SRU loses to Lakers, prepares for Huskies

The Slippery Rock men's soccer team has been on the road for the past three games, resulting in a win against Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, and losses to both California University of Pennsylvania and Mercyhurst College. The most recent loss to Mercyhurst was last Thursday, September 22nd.

Freshman forward Christopher Davis scored the first and only goal for Slippery Rock against Mercyhurst at the 17:24 minute mark of the game, with an assist from junior goalkeeper Timothy White. The assist credited White with his first collegiate point.

With five seconds left in the half, Mercyhurst's Patrick Gehring was able to sneak in a goal, tying the game. It appeared that the game was going into overtime, but Mercyhurst was able to score in the final 25 seconds of the game to secure the win.

The Rock has a current record of 3-3-0 for the season. Their three losses have all been determined by only one goal and came against nationally ranked teams, which has caused the team to place more focus on the defensive side of the game at practices.

"I think we are doing very well and are about to hit our peak," says freshman forward Stephen Donnelly. "We need to keep more focused in the dying minutes of every game, and when we get the chance to score, we have to take them chances."

This weekend, the team faces off against Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

 With the advantage of playing at home, the team hopes to have a big weekend and gain two PSAC wins.

"In the past, we played very strongly against Bloomsburg, managing most of the game and getting the better opportunities, but Bloomsburg has always found a way to get their scoring chances against us, so we can't back down when they come here on Friday,"  sophomore midfielder Zachary Hall said.

Davis leads the Rock offense in points with 5 (1 goal and 3 assists), while senior forward Kenneth Fultz has a goal and an assist on 16 shots this season.

As a whole, the Rock is averaging 1.2 goals per game this season and holding opponents to one goal per game.

The Rock has to focus on finishing the game as strongly as they start it if they intend on defeating Bloomsburg (1-4-1) on Friday.