ERIE, Pa. – Edinboro soccer won their first road and PSAC game against rival Mercyhurst Wednesday afternoon from Mercyhurst University.
Lexi Boyk got in close at the 34-second mark of the first half but could not get the first effort nor the rebound past the keeper.
Reece Enochs had a breakaway opportunity at 30:41 but was fouled as she got in the box resulting in penalty kick.
Brittnie Spithaler netted the penalty kick to give the Scots the lead. It was her first goal of the season.
Around the 22-minute mark Anna Voelker skied to save a close shot before Clare Crossley blocked a point-blank shot on a rebound opportunity.
Defender Annie Weimer came up strong on defense with 20:30 remaining, funneling a breakaway attempt into the corner and out of bounds.
Gabriella Desanto spun away from two defenders at midfield with 14:00 remaining in the first to set up a shot from the left of the net that nearly scored.
At 12:13, Voelker dove to the turf to secure another great save.
At 10:00, remaining in the first Natalia Corrales maneuvered the defense using shifty footwork, setting up a shot from the left side.
A Mercyhurst shot almost found twine with 4:25 remaining but for a goal-saving tackle by the Edinboro defense.
The score was 1-0 as teams headed into the halftime locker room.
Mercyhurst managed to get into the Edinboro half of the field to begin the second, but the Scots defense was able to steer trouble away with sound tackling and strong defensive positioning.
Voelker saved a hard shot at the 39:30 mark as a Mercyhurst strike narrowly avoided defense en route to the net.
Maggie Fragapane fell to the ground around 37:30 stymieing a try from in close.
Enochs continued to drive play in the second half tip-toeing the sidelines and making passes that resulted in a few close shots.
Another foul gave Edinboro a chance to score on a header but it sailed wide.
With 27:20 remaining Enochs setup a play from quarter field and Edinboro hit the upright twice but did not score.
Morgan Wissner had a one-on-one opportunity with about 18 minutes remaining, setting up Corrales for an opportunity for a long shot. She was then fouled hard, but the free kick was within reach of the keeper.
Wissner made good on a breakaway opportunity with 15:55 left in regulation. It marked her second goal of the season.
The Lakers were issued a yellow card with 13:18 remaining for a hard foul on Mary Sinan.
After a Mercyhurst corner kick, Spithaler was hauled down around midfield but Edinboro held pressure in their half field as the clock ticked down to ten minutes left in regulation.
With 5:20 remaining, Edinboro had a chance off a corner kick but for a nice save by the Mercyhurst goaltender who directed the ball over the cross bar.
Crossley walled for a free kick with just over two minutes remaining, paying a hefty price to stop the shot.
Shortly thereafter Hurst scored off a header on a corner kick to bring the score to 2-1 with 1:32 remaining.
Edinboro will head to IUP to take on the Crimson Hawks at 1:30 p.m. Saturday Sept. 11.
