INDIANA, Pa. – Despite eight saves from senior goalie Alyssa Lerda (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland), IUP field hockey fell to visiting Mercyhurst 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday afternoon at George P. Miller Stadium. It was the second straight overtime loss for the Crimson Hawks.
 
IUP's record dropped to 5-8 overall and into a tie for eighth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with a 2-4 league record with four games left to play. Mercyhurst improved to 6-6 and 2-3.
 
Junior Matti Reightler (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) scored the Crimson Hawks' lone goal, getting her team on the board first with a deflection near the cage off a shot from freshman Kimberly Kelly (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) in the 10th minute. It was her team-leading sixth goal of the season.
 
Mercyhurst tied the score in the 29th minute on a fast break goal by Nicolette Tomani.
 
Despite five penalty corners from Mercyhurst in the second half, IUP kept the Lakers off the board to take the game to overtime. Lerda turned away two early shots in the extra time, but Mercyhurst snuck one past her on a deflection seven minutes into the final period.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks hit the road this weekend, heading East to square off against top-ranked Shippensburg (10-2, 5-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP field hockey on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfieldhockey.