GREENSBURG, Pa. - The Seton Hill University men's soccer team had its comeback attempt fall short against the Mercyhurst Lakers, as the Griffins fell, 3-2, Wednesday afternoon in their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opener at Dick's Sporting Goods Field in Greensburg.

The Griffins suffered their first loss of the season, fell to 2-1-1 on the season and are now 0-1 in the PSAC. Meryhurst improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

The Lakers struck quickly, scoring in just the second minute of the game when Andrew Bennett's free-kick found the foot of Michael Blancato to give Mercyhurst the early 1-0 lead. Alex Dyson evened the match a 1-1 when he reached out and directed a cross from Louis Mason into the back of the net. However, Christopher Mankengo gave the visitors the lead once again, winning a one on one with the SHU goalkeeper. 

In the second half, Fjodor vanKipperslui increased the Lake lead to 3-1, scoring an unassisted goal in the 76th minute. Joffe Bradley started the Griffin rally when he picked up a loose ball and found paydirt to get his team back to striking distance, 3-2. However, it was too little, too late as the Lakers held on for the 3-2 win.

For the game, Mercyhurst outshot Seton Hill, 21-14 (11-6 on goal). The Lakers held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 6-5, while the Seton Hill players were whistled for 14 fouls compared to eight for Mercyhurst. Austin Iddon had six saves in the net for Seton Hill with Martin Jarc grabbed four saves for the Lakers. Both goalkeepers played all 90 minutes.

Seton Hill will now step out of PSAC play when they take on Salem International University on September 16th at Dick's Sporting Goods Field before taking on Urbana University (Ohio) on September 19th in Greensburg. Both games will have live stats and video on the Seton Hill Stretch Internet Portal.