ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon men's soccer team missed a golden opportunity on Wednesday night, but the Golden Knights still had plenty to be content with after a 3-3 tie with archrival Mercyhurst.

The Knights let a pair of two-goal leads slip away in the second half after taking a 2-0 lead in the first half and a 3-1 advantage in the second half at Mercyhurst's Saxon Stadium.

The good news for the No. 10-ranked Golden Knights is that they remained unbeaten overall at 12-0-2, and they stayed alone in first place in the PSAC West with a 5-0-1 record. Coach

Billy Colton's team also retained control of its own destiny when it comes to claiming the top seed in the PSAC West for the postseason.

Gannon has four games remaining in the conference season, and if it were to win all four, it would earn the right to host the PSAC Final Four, if the Knights were to advance that far.

No. 19 Mercyhurst remained in second place at 4-1-1 in the PSAC West. The Lakers are now 11-1-1 overall, and their only loss was a 5-1 setback at Gannon in their first matchup.

 

Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) gives the @GannonMSoccer team a 1-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/ydOEDTLOY6

— Gannon Athletics (@GUKnights) October 18, 2023

Gannon took a 2-0 lead in the first half. Forward Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) opened the scoring at the 14:58 mark by tapping in a goal from front, left side of the goal after the Mercyhurst goalie made a save. Katsande leads the PSAC with 13 goals and 34 points.

Midfielder James Pool (Hastings, England/Claverham) then gave GU a 2-0 lead at the 26:22 mark by scoring off an assist from Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs).

 

James Pool (Hastings, England/Claverham) strikes off an assist from Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs). The ?@GannonMSoccer? leads Mercyhurst 2-0. pic.twitter.com/fe3zY1jYb2

— Gannon Athletics (@GUKnights) October 18, 2023

Mercyhurst's Andreas Rossak scored with less than seven minutes left in the half to make it 2-1.

Just 12 minutes into the second half, Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) got open on the right side and scored off a pass from Pool to make the score 3-1. With a goal and assist, Pool now ranks third in the conference with nine goals and 23 points.

Gannon could not protect the two-goal lead as the Lakers' Ignacio Gallego struck at the 69:21 mark and Jorge Tallada Torres tied the score at 80:35.

Gannon will be back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when it hosts California, Pa., on Senior Day at McConnell Family Stadium.