Millersville, Pa. – The nationally ranked Mercyhurst women's lacrosse team used an eight-goal surge in the second half to secure an 18-11 victory over Millersville in both teams' first match of PSAC play.

Millersville (2-3) trailed the visiting Lakers 10-7 after a Renee Landis goal with 20:05 remaining in the second period. But Mercyhurst junior Emily Gebhardt started a 7-0 goal spurt with a nice combination play between herself and classmate Jenna Schlagenhauf that put the Lakers up for good.  The home team tried making things interesting late with four goals in the final six minutes, but it was too little too late.

Scoring got underway just 14 seconds into the match when Makenzie Jordan beat Millersville keeper Shannon Davis. The Marauders did respond well equalizing minutes later on a Hannah Vogel goal. The Black & Gold trailed 8-4 at the intermission and were outscored 10-7 in the second period.

For the second consecutive season what powered Mercyhurst to victory was their ability to win draw controls. The Lakers had six more turnovers (20-14) than Millersville, but the disparity in draw controls was 24-7 in favor of Mercyhurst.

The Marauders were unable to stop the Lakers' top scorers. Mercyhurst received most of its scoring from three players. Jenna Schlagenhauf, Carly Zimmerman, and Emily Gebhardt accounted for or assisted on 14 goals on the day, with Zimmerman leading all scorers with five points.

Sophomore Renee Landis was the most potent offensive player for the home team as she tallied three goals and two assists in the contest. Landis now has 21 points on the season, which is good for second best on Mia Hall's squad. Millersville also received either a goal or an assist from Abby Mack, Sabrina Fusco, Madison Long, Taylor Davis and Hannah Vogel.

Freshman goalkeeper Shannon Davis faced a season high 31 shots and was able to record 9 saves. However, the flurry of shots did result in 18 goals, which was the most for the Marauders since their opening match of the season.

The Marauders will embark on a three game road trip, after beginning the season with five straight home matches. Millersville will travel to East Stroudsburg, IUP, and Edinboro before returning home March 31 with a game against West Chester. Game time is slated for 4 p.m. for the match against East Stroudsburg on Tuesday, March 24.