURST
Wednesday will mark the 35
th all-time meeting between The Rock and the Lakers. Slippery Rock is 12-18-4 against Mercyhurst, going 0-4-2 In its last six meetings. At home, Slippery Rock is 8-6-1, going 3-1-1 in its last five home matches against the Lakers. Mercyhurst will be looking for its third straight win over Slippery Rock after defeating SRU in the 2022 PSAC Tournament and beating The Rock earlier this year.
LAST MEETING
Slippery Rock fell on the road to Mercyhurst Sept. 13 in a 5-0 decision. The Lakers rode a 3-0 lead into halftime with goals coming in the 20
th, 23
rd and 44
th minutes. Mercyhurst quickly tacked on a fourth goal just 2:09 into the second half, scoring again in the 51
st minute before the game was called final due to lightning in the area in the 75
th minute.
Mercyhurst led in shots (10-7), shots on goal (6-4) and corner kicks (4-2).
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 8-3-2 (.667)
PSAC West Record: 7-2-2
PSAC West Standings: 3
rd
Home Record: 5-0-1
Away Record: 3-3-1
Last Five Games: 3-1-1
Streak: W3
Head Coach: Jessica Giegucz | Ninth season at SRU (91-41-19, .666)
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock claimed its third straight victory last week at Clarion, beating the Golden Eagles in a 2-1 victory. The Rock took a 2-0 lead into halftime after a 36
th minute penalty kick goal from
Brooke Riefenstahl and a 44
th minute cross that was toed in by
Morgan Sarver. Clarion scored in the 53
rd minute, but would not play much of the remainder in its own half defending against Slippery Rock's 11 second-half shots.
The Rock led in shots (15-7), shots on goal (10-3) and corner kicks (7-0).
WHERE THEY STAND
Entering Wednesday's game, Slippery Rock sits third in the PSAC West standings with 23 points behind first-place Mercyhurst (33) and second-place Gannon (30). The Lakers and Golden Knights have both already clinched spots in the PSAC Tournament while The Rock are on the cusp of doing the same.
A win against Mercyhurst combined with an Edinboro loss or tie at Clarion would make it a mathematical impossibility for SRU not to finish the year as one of the top four teams in the PSAC West standings, thus punching its ticket to a 13th consecutive conference tournament appearance.
The top four teams in both the PSAC West and PSAC East standings at the conclusion of the season qualify for the conference tournament.
In Tuesday's United Soccer Coaches' poll, Slippery Rock
stayed put at No. 9 in the Atlantic Region for the third straight week.
Mercyhurst moved up to No. 18 Tuesday nationally, ranked No. 3 in the Atlantic Region. The Lakers' perfect 11-0 record in conference play puts them at 33 points, three points over Gannon in the fight for the top seed.
While the USC regional rankings provide a glimpse into who the coaches think are the top teams in the region, the official NCAA regional rankings – which ultimately determines the NCAA Tournament field - will begin releasing its polls Oct. 25.
15 PLAYERS WITH POINTS
Sarver is the first player for Slippery Rock this year to reach 20 points, thanks to her six goals and eight assists.
Sydney Patrick follows with 16 points on five goals and six assists, recording four points on a goal and two assists in the last week alone.
Ashley Rea carries nine points from three goals and three assists while both
Maddie DeLucio and
Skylar Munnikhuysen have seven points, each with three goals and an assist. Riefenstahl is up to five points on two goals and one assist, while fellow defender
Olivia Yoder has four points from one goal and two assists.
Jaime Dermotta became the eighth player with both a goal and an assist on the year, now with three points.
Faith Diffenbacher,
Sophia Palermo,
Lindsey Price,
Briona Rice and
Libby Zacharyasz all have two points from one goal while
Nina King and
Bailey McGee have one point from one assist.
FIRING AWAY
Sarver leads the team in both shots and shots on goal, now having placed 28 of her 60 total shots on net. Her 4.62 shots per game ranks seventh in Division II and second in the PSAC.
DeLucio, Patrick and Rea respectively have 27, 26 and 25 shots on the year, combining for 31.2 percent of the team's total shots (78-of-250). Rea leads the team in shot accuracy, putting 17 of her 25 shots on net (68 percent).
Munnikhuysen and Zacharyasz both have 18 shots on the year, as Dermotta and McGee have both fired 16 shots of their own.
A GROUP EFFORT IN SHOTS
As a team, Slippery Rock's 19.23 shots per game rank 12
th in Division II and second in the PSAC behind Gannon University's 23.38.
SRU has also outshot its opponents in the last four games, a stretch of games that Slippery Rock has cumulatively held a lead in shots, 67-32. In the same series of matches, Slippery Rock combined for an advantage in shots on goal, 43-15.
CONFERENCE ACCOLADES FOR SARVER
Sarver was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week Monday for the second time this season. Last week, Sarver led The Rock to a 2-0 record with six points on two goals and two assists.
