The Mercyhurst men’s soccer team kicked off the past week with a big win against Shepherd and Gannon over the weekend.

The Lakers are having a great start to the 2022 season and have proven to be an offensive force holding onto their spot at the top of the PSAC West standings. The team is currently ranked number six in the nation and has continuously dominated their opponents on both sides of the pitch.

The Lakers are currently 6-0 in the conference and have improved their overall record to 12-0-1 in the 2022 season. Remaining undefeated is a daunting task but the Lakers are not stopping at their recent success.

Wednesday the team collected their seventh straight shut-out against Shepherd 8-0. The Lakers applied pressure straight from the kickoff with 22 total shots, and had goals from sophomore Lockie Fay (2), sophomore Nic Munch, sophomore Sean Kerrigan, senior Tom Bar-ry (2), and sophomore Thomas Binkowski.

Kerrigan, the midfielder from Sligo, Ireland has 25 points this season and Wednesday had a goal and assist with five shots. Kerrigan said after Wednesday’s game,

“I feel like it was a good way to go into the weekend, scoring eight goals and an all-around good performance from the whole squad. I think it’s important to stay focused though, as we’ve got an import-ant game to look forward to on the weekend.”

Despite leading the team with 10 goals in 11 games played, the young midfielder is always working for the betterment of the team.

“Of course, it is nice to be the leading point scorer but it’s a team sport and if it weren’t for good team performances week in and week out, I wouldn’t be able to make these contributions,” said Kerrigan.

“My mindset is always to get a little bit better everyday, I work on my mistakes I made in the previous game and keep learn-ing from my teammates and my coaches as much as possible.”

The Mercyhurst soccer team has been a dominant team all season long on the pitch and Kerrigan described going into the weekend versus Gannon,

“We’ve been preparing well as a team with two good sessions after our win on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to a good game against a good team and hopefully we come out on top.”

Over the weekend the team had their away game at Gannon University. The crosstown rivalry match-up against the Golden Knights was a major battle for the first spot in PSAC West.

The final from Saturday’s match was Mercyhurst 4 Gannon 0. The Lakers locked down PSAC leading goal scorer and Gannon midfielder Sergio Del Castillo. Mercyhurst’s defense has clearly been a key to the team’s success through stopping the opposing teams top scorers.

Senior defenseman Martin Grzywa has started every game and played over 270 minutes. He has played a crucial role thus far. After Saturday’s win Grzwya described the feeling saying,

“It gives us confidence to know that when we play our game and stick to our game plan, we shouldn’t be afraid of anyone. We can’t get too high though and have to focus on the next game.” Grad student goalkeeper Jonathan Gomes had many crucial saves for the Lakers against