Three different seniors scored goals on Senior Night and the #15 Misericordia University women's soccer team clinched the #1-seed and home-field advantage in the Freedom Conference tournament, defeating King's College, 5-2, on Friday night at Mangelsdorf Field.
 
Nikki Hensel, Laura Roney and Sam Helmstetter each scored in their final home conference game, while Megan Lannigan and Erin McGreal also added goals for the Cougars.
 
Hensel got the Cougars on the board early, bending a shot from near the left corner just inside the far post to give MU a 1-0 lead just 92 seconds into the game.
 
The score remained 1-0 until the 14^th minute, when King's keeper Lauren Duguid couldn't hold onto a McGreal blast and Roney cleaned it up to extend the lead to 2-0. The goal moved Roney into a tie for fifth place on the Cougars' career points list with 95.
 
Just six minutes later, Helmstetter dropped a pass to Lannigan, who ripped a shot for 40 yards out that sailed past Duguid into the upper 90, extending the Cougars lead to 3-0.
 
“Megan's probably one of our best shooters from distance at picking a sport and hitting it,” said MU head coach Mark Stauffer. “It's never automatic from that far out, but if the opposing goalkeeper comes off her line, she has the confidence in her ability to make that shot.”
 
The Cougars gave up a goal in the 26^th minute when Ivy Nulton made a great run past the MU defense, closing the gap to 3-1.
 
“Give King's full credit tonight,” said Stauffer. “They played very hard tonight and were hustling all over the field. Their work earned them their goals.”
 
Helmstetter got on the board in the 34^th minute, beating a pair of defenders to poke home her team-leading 14^th goal of the season and give MU a 4-1 halftime lead.
 
In the second half,  King's scored first, as Sarah Borajkiewicz took advantage of a direct kick opportunity, bending it past Caitlyn Sweeney into the far side of the goal to make the score 4-2.
 
“I think that we got a little too comfortable tonight,” said Stauffer. “Once we got the 3-0 lead, we never really put the pedal back down again. We played knowing that we did enough to win but not to our potential. That's not going to be good enough if we hope to continue advancing through the postseason.”
 
The Cougars would have one more response, as McGreal bent another ball from near the MU goal line past Duguid to close the scoring at 5-2.
Prior to the match, the team honored it's five seniors: Hensel, Helmstetter, Roney, Bridget Fortier and Caitlyn Sweeney.
 
“They're a great group,” said Stauffer of his seniors.  “I don't think they're a  group that you can replace. You just have to hope that the underclassmen are learning from the experiences and the good things that they are doing and that it just develops and maintains the culture that we have. As important as the numbers on the field are, we will be losing great people, great students, and great leaders. It's tough to replace kids like that.”
 
The seniors also shared some of their thoughts about their time here.
 
“It went way too quickly,” said Hensel of her time at MU. “It's definitely been the time of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm so thankful for this team.”
 
Fortier continued those sentiments.
 
“Not to take anything away from them, but I don't think that other teams have quite the bond that we do. We eat together, do things outside of soccer together. It's not just a team thing. We are a family, and I'm thankful to have that.”
 
Sweeney, who made four saves in goal in the win, also expressed her thanks for her decision to play soccer after spending three years with the MU women's basketball team.
 
“I just wish I would have played all four years instead of just the two,” Sweeney said. “I'm thankful for the opportunity to play and for these girls who have become my best friends.”
 
While this may have been MU's final regular-season home contest, the seniors made it clear that the season is far from over.
 
“We just want to go as far as we can,” said Helmstetter. “We need to keep our confidence up. Our focus right now is to finish our regular season and then on winning a Freedom title.”
 
“At this point, it's all about keeping our heads in the game,” Roney continued. “The season is getting long and tiring and wearing on our bodies, but it's all about keeping a strong mental attitude and realizing that one letdown can lead to huge regret.”
 
The Cougars return to action at Scranton on Wednesday before closing their Freedom and regular-season slate at Manhattanville on Saturday. Following those games, the Cougars will host the #4 seed in the opening round of the Freedom tournament.
 
“We always want to make sure that we are playing at home in November,” said Stauffer. “It's nice to have the #1-seed locked up with games still left to be played. It gives our opponents the added task of beating us at our place. Hopefully we can get a lot of kids some extra time this week and have everyone fresh and healthy.”