Box Score

ERIE, PA - The Crimson Hawks made a late second half charge, scoring seven straight goals to the end the game, but it wasn't enough as IUP lost to Mercyhurst 19-11 in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Tuesday night at Tullio Field.

Alexa Lodovici (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) led the Crimson Hawks offensively, scoring five goals with two assists, as she set season program records for points and goals. Her 53 goals now betters Jackie Rutkowski's 2007 total of 50 and her 91 points breaks the old record of 89, set by current teammate Becca Vogt (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) just last season.

Mercyhurst (12-6) got out to the hot start with a pair of goals in the first four minutes before Corinne Miller (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) got IUP on the board at the 20:31 mark to make it 2-1. The Lakers then scored three consecutive goals before Lodovici added another for the Crimson Hawks to make it a 5-2 game with 13:58 remaining.

From there the Lakers took control, ending the half with seven straight goals to head into the break with a 12-2 lead.

Lodovici posted the first goal of the second half, bringing IUP back to within nine just 24 seconds in. However, the Lakers responded with four straight goals, and scored seven of the next eight overall to take a 19-4 lead with 13:24 left in the game.

The Crimson Hawks would not give up, starting their run as Jessica  Beck threaded the net with 11:13 to go to make it 19-5. Lodovici followed that up her fourth goal of the game at the 7:39 mark and then assisted on an Alex Edwards (Bethlehem/Nazareth) goal a minute later to make it 19-7.

Taylor Norwood (Chantilly, VA/Chantilly) scored the next goal, her first of the season, right after forcing a turnover and picking up the ground ball to pull within 11. But as the time wound down, IUP continued to battle, as Lodovici assisted on a Beth Glasshagel (Coram, NY/Newfield) goal with 1:30 to go and then after Edwards controlled the draw, returned the favor to Lodovici who scored at the 1:26 mark, an amazing four seconds in between goals.

Edwards then wrapped up the game's scoring, getting the final goal with 29 seconds to go off a pass from Miller.

Ally Keirn was the leading scorer for Mercyhurst, getting four goals with two assists.

Stephanie Bianco (King of Prussia/Upper Merion) posted three draw controls for IUP while Lodovici's five goals came on six shots. Colleen Berlin (Baltimore, MD/Institute of Notre Dame) talled three ground balls while Becca Vogt (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) forced two turnovers for IUP. Both Chelsey Hipp (Clarksville, MD/Good Counsel) and Katherine Davis registered time in the net for IUP, combining for three saves.

The Crimson Hawks end their season with an 11-6 record, but more importantly, they earned a berth in the postseason for the very first time in the program's 15-year history. That berth was secured in the final game of the season when the Crimson Hawks defeated Lock Haven 14-13 in amazing fashion, holding off the Bald Eagles numerous attempts in the final two minutes for the victory.

The 11 wins also ties a program record, which was set last year when IUP went 11-7. The Crimson Hawks finished 7-4 in the PSAC, the conference wins in a season IUP has ever had.

The game also ends the careers of the best senior class that has ever come through IUP, which includes: Beck, Bianco, Glasshagel, Jillian Jordan (Kingwood, TX/Kingwood), Miller and Vogt. That group that won 36 games during their time at IUP, the most ever for the program in a four-year span.