Aug. 21, 2007

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst College athletics get back underway this weekend in a transition year after a three-month summer hiatus. While no athletic events have been played since late May, the summer brought a lot of change to the athletic department.

The biggest news came on June 27 when Mercyhurst announced that it would play one more season in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) before moving, along with crosstown rival Gannon, to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) for the 2008-09 school year. While the department looks forward to the change, there is still plenty of unfinished business this year, and it begins Friday when the men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's volleyball teams open their seasons.

Ranked No. 25 in the NCAA/adidas Preseason Top 25 poll, the men's soccer team will host Southern Indiana Friday at 4 p.m. in the first home event of the school year. The women's soccer team will go on the road for a rematch with No. 16 Indianapolis, the team that eliminated the Lakers from the postseason a year ago. The women's volleyball team also heads on the road, playing both Alderson-Broaddus and Houghton in the Roberts Wesleyan Tournament.

On Saturday, the field hockey team opens the 2007 campaign by hosting No. 8 Mansfield at 1:00 p.m. The football team will open its season as well, playing a non-conference game for the first time since 2004, when the Lakers travel to Frankfort, Ky. to play Kentucky State. The volleyball team will also wrap up play at the Roberts Wesleyan Tournament.

Sunday, the men's soccer team will again be at home when the squad hosts Kentucky Wesleyan at 1 p.m. The women's soccer team will also play that day, meeting No. 22 Quincy at noon in Indianapolis.

A year ago, Mercyhurst garnered four conference championships and five NCAA playoff appearances. The men's soccer team went 17-4 and won its 11th GLIAC title in 12 years, while the women shared the crown with Grand Valley State after a 16-4 record. Both teams advanced to the postseason, but they will each be looking to replace key seniors from last year's squads.

Although the football team was picked 11th out of 13 schools in the GLIAC Preseason Poll, optimism abounds for the team. Senior quarterback Mitch Phillis is the most accurate passer in program history, while senior Jimmy Kokrak is an aggressive linebacker who finds a way to disrupt an opponent's offensive gameplan. The Lakers return 13 starters and could surprise in 2007.

The new-look women's volleyball team had just two seniors on a squad that went 7-18 a year ago, but head coach Ryan Patton and assistant coach Sarah R. King brought in eight freshmen who have the potential to make an impact immediately.

The field hockey team returns 11 letterwinners from last year's 7-8 team. The squad will compete as an independent for the final season before joining the PSAC. The squad is poised to move over the .500 mark for the first time since 2002.