ERIE, Pa.- The 10th-ranked Gannon women's lacrosse team lost to #5 Mercyhurst 10-9 at GU Field Saturday afternoon. The Lakers broke an 8-8 tie with consecutive goals in the final 10 minutes of the second half to pick up the win in the hard-fought match. 

The Hurst took its first lead of the contest on a goal by Kimberly Masterton with 9:07 left. Up 9-8, Kayla Minner added a key insurance score with 2:50 to play. Mary Eshenour's (Waterloo, N.Y./Waterloo) goal with 1:50 to go cut the deficit to 10-9, but the Lady Knights couldn't even the match. 

Gannon led 4-1 after Taryn Millerd (Shortsville, N.Y./Midlakes) scored off an assist by Rachel DerCola (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) with 18:44 left in the first half. The Lakers quickly got back in the match, though, tying the contest at four with seven minutes remaining in the stanza. Eshenour answered with a go-ahead goal from DerCola to give GU a 5-4 halftime edge. 

In the second half, the teams played evenly, staying a one-goal match until Millerd put Gannon ahead 8-6 with 20:34 left. The Hurst would score the next four goals of the match to take the decisive 10-8 lead.
Eshenour scored five goals, putting her at 18 scores on the season. Millerd added three goals and Kayla Nelson (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) posted one goal and two assists. DerCola recorded three helpers. Acacia Cook (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse) made four saves in net. 

GU (3-3, 0-2 PSAC) outshot Mercyhurst (6-0, 2-0 PSAC) 11-7 in the first half before the Lakers responded with a 15-8 advantage in the final 30 minutes. 

Gannon hosts Indiana (Pa.) Thursday, March 25, in its next contest. The match is set for a 4 p.m. start at Gannon University Field. A box score from Saturday's match is available here.