Box Score

ERIE, Pa. – The No. 24 Gannon women's soccer team battled through adverse weather throughout the contest and earned a 2-0 victory Sunday afternoon during the regular-season finale at rival Mercyhurst.

Despite playing in windy and rainy conditions the entire afternoon, Gannon picked up an important victory that clinched a postseason home match. The Lady Knights will enter the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournment as the conference's third seed. They will host six seed East Stroudsburg Thursday, November 1 at 1 p.m. The winner will move into the PSAC Final Four scheduled for Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4. The highest remaining seed after the conference quarterfinals will host the Final Four.

Gannon and Mercyhurst battled each other and the elements through the first 45 minutes, before entering the halftime intermission scoreless. The Lady Knights out-shot the Lakers 9-4 during the first half. Ellie McDougall recorded four saves for the Lakers while Gannon's other five shots didn't make it on goal.

Mani Brueckner (Valencia, Pa./Mars Area) drew first blood 5:21 into the second half, scoring her team-high 10th goal of the season. The freshman now has the sixth-highest single-season goal total in school history. Her 33 points are fourth all-time, sitting six shy of the school record held by Amanda Sharbaugh who had 39 points last season.

Michelle Genetin (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) needed only 6:22 after the first goal to push the lead to 2-0 with her seventh score of the campaign. Gannon's second goal seemed to be the final dagger. The Lady Knights produced a 9-2 advantage in shots the rest of the way while securing the victory.

Head coach Colin Petersen's club held advantages for the match in shots (21-7) and corner kicks (7-2). Maggie Brinkman (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) needed only two saves to post her fourth shutout of the season. McDougall had five stops for the Lakers.

Gannon, ranked No. 24 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 Poll and No. 4 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings, completed the regular season with a 13-3-1 overall record and 10-3-1 PSAC mark. The Lady Knights won the last four matches of the regular season. Gannon broke the school's single-season record for wins in the process, surpassing the previous mark of 12 set by the 1998 and 1999 teams. Mercyhurst finished at 7-10-1 overall and 3-10-1 in conference action.