The Slippery Rock University women’s soccer team defeated Mercyhurst University 4-0 on Saturday.
The result was Coach Noreen Herlihy walking out of her old stomping grounds with a victory. Herlihy was an assistant soccer coach at Mercyhurst during the 1993 and 1994 seasons, helping the Lakers make it to the Division II final four in both seasons. Herlihy left Mercyhurst to take over the SRU program in 1995.
The win for the Rock is their fifth straight, and bumped their record to 8-2-1 overall, with a 7-2-1 record in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play. The loss dropped Mercyhurst to 3-8-1 overall, with a 2-8-1 record in PSAC play. The Rock’s success can be credited to their their defense, seeing as how they’ve only allowed one goal in the past five games, outscoring their opponents 21-1.
The Green and White’s offense tallied four goals in the game against Mercyhurst. SRU junior midfielder Caitlin Binder picked up a pair of goals, while sophomore forward Andrea Felix scored a goal and had two assists. Felix is leading the Rock in many statistical categories, including goals (five), assists (eight), and points (18). Sophomore forward Dara Demich scored a goal, and freshman midfielder Tess Keeley assisted on Felix’s goal.
The SRU defense only allowed three Mercyhurst shots, which were all saved by sophomore goalkeeper Annabelle Hegeman. With her sixth shutout of the year, Hegeman lowered her goals-against average to .46 and raised her save percentage to .902.
The game was still close going into the second half, with the Rock only leading 1-0. However, in the 53rd minute, Felix and Binder scored within seconds of each other to take a commanding 3-0 lead, and ultimately put the game away. Overall, the Green and White held the advantage in total shots (15-9), shots on goal (9-3), and Mercyhurst held the advantage in corner kicks (5-1).
The Rock returns home Friday at 1 p.m. to take on Bloomsburg University at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
