The Gannon-Mercyhurst women's soccer rivalry will be played for even bigger stakes on Wednesday at McConnell Family Stadium.

With a win or a tie, Gannon would clinch first place in the PSAC West for the regular season and would secure the No. 1 seed from the Western Division for the upcoming PSAC Tournament. Coach Colin Petersen's Golden Knights already have clinched a playoff berth and will host a PSAC quarterfinal on November 1.

However, the top seed from the West would host the PSAC semifinals and finals if that team wins its quarterfinal.

Gannon (10-2-4 overall) is 9-1-4 in the PSAC West and has 31 points in the standings. Second-place Mercyhurst (9-4-4 overall) is 8-3-4 in the PSAC West with 28 points.

Gannon is 3-0-2 in its past five games. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst has suffered back-to-back 2-0 losses to Seton Hill and IUP to damage its first-place aspirations.

The Golden Knights beat the Lakers 2-1 at Mercyhurst on September 21 on goals by Emilie Hilliard (Phoenix, N.Y./John C. Birdlebough) and Ella Fadale (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport).

Gannon senior forward Sarah Fails (Girard, Pa./Villa Maria) leads the PSAC West with nine goals and 22 points. Karah Van Horn, who scored Mercyhurst's only goal in the last Gannon matchup, ranks third in the PSAC West with seven goals.

This is the regular-season finale for Mercyhurst. If Gannon were to lose Wednesday, it would still have a chance to clinch first place and the No. 1 seed with a win or a tie on Saturday evening when it hosts Pitt-Johnstown in its regular-season finale.

 
Wednesday's game: Mercyhurst at Gannon, 4 p.m., McConnell Family Stadium

Last time: Gannon beat Mercyhurst 2-1 at Mercyhurst on Sept. 21.

All-time series: Gannon has a 10-25-6 record against Mercyhurst.
 
 
Records:
 
Gannon: 10-2-4 overall, 9-1-4 PSAC West, first place, 31 points
 
Mercyhurst:  9-4-4 overall,  8-3-4 PSAC West, second place, 28 points
 
PSAC standings
 
 
Leading scorers:
 
Gannon:

Sarah Fails (Girard, Pa./Villa Maria), 22 points (9 goals, 4 assists)
 
Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler), 11 points (3 goals, 5 assists)
 
Ella Fadale (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport), 9 points (4 goals, 1 assist)
 
Logan Nicklas (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton), 8 points (2 goals, 4 assists)
 
Sammie Dales (Conneautville, Pa./Homeschool), 5 points (1 goal, 3 assists)
 
Holly Gray (Gold Coast, Australia), 5 points (2 goals, 1 assist)
 
 
Mercyhurst:

Karah Van Horn, 14 points (7 goals)
 
Lauren Casey, 6 points (3 goals)
 
Emily Mijares, 6 points (3 goals)
 
Taryn Baxter, 6 points (2 goals, 2 assists)

Teagan Mehalko, 6 points (2 goals, 2 assists)


Leading goalies: 

Gannon: Kennedy Solymosi (Eastlake, Ohio/Lake Catholic), 7-2-4 record, 52 saves, 0.97 goals-against average, .825 save percentage

Mercyhurst: Maddie Elbro 9-4-4 record, 56 saves, 0.71 goals-against average, .824 save percentage