Knights come up short
Taylor’s two goals enough as Mercyhurst Prep prevails 2-1 in Region 3
RUSSELL — It was Senior Day for the Eisenhower Knights on Monday, and although Eisenhower dropped a close 2-1 Region 3 game to Mercyhurst Prep, they were neck and neck the entire game.
Prep’s Molly Taylor scored both of the visitors’ goals in the game. She scored the game’s first goal less than four minutes into the game to give Prep an early 1-0 lead.
Both teams moved the ball well, but it was Knights senior goalkeeper Tracey Jakubczak who set the tone as she had eight saves on the day and held the Lakers scoreless in the second half.
Eisenhower did its part, but could not find the back of the net as several shots were just off the mark.
The score appeared to be headed for halftime with the Lakers leading 1-0, but Taylor was able to sneak a shot past Jakubczak with one minute remaining in the half to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead.
The Knights kept battling for a good shot and Jordan Jacob scored for Eisenhower with 1:44 remaining to narrow the score to 2-1.
The Lakers then played keep away and were able to run the clock out for the win.
The first game between the teams, a 5-2 Mercyhurst win, was a very physical game and penalty cards were issued in that contest, but Eisenhower head coach Faith Johnson was proud of her team’s efforts.
“I am really proud of the girls,” she said. “We knew it was going to be a battle, but we came into this game with the right mentality and gave them everything we had. Hopefully we can carry this into our few remaining games.”
The Knights did a good job of keeping the ball away from the Lakers and Johnson was pleased with how her midfielders played.
“I thought Rose Rondeau and Callan Gigliotti played very well and really helped us control the game,” Johnson said. “It’s games like this that really show how much we’ve improved as a team.”
Eisenhower has had quite a turnaround from last season and Johnson was quick to praise her seniors.
“We are really going to miss our seniors next season, Callin Gigliotti, Lexi Scholar, Tracey Jakubczak, Sophia Martin and Emily Grosch,” Johnson said. “Each one of them have played a vital role in our improvement this season. All of them have helped me tremendously in my first year of coaching; their insight has been crucial.”
Mercyhurst Prep improves to 9-8 on the season, while Eisenhower’s record falls to 8-7-1. The Knights are back in action Wednesday when they travel to Erie for a 5:30 p.m. game with Iroquois.