ERIE, Pa. - The IUP women's soccer team (9-7-1, 7-7-1 PSAC) picked up their second win in two days defeating the Mercyhurst Lakers 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to a brace of goals from Mahogany Willis and a clutch penalty kick save by goalkeeper Madeline Smakulski.

While the game would contain a great deal of excitement near its conclusion, it quickly became apparent as the first half progressed that the two teams were rather evenly matched, resulting in few real chances for either offense. With the two sides negating each other to a great extent, neither the Crimson Hawks nor the Lakers were able to make a breakthrough before the halftime interval.

The relative parity of the two teams was further reinforced by the halftime statistics, as not only were the Crimson Hawks and Lakers level on the scoreboard, but both sides had only managed one corner each and were separated by only one shot as well (9 to 8 in Mercyhurst's favor).

Although the action picked up a bit in the second half, the real fireworks didn't get started until the last quarter of the game. Freshman Mahogany Willis kicked things off for the Crimson Hawks in the 73rd minute when she collected a pass from Nikki Bowman inside the Mercyhurst box and curled a well placed shot into the far corner of the Lakers net to give IUP the lead.

Willis then had a chance to double the IUP lead in the 82nd minute when she was again one-on-one with the Lakers goalkeeper, only to see her shot go wide of the post instead of inside of it. However, seconds later she would get a chance to amend for that miss following another IUP counter-attack. This time she made no mistake, using some nifty footwork to send the remaining Mercyhurst defender the wrong way before firing a powerful shot into the net leaving the Lakers keeper with no chance.
 
There was more late drama at the end of the game when a foul in the IUP box gave Mercyhurst a penalty kick and an excellent chance to cut the deficit in half. However, IUP goalkeeper Madeline Smakulski was in defiant form making an excellent diving save low to her left to push the Mercyhurst penalty wide of the net and preserve her shutout. That kick would prove to be the final play of the game, with the referee's whistle coming seconds later to give the Crimson Hawks back-to-back victories.

Up next
The Crimson Hawks close out their season at home against the West Chester Golden Rams on Saturday. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the South Campus Field.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's soccer on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPsoccer.