Sept. 28, 2006

Stats

Houghton, N.Y. - Most of Wednesday's men's soccer match between Mercyhurst and Houghton was a defensive struggle. But during an uncharacteristic stretch of 185 seconds midway through the second half, the Lakers scored twice and the Highlanders scored once to give Mercyhurst a 2-1 victory.

Goalkeeper Daniel Mudd recorded the first assist of his career, booming a kick to Matt Richards, who buried his first career goal to put Mercyhurst ahead 1-0 at 67:10. However, Houghton came back immediately as Josh Grotton scored the Highlanders' only goal of the contest just 16 seconds later.

But with momentum back in Houghton's corner, the Lakers struck one more time on the strength of their freshmen class. Kurt Young took a pass from Rabii Karanouh and scored the game-winner, Young's team-leading ninth goal of the year, at 70:15.

The win was a strong bounce-back effort from Mercyhurst, now 10-2 on the year, as the Lakers were coming off of a 1-0 loss to Northern Kentucky in which they were shut out for the first time all year.

Mudd made two saves in goal for the Lakers and Mercyhurst outshot Houghton 17-7, including 11-3 on goal. The Lakers also held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Mercyhurst, which is now 4-0 on the road, will travel to Michigan to play Saginaw Valley State for the second time this year at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The Lakers defeated the Cardinals 4-0 at Mercyhurst September 23.