BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- The Bloomsburg University men's soccer team dropped its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest to Mercyhurst 3-1 on Friday (Sept. 22) at Steph Pettit Stadium.
 
The Lakers applied pressure in the offensive end from the opening whistle, and it paid off when they opened the scoring in the 24^th minute. After a Bloomsburg infraction, Christopher Makengo teed up a low line drive free kick into a crowd in the box. Hady Sarr deflected the ball past Huskies keeper Taylor Lesage (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) for his second of the year and a 1-0 lead for the visitors. The teams would play back and forth for the remainder of the half, and Mercyhurst would take the 1-0 lead to the break.
 
Mercyhurst was relentless in their offensive pressure to start the second half, and sent Makengo chasing after a ball down the middle of the field in the 54^th minute. With keeper Lesage coming on, a collision resulted and Makengo was awarded a penalty kick. He deked Lesage and doubled his team's lead with his fourth of the season.
 
Heading into the final 10 minutes, Bloomsburg started to push back, moving the ball into the Mercyhurst end. Off a Carter Luckenbaugh (York, Pa./Central York) throw-in, Austin Transue (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) deflected the ball further on through the crowd in the box. Waiting on the other end was Mike Bazadona III (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West), to inject further life into his team with his third of the season in the 87^th minute. The energy was short-lived, as Fjodor vanKipperslui put away his fifth of the year just 73 seconds later off a lead pass from Makengo.
 
Lael Cherry (Castries, St. Lucia/Castries Comprehensive) led the Huskies in the shot department, registering three total and putting two on frame. Transue recorded two, while Anthony Cerda (Budd Lake, N.J./Mount Olive), Duncan Mitchell (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock) and Brett Milden (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional) each fired one. Lesage made five saves in the contest.
 
The Huskies will be back in action Saturday when they take on West Chester on the road. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m.