Box Score

ERIE, PA – Anouk Sickman (Antwerp, Belgium/Lazac Cellepe) scored a breakaway goal on a pass from Shannon Sullivan (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny) just 2:25 into overtime to push the Crimson Hawks past Mercyhurst as No. 8 IUP defeated the Lakers 4-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West opener for both teams on Wednesday.

The goal came less than five minutes after the Crimson Hawks tied the score at three-apiece, with Sickman feeding Sullivan with just 2:18 remaining in the second half to force overtime.

After IUP took an early 1-0 lead with Sullivan finding the back of the cage for her first goal just 2:06 into the game, the Lakers (2-1, 0-1) shut down the Crimson Hawks offense, limited their looks throughout the rest of the half.

With just 16 seconds left before halftime, Mercyhurst gained a corner and used it to its advantage, as Serena Slattery found Rachel Sluberski for the game-tying goal as time expired.

The Lakers struck first in the second half, as Marissa Faso snuck one past Sarah Lemieux (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) as the Lakers took a 2-1 lead at the 38:34 mark.

IUP tied the score less than 10 minutes later, as Nicole Grimaldi (East Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg South) got a rebound off a shot by Sickman to knot the score at 2-2. The Lakers' Megan Richards then scored at the 55:31 mark to give Mercyhurst the 3-2 lead before Sullivan's eventual tying score 12:11 later.

Lemieux played in the cage for the final 37:25 of the game after Brittany Varacallo (New Britain/Central Bucks South) got the start for the Crimson Hawks. They combined for three saves.

The goals were the first of the year for Sullivan and Grimaldi, while Sickman's goal gave her three on the season.

The eighth-ranked Crimson Hawks (2-0, 1-0) return to the field on Saturday as they battle No. 6 East Stroudsburg in another neutral site game, this time at Lock Haven.