ERIE, Pa. – An early first-half goal was the difference as the Bloomsburg women's soccer team fell to Mercyhurst Saturday evening. The Huskies dropped to 0-1-1 on the young season, while the Lakers improved to 1-1-0.
 
The Huskies opened the game with four straight corner kicks but couldn't convert on the set pieces. The Lakers had a pair of shots on target in the first 11 minutes, but graduate student goalie Riley Spingler (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) made a pair of saves to keep Mercyhurst off the board. In the 15th minute, Corinne Morgan got an assist from Madison Hoover and found the back of the net to give Mercyhurst a 1-0 lead.
 
Laci Bell (Baltimore, Md./Sparrows Point) got the first shot off for the Huskies but was turned away by the Laker keeper in the 39th minute. Anika Krasnai (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) had one last attempt in the first half for the Huskies with 2:36 to play before the break, but her shot was off target.
 
The Lakers put the pressure on Spingler early in the second half, but she made three saves in the first 11 minutes to keep it a one-goal game.
 
Lauren Bull (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) had the first shot of the second half for the Huskies in the 66th minute, but it went out wide left, and Alena Totten's (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) attempt off the corner kick in the 69th minute was stopped by the Hurst goalie. Bull had one final attempt on the net in the 85th minute, but it wasn't on target, and the Lakers held on for the 1-0 win.
 
The Lakers out-shot Bloomsburg 13-5 while Spingler made seven saves for the Huskies. Bull led the Huskies with two shots, while Krasnai, Bell, and Totten each finished with one.
 
The Huskies return to action when they officially open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East action on Wednesday when they travel to East Stroudsburg for a 7:00 p.m. contest.