INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP field hockey program jumped on Mercyhurst early, later adding to the lead before locking down the rest of the way in a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night at a muggy Miller Stadium.
 
Sophomore Jess Davidson continued her torrid offensive stretch, finding the back of the net twice in Wednesday's win for IUP (2-1). Davidson has now scored in all three contest for IUP, while sophomore Cara Betancourt slotted home her first collegiate goal from the slot off a feed from Devon Johnson, widening the lead to 3-0 on Wednesday.
 
The Hawks peppered Mercyhurst (2-1) with 21 shots on the night, including 17 on goal. IUP held a wide margin in penalty corners as well at 11-3.
 
Junior goalie Anita Planella made four timely saves over all 60 minutes of action for IUP. Kyla Desormeau countered with 13 stops for the Lakers, facing a high volume of shots.
 
IUP had an early chance to go ahead 1-0 as Davidson had a penalty stroke denied about four minutes in off a scramble in front. The Hawks eventually broke through about seven minutes later as Davidson buried a chance for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Hawks continued applying pressure in the first as freshman Mia Gerick had a three-shot flurry denies, which included a defensive save by Mercyurst's Samantha Meyers.
 
Davidson later doubled the lead off a rebound chance with just around two minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Betancourt deflected Johnson's entry pass around five minutes into the second quarter for a commanding 3-0 IUP advantage.
 
Planella stepped up with three stops following the third IUP goal, helping the Crimson Hawks head into intermission with a 3-0 lead. Mercyhurst struck for its lone goal of the evening as Lexi Odrobina poked in her third goal of the season after a quick feed in traffic by Ava D'Amato.
 
Up Next
IUP heads to Frostburg State for nonconference action on Friday, September 15 at 6:00 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP field hockey on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfieldhockey.

 

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