System shutdown
Falcons shutout in second half against Mercyhurst
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WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Notre Dame Women's Lacrosse team dropped their second game of the season in a 10-3 loss against Mercyhurst (PA) on Tuesday. NDC drops to 0-2 in 2008 while Lakers, who are ranked No. 10 in the latest National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II poll, improve to 3-0.

The Falcons took the Lakers by surprise going up 2-0 off goals from Jenna Shuerman (Jr/Savage, MN) and Gena McPherson (So/Brampton, ONT). Both the Laker and Falcon offenses traded possessions with key saves being made by both goalkeepers and aggressive crashes by the defenses.

Mercyhurst, however, was able to capitalize on their strong ball handling ability and receive the ball amidst a swarming Falcon defense. Courtney Olevnik (Sr/Wooster, OH) Jessie Horeth (Jr/Webster, NY) find the back of the net twice to tie it up by 9:46 in the first half. Breanna Haggerty (Jr/Skaneateles, NY) scored two more goals for the Lakers to build a 4-2 lead.

Molly Merrill (Jr/Medina, OH) grabbed the draw control following the Lakers' fourth goal and ran it down to set the Falcon's up for the final play of the opening half. Merrill found McPherson with just seven seconds remaining and the Falcons got within one goal headed into intermission.

The one goal-deficit was a close as NDC would get as they were held scoreless in the second half. Tewaarton candidate Haggerty scored two more goals for Mercyhurst to help them to their final 10-3 victory.

Kylie Flett (Sr/Adelaide, Australia) played all 60 minutes for NDC making ten saves. Maeve McGoff (So/Terrace Park, OH) finished with five stops for the Lakers.

Notre Dame will look to pick up their first win of the season when they closes out their spring break tour against St. John Fisher (NY) at Disney's Wide World of Sports on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 11:00am.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

SCORELESS SECOND: The last time NDC was held scoreless in the second half was against Ursinus (PA) in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Mar. 7, 2007. Coincidentally, the loss was also the second game of the season.

MERCY-HURTS: Notre Dame is now 0-3 all time versus Mercyhurst. NDC first faced them in 2006 (Mar. 23) and fell 19-2. In 2007, the Lakers handled the Falcons 22-7 (Apr. 20). Tuesday's 10-3 loss is the closest scoring margin over the three year history.