Previously winning the PSAC weekly award Sept. 5, 2023, Sarver became the 10
th SRU player since 2004 to be named PSAC West Athlete of the Week more than one time in their career.
Sarver's honors also marked the third straight season that Slippery Rock has received at least four PSAC weekly awards.
A CAREER FIRST FOR JAIME
Dermotta registered her first career assist against Clarion, playing a pass forward to Patrick who quickly crossed the ball into Sarver for the game-winning goal. The Rillton, Pennsylvania native has now tallied points in each of the last two games, scoring her first goal of the year against Pitt-Johnstown last week.
SLIPPERY ROCK vs. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Rock have not faced a nationally ranked opponent since Sept. 8, 2019, when they defeated No. 16 West Virginia Wesleyan College on the road, 2-1.
In 2018, Slippery Rock went 2-1 against ranked opponents, defeating No. 22 West Virginia Wesleyan, 1-0 and No. 14 Millersville University, 2-1. Slippery Rock lost in the PSAC Tournament to No. 10 Bloomsburg University, 4-1.
In its last 10 meetings against nationally ranked teams, Slippery Rock is 3-6-1. Since 2012, Slippery Rock is 7-15-3 (.340) against ranked sides.
CORNER KICKS
Slippery Rock has taken 37 corner kicks in its last four matches, now having taken 103 on the year, the most in the PSAC. SRU's 7.92 corner kicks per game also ranks fifth in Division II.
The Rock join the University of West Florida (120), Frostburg State University (107) and Catawba College (103) as one of the four Division II teams to take more than 100 corners this season.
GOING FOR FOUR
A win Wednesday against Mercyhurst would give Slippery Rock its fourth straight win for the first time since Oct. 6, 2021 when The Rock went 4-0 in a stretch of games against Indiana University (Pa.), California (Pa.), Edinboro and Gannon.
A win or tie against Mercyhurst would mark the fifth straight unbeaten game for Slippery Rock for the first time since a 4-0-3 stretch last season.
CONTRIBUTING DEFENSIVELY
Slippery Rock's defense has been led by Diffenbacher, King, Riefenstahl and Zacharyasz, all of whom have played the full 90 minutes of each game this year. SRU has allowed an average of 1.6 corner kicks this season, allowing just 21 all season. SRU has not allowed more than four corner kicks in a single game all year.
Through their last four games, Slippery Rock has allowed just 3.75 shots on goal per game, not allowing more than five since playing Gannon Sept. 27 when SRU was outshot, 30-7.
PROTECTING THE NET
Leah Allman has allowed just two goals in the last four games, now with 34 saves on 103 shots faced this season. Allman enters Wednesday's test against Mercyhurst with a .667 save percentage and a 1.35 GAA.
ACTIVE SRU ROSTER vs. MERCYHURST
Faith Diffenbacher — 2 points (1 goal, 0 assists)
Sydney Patrick — 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist)
Leah Allman — 1 save (1 game played)
THE LAKERS BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 12-1-0 (.923)
PSAC West Record: 11-0-0
PSAC West Standings: 1
st
Home Record: 7-0-0
Away Record: 5-1-0
Last Five Games: 5-0-0
Streak: W12
Head Coach: Rich Wall | First season at Mercyhurst (12-1-0, .923)
MERCYHURST SCOUTING REPORT
Not only is Mercyhurst 12-1 this year and on a 12-game winning streak, but the Lakers have posted shutout victories in 11 of their 12 wins. In the last five games alone, Mercyhurst has outscored its opponents, 21-0.
Mercyhurst has outscored its opponents, 43-4, allowing two goals each to Walsh University, the lone team to beat them, as well as to Gannon in a 4-2 win. Mercyhurst is third in Division II with 11 shutouts on the year and seventh nationally in fewest goals allowed.
The Lakers are led by junior Karah Van Horn with 22 points on team-highs seven goals and eight assists. Van Horn has recorded at least one point in eight of her last ten matches.
Mercyhurst has seen consistency in freshman Corinne Morgan, as well, with 17 points on five goals and seven assists. Morgan is one of 16 players on the roster with points to her name.
True freshman Camille Bultel of Roubaix, France, has been an emerging threat as of late, tallying two of her six goals last week in Mercyhurst's 4-0 win over IUP.
Senior Maddie Elbro of Kinver, England has started every match in goal for the Lakers, making 34 saves on just 86 shots faced. Elbro's .895 save percentage and .319 GAA are both top of the conference and rank in the top 10 in Division II.
As a team, the Lakers outshoot their opponents per game, 14.4-6.6. Mercyhurst has held an advantage in corner kicks over its opponents this year, 90-39.
Mercyhurst is led by first-year head coach Rich Wall, who has brought Division I coaching experience from Coastal Carolina University, the University of Cincinnati, Ball State University and Gardner-Webb University.
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will jump back on the bus for its last road trip of the year, beginning 1 p.m. Saturday at IUP. The Rock defeated the Crimson Hawks earlier this season at home, 3-2.
To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).
