The Misericordia University football team put together one of its strongest defensive efforts of the season in a tough 17-0 loss to Lebanon Valley, Saturday afternoon at Mangelsdorf Field.

Nick Yeager led the Cougars with 10 tackles and Tyler Collins added nine stops.

Tom Anderson had four tackles, including one for a loss and a sack.

Brady Williams led the Cougars with 48 yards rushing before leaving with an injury.  Mark Rainey added 33 yards on the ground and Josh Dieter had four catches for 34 yards.

Lebanon Valley took a 3-0 lead with a 36-yard field goal midway through the first quarter and used a 70-yard bomb on the first play of their next possession to stretch the lead to 10-0.

The score stood until the Dutchmen put together a 66-yard scoring drive with 10:14 left in the fourth quarter.

In between, the Cougars drove deep into Lebanon Valley territory twice, but came up empty both times.

Misericordia forced a three-and-out on the game's first possession, but fumbled on its second play from scrimmage.  With LVC driving, the Cougars scooped a fumble and had a nice return before fumbling the ball back to the Dutchmen at the MU 29.

The MU defense held Leb Val to a field goal with 6:44 to go in the first quarter.

Down 10-0, the Cougars took over at their own 31 less than a minute into the second quarter and put together their best drive of the day.

Williams connected with Justin Connolly on a quick out for 16 yards to the MU 47.

Facing third-and-15, Williams hit Dieter on a slant across the middle for a first down at the Leb Val 34.

Rainey had two runs up the middle and Williams gained six yards on a draw to the Dutchmen 23.

Three more runs by Williams gave the Cougars a first-and-goal at the eight, but Leb Val ended the threat with an interception in the end zone on second down.

The Dutchmen threatened at the end of the first half, but Damian Diaz broke up a Hail Mary pass in the end zone to end the first half.

Down 17-0, the Clayton Vleck's 28-yard kickoff return gave MU the ball near midfield early in the fourth quarter.

Facing third-and-seven, Aaron Barry hit Isaiah Williams on a slant for 27 yards to the LVC 22 yard line.

A quick pass to Rainey gave the Cougars a first down at the 11 yard line and Dieter's seven-yard grab on first down moved the ball to the four.

The drive stalled on three straight incompletions and the Dutchmen ran out the clock on the ensuing drive.