Flash Points:

• SFU split for the second straight day, falling 10-8 to Gannon and defeating Siena 10-9
• Melani Aghazarian (Glendale, Calif./Glendale (La Valley College)) had six assists on the day
• The Red Flash stormed back with five fourth-quarter goals vs Gannon and answered with 5 straight vs Siena
• Katie Wilke made 15 saves against the Golden Knights and 14 vs Sienna

 
 
ERIE, PA- The Red Flash split their two matches on the final day at the Mercyhurst Invite, falling to Gannon 10-8 and defeating Siena 10-9.
 
 
Gannon Match (Box Score)
The morning match started slow as each team missed an opportunity to score on early exclusions. Katie Wilke made a key save early to stop the Gannon power play but the Knights would strike first with an even-strength goal. Emily Rodriguez kept the Red Flash off the scoreboard with a pair of saves and Gannon made it 2-0 moments later. The Knights would tack on a third and lead 3-0 after one quarter.
 
Kelsey Gring (Sinking Spring, Pa/Wilson) got the Red Flash on the board early in the second with a power play goal. Gannon would press back on the SFU defense and Wilke made two big saves to keep it 3-1. The Knights would make it 4-1 but Emily Wickenheiser (Mechanicsburg, Pa/Cumberland Valley) would score moments later on another power play to get the Flash back within two. The Flash would go scoreless the rest of the quarter as Emily Rodriguez made four saves. The Knights would score twice and took a 6-2 lead into the half.
 
Gannon started the second half in similar fashion to closing out the first. They struck for the first two goals of the half to open an 8-2 lead. Missy McCreary (Altadena, CA/LaSalle (Citrus College)) would get Saint Francis going in the third, putting home a Tina Bonilla feed. Moments later Bonilla rang one off the post as the breaks seemed to fall Gannon's way. Katie Wilke held the Knights scoreless the rest of the quarter and it would be 8-3 Gannon heading to the fourth.
 
The Knights scored a key goal early in the fourth quarter to go up 9-3 before the Flash got rolling. Wilke made two more big saves, the second sparked a counter attack where Mel Aghazarian fed Wickenheiser to make it 9-4. They would team up again minutes later, with a McCreary goal sandwiched in between. The three quick goals made it 9-6. Kelley Fehr then got a key steal that setup another Wickenheiser goal to make it 9-7. The Flash would then draw an exclusion with Rodriguez standing tall on a pair of chances. Gannon would score a big insurance goal late and a late Gring goal beat the buzzer but the SFU comeback fell short.
 
In a back-and-forth game, Gannon outshot SFU 39-35. Wilke made 15 saves on the day while Rodriguez made 13.
 
Siena Match (Box Score)

The Red Flash held off a pesky Siena squad for their second win at the Mercyhurst Invite, defeating the Saints 10-9 on Sunday afternoon.
SFU overcame a monster game from Clare Bryar who scored all nine of Siena's goals on Sunday. She scored the first two goals of the match on Sunday to give Siena the early lead. The Flash would answer back quickly as Emily Wickenheiser (Mechanicsburg, Pa/Cumberland Valley) and Kelsey Gring (Sinking Spring, Pa/Wilson) scored within moments of each other to tie the match at two. Katie Wilke made two of her 14 saves on an exclusion against Krysta Ponek (Panama City Beach, Fla./Arnold (Utica College)) and the Flash capitalized after killing off the penalty. Kelly Fehr (Erie, Pa/Villa Maria Academy) scored a goal just before the end of the quarter to give SFU a 3-2 lead after one quarter.
 
Amber Rogers (Souderton, Pa/Souderton) made it four straight goals for the Red Flash right out of the gate in the second. The Flash defense held Siena at bay through most of the second quarter. SFU forced five-straight turnovers and Wilke made two more key saves. The defense fueled the offense as Rogers collected a loose ball and found Wickenheiser for another tally to make it 5-2. Bryar's third of the day came late in the quarter and SFU took a 5-3 lead into the half.
 
Wickenheiser would draw a penalty foul early in the second half and put away the ensuing shot as SFU rebuilt their three-goal advantage. A Wilke save and another forced turnover fueled the SFU offense again as they struck twice more in transition to make it 8-3. Wilke and Sarah Abbott took over in the middle of the quarter, each making three saves as the teams went back and forth. Bryar struck twice more to cut the SFU lead to three but another Wickenheiser tally made it 9-5 heading into the fourth.
 
Saint Francis would strike first in the fourth as Wickenheiser's fifth of the game re-opened a five-goal lead for SFU. Bryar then got white hot, she scored four unanswered goals to bring the Saints to within one at 10-9. Abbott kept the Red Flash at bay making two big saves during the run while SFU missed wide on a pair of shots. The last Bryar tally came too late in the quarter as SFU was able to run out the clock and earn their fourth win of the season.
 
The Red Flash outshot Siena 37-29 and both goalies were strong in net. Wilke made 14 saves and posted a strong .610 save percentage while Abbot was credited with 18 saves and .643 save percentage. The Red Flash were credited with 18 steals led by Tina Bonilla and Krysta Ponek (Panama City Beach, Fla./Arnold (Utica College)) who each had three.
 
The victory evens SFU's record at 4-4 on the season. They head to California for spring break starting next weekend. The Red Flash clash with the Occidental Tigers at the Tina Finali Invite next Sunday in Thousand Oaks, California. Opening sprint is set for Sunday at 3:45 eastern.