Meadows Records Hat Trick but Mounties Fall at IUP

INDIANA, PA – Freshman Delaney Meadows recorded her first collegiate hat-trick and Mansfield rallied from a 5-0 deficit to close the gap to 5-4, but couldn't overcome the big first half deficit in dropping a 7-4 decision in a PSAC matchup at IUP Saturday afternoon.

It marked the third time in the first three games of the season the young Mountaineers have dug their way out of deep first deficits in dropping close opening season games to teams that earned spots in last season's PSAC playoffs.

Things didn't go well early for Mansfield which found itself down 5-0 over the first 27 minutes of the game.

Stunned but not shaken, the tenacious Mountaineers again displayed a never-say-die attitude that they exhibited in the first two games of the season and regrouped behind Meadows.

The freshman forward, who scored 75 goals in high school, scored her first goal of the day just two minutes after IUP scored its fifth goal.

She added another in the 40^th minute, this one coming off an assist from Chelsea Hough as the Mountaineers cut the deficit to 5-2 at intermission.

Meadows, who recorded the first hat-trick for a Mountaineer since Erica Moyer and Courtney Spertzel accomplished the feat in an 11-0 win over Ohio Valley in 2009, scored her third goal 14 minutes into the second half on a pass from Kelsey Chapman to close the gap to 5-3. The assist was the ninth in Chapman's career moving out of a tie with Lyndi Keiser (2005-08) and into sole possession of first on the school career assist list.

Mansfield scored its fourth straight goal in the 69^th minute, this one coming on a shot by Danielle Lentz to trail 5-4.

But the Mounties had no more gas in the tank with Kiersten Zerbe scoring her third goal of the afternoon for IUP in the 74^th minute to increase the lead to two. IUP added the game's final goal with less than five minutes to play.

IUP held a 17-5 advantage in shots on goal and had six corner kicks to Mansfield's two.

Freshman Rachel Fox was credited with 10 saves in goal for Mansfield while Jessica Printz had one save for IUP. Lexie Palluconi had two goals for the Crimson Hawks.

The four goals by Mansfield were the most in a loss for the Mountaineers since the program's inception in 2002 and Meadows become the fourth player in school history to record a hat-trick. The four goals were also the most against a conference foe in school history.

Mansfield plays its only non-conference match of the season when the Mountaineers host Daemen on Wednesday.