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EAST STROUDSBURG – Mercyhurst scored the final six goals of the game to answer a four-goal run by East Stroudsburg University as the No. 8-ranked Lakers earned a 17-8 victory in PSAC lacrosse on Saturday afternoon at Whitenight Field.

Senior Michelle Mangiaruga scored four goals for ESU (5-5, 3-3), all in a five-minute span in the second half as part of a 5-1 burst that pulled the Warriors within 11-8 with 15 minutes remaining.

Mercyhurst (8-3, 4-2) ended the run with a goal by Elizabeth Tice with just over nine minutes left and Kayla Minner scored three straight goals in a period of 1:17 to give the Lakers breathing room and avoid their third straight loss after setbacks to West Chester and Bloomsburg.

ESU, which was coming off a 15-14 overtime win at No. 10 Gannon on Tuesday, traded goals with Mercyhurst through the first 20 minutes of the contest before a three-goal run gave the visitors a 6-3 lead at halftime.

The Lakers also scored the first four goals of the second half, two by Kimberly Masterton (two goals, three assists), to open a 10-3 advantage before the Warriors started to rally.

Mangiaruga scored her first goal with 19:56 remaining and Anna LeGrett (three goals, one assist) answered for Mercyhurst before the Warriors scored four goals in 97 seconds to get back in the game.

Mangiaruga converted a pair of free position shots with 16:57 and 16:09 on the clock, senior Christine Bradley scored 23 seconds later and Mangiaruga added her fourth goal of the game 24 seconds after that to make the score 11-8, but Mercyhurst held ESU scoreless for the final 15 minutes to close the game.

Senior Molly O'Hara scored her 150th career goal in the first half for ESU, becoming the second player in school history to reach the 150-goal milestone. O'Hara has 28 goals in 10 games this season and scored 56 goals last year to earn the PSAC East Player of the Year award.

Senior Jamie Wesztergom and junior Maura Perrymond also scored first-half goals for the Warriors. Wesztergom had four goals and two assists for a career-high six points in the overtime win at Gannon on Tuesday.

Minner (four goals, one assist), LeGrett, Masterton and Ally Keirn (two goals, three assists) led the way offensively for Mercyhurst, which held a 37-29 advantage in shots. The Lakers were 4-for-8 on free position shots compared to 3-for-14 for the Warriors, and the two teams combined for just 22 turnovers. Jenny Perkins made 17 saves for Mercyhurst while sophomore Katie Zollo and junior Amanda Simms combined for 10 saves for ESU.

ESU is right in the middle of the PSAC playoff race with five games remaining in conference play. The Warriors have two conference games next week, traveling to Millersville on Wednesday and hosting Shippensburg on Saturday.