Saint Francis rallied from a 10-6 deficit to tie the game at 10 with 81 seconds left, but Mercyhurst won the ensuing draw control and scored the decisive goal with 24.5 seconds on the clock. The Red Flash won the last draw of the afternoon but could not get a shot off before time expired.
FLASH MOMENTS
Lacey started the 4-0 run with a tally at 3:49 in the fourth quarter before
Mak Patten found the back of the net with 3:05 on the clock. Lacey completed her hat trick and cut the margin to 10-9, nine seconds later. Freshman
Bella Tesche then drove down the field and found a streaking Alden with 1:21 left to even the score at 10. It was Tesche's first career point.
In a low-scoring first half, Saint Francis jumped to a 2-1 edge in the first 30 minutes thanks to Lacey (14:02, first quarter) and
Elizabeth Mahmud (9:32, second quarter) markers.
The Red Flash then outscored the Lakers 3-1 in the third quarter to take a 5-2 advantage going into the final 15 minutes. Roncarati (14:14), Alden (5:27), and
Samantha Hewitt, with the aid of fellow freshman
Heather Delbone (3:43), each twinkled the twine in the frame.
Roncarati scored her second-afternoon goal at 10:46 in the fourth quarter.
FLASH NUGGETS
Lacey and Roncarati lead the team with 19 goals and four assists for 23 points. Lacey registered her second hat trick of the season and fifth game with at least two goals. Roncarati also posted her fifth multiple-goal performance this season. Alden notched her first two-goal game this season and seventh of her career.
Victoria DiRenno had a team-high five draw controls, while
Chyler Espino tallied four draw controls and two ground balls. With her four draw controls, Espino currently sits in seventh place on the draw control list with 108 draws. She also inched closer to 100 ground balls in her career, currently standing in eighth place at 92 ground balls.
Taylor Coughlin turned away nine shots.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday against Stonehill. Game time is 1 p.m.
