ERIE, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Mercyhurst College women's lacrosse team suffered just its second loss of the season Tuesday afternoon, falling to eighth-ranked and No. 3-seeded Gannon, 15-9, in the first round of the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament. 

The Lakers fall to 16-2 on the season and 7-1 at home while Gannon improves to 12-6 and advances to play the Eastern Division's top seed, West Chester, on Friday, Apr. 30 in West Chester, Pa.

Mercyhurst will now await word from the NCAA Selection Committee of a possible at-large bid to the national tournament. Selections will be announced on Sunday, May 9 on CBS College Sports.

Gannon bounced back from a pair of one-goal losses to Mercyhurst with its largest margin of victory over the Lakers since 2005. The Golden Knights never trailed and led by as many as eight goals at one point.

GU took control of the game in the first half, converting 5-for-7 on free-position attempts and outscoring their hosts, 8-4, through the first 30 minute of play.

Both teams opened the game with an exchange of goals, as Mary Eshnour and Molly SanJule put GU out to a 2-0 lead before sophomore Ally Keirn scored twice to even the slate. After another pair from Gannon and a strike by freshman Alisha Catalino, Gannon started to pull away, scoring four times on free-position attempts to make it an 8-3 game. Freshman Melissa Leonhard broke up the run and cut the deficit to four with 20 seconds remaining in the half.

The Golden Knights stretched the score to 12-4 in the second, as Rachel DerCola netted her first and Taryn Millerd recorded a natural hat trick, giving her six goals through just 41 minutes of play. She would find back of the net again to finish with a game-high seven goals and eight points.

Despite the deficit, Mercyhurst closed out the game on a 5-3 run with goals from Catalino, Keirn, sophomore Laura Trenti and two from Leonhard.

Offensively, Keirn led the way with three goals and an assist for four points. Catalino and Leonhard each had three points apiece, with Catalino recording a hat trick and Leonhard netting two goals and a helper. Junior Kimberly Masterton assisted on three scores, while senior Kristie Jennings set up two others.

Senior Maeve McGoff suffered the loss with four saves and 13 goals allowed over a span of 50:53. Sophomore Jenny Perkins closed out the game with two goals allowed.

Gannon outshot Mercyhurst 26-15, held a 15-13 advantage in ground balls and went 7-for-9 on free-position attempts. Both teams recorded 13 draw controls apiece.