Ella Fadale (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) scored about 10 minutes into the second half to break a tie, and the Gannon defense held Mercyhurst scoreless in the second half in a 2-1 women's soccer victory over the rival Lakers at Mercyhurst Soccer Field on Wednesday evening.

The game was a showdown between the top two teams in the PSAC West standings as the Golden Knights handed the Lakers their first conference loss of the season.

Gannon extended its unbeaten streak to seven games as it moved to 5-1-2 overall and 4-0-2 in the PSAC West with 14 points in the standings. Mercyhurst, which remained in first place with 16 points, dropped to 5-1-1 in the PSAC West and 5-2-1 overall.

Gannon broke a 1-1 tie early in the second half when Sarah Fails (Girard, Pa./Villa Maria) made a run down the right side and sent a crossing pass in front of the goal. Fedale, a freshman forward, was waiting on the far side of the goal and chipped in her team-leading fourth goal of the season.

From there, goalkeeper Kennedy Solymosi (Eastlake, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and the Gannon defense took over. They thwarted a series of scoring opportunities by the Lakers during the final 30 minutes. Solymosi finished with four saves and used aggressive play to stop several other scoring threats before they could fully develop.

Gannon's Emilie Hilliard (Phoenix, N.Y./John C. Birdlebough) opened the scoring a little over two minutes into the game when her corner kick from the left hooked through the hands of the Mercyhurst goalie and into the net.

The Lakers tied the score a little over two minutes later when the Karah Van Horn scored her PSAC-leading sixth goal off an assist from Teagan Mehalko.  However, Gannon held Mercyhurst scoreless for the final 85 minutes.

Gannon outshot Mercyhurst 13-8 and finished with an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they host California (PA) in a PSAC West game at McConnell Family Stadium.