ERIE, PA – The Saint Francis University Water Polo team heads to Erie, PA for a Saturday non-conference double header at the Hallman Aquatics Center. Here the Red Flash will go head to head with Mercyhurst University at 3:00 pm and Gannon University at 6:00 pm.
 
This will be the first set of games since March 21^st where the Red Flash went 1-1 in their home pool.  

The Event: Mercyhurst Invitational
Location: Hagerty Event Center – Hallman Aquatics Center (Erie, PA)

Game 1: Saint Francis vs. Mercyhurst
Date and Time: Saturday, April 3^rd @ 3:00 pm
Stream: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mercyhurst/
Live Stats:

Game 2: Saint Francis vs. Gannon
Date and Time: Saturday, April 3^rd @ 6:00 pm
Stream:  https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gannon/
Live Stats:

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SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst comes into this Saturday 3-3 on the year and 0-2 in conference. The Lakers last competed in the Penn State Behrend Invitational where they went 1-1, taking a loss against Austin College 9-11, and taking the win over Penn State Behrend 11-3.
 
The Lakers have never been able to pull off a win against the Red Flash, where the most recent matchup in 2019 SFU nearly defeated them 9-8. Two matchups occurred in 2017 where SFU took a 8-6 win and a 12-7 win to add to the 3-0 win streak. The Red Flash score an average or 9.67 goals when they meet up with the Lakers.
 
There were 12 different goal scorers for the Lakers in the last two games played. Cassie Anderson netted six while Hannah Good added four goals and two assists. Mercyhurst creates good defense behind Sarah O'Keefe and Madison Hoefakker.


SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Gannon will come into this week 2-7 on the season, being 0-2 in conference play. The Knights last played at the Penn State Behrend Tournament, only competing in two of the four scheduled events. They took a win over Penn State Behrend 15-4, and a close loss against Austin College 10-11.
 
This will be the sixth matchup against the Red Flash and knights, where SFU leads three games to two- on a three-game win streak. Most recently Gannon came to Loretto in 2019 where SFU defeated them 11-9, and met up in Lewisburg that same season with the Red Flash notching another win, 8-6. SFU scores an average 8.6 goals when the meet up with the Knights.

Nicole Wiemken is the Knights leading scorer with eight goals on 14 shots for the season, followed by Campbell Ruh with six goals on 13 shots, and Beatrice Popescu rounding out the top three with five goals on the season on nine shots.

THE RED FLASH
Saint Francis continues their season with some last-minute non-conference additions to the season. They head to Erie to take on familiar faces, Mercyhurst and Gannon.
 
SFU is 6-8 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They are coming off a 1-1 weekend when they hosted #6 ranked Michigan and Mount St. Mary's. The Red Flash had their lowest margin of defeat in the programs matchup history against the Wolverines dropping game one, 13-5. They came back against the Mountaineers to win 18-7 which tied their program best of goals in a game.
 
Standout freshman Emese Szucs was the leading scorer for SFU in the last series, finding the back of the net five times. This adds to her season total of 32.
 
Freshman Jenna Handali was the second leading scorer for SFU in Loretto with four, to put her at 21 on the season. Sophomore Taylor Halbauer also tallied four goals the same Sunday to put her at a season total of 29.
 
Sophomore Addison Williams was the next highest scorer for the Red Flash finding the back of the net three times to put her season total at 17.
 
10 of 15 Red Flash players have scored goals in the 14 total games on the season.


THE SCHEDULE
The Red Flash hit the road once again when they head to the Hagerty Event Center – Hallman Aquatics Center in Erie, PA to take on two non-conference matchups at 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

Follow Saint Francis Water Polo on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash.

To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.