Pittsburgh, Pa. ? The Robert Morris University women's ice hockey team fought #7 Mercyhurst to the very end, but a late goal in overtime sunk the Colonials thoughts of an upset bid on senior night as the Lakers skated away with a 5-4 victory at the RMU Island Sports Center Saturday night.

Robert Morris celebrated the accomplishments of senior Maria Olausson (Copenhagen, Denmark / Danish National Team) in a ceremony prior to a game that saw the Colonials produce their highest scoring output against the Lakers in the all-time series.

Mercyhurst jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period when Valerie Chouinard connected on a power-play opportunity at the 9:05 mark. The Lakers stretched the lead to 2-0 with a goal from Cassea Schols with 1:21 left in the stanza.

Robert Morris fought back in the second period with back-to-back scores. Junior Megan Picinic (Cliffside Park, N.J. / Princeton Tigerlillies) brought the Colonials within one thanks to a power-play goal at 9:30. Assists went to sophomore Mallory Giambra (Rochester, N.Y. / Rochester Edge) and freshman Kylie Rossler (Regina, Saskatchewan / Regina Rebels).

Freshman Sara O'Malley (Guelph, Ontario / Hamilton Hawks) tied the game at 2-2 just 52 seconds later with a rebound near the left circle at the 10:22 mark. Freshman Maria Stoa (Bloomington, Minn. / Eden Prairie) and junior Morgan Beikirch (Livonia, N.Y. / Buffalo Bison) earned helpers on the play.

Mercyhurst stifled the Colonial momentum with a set of goals to open up the third period. Haylee McMeekin broke the tie on a rifle shot from the point at 3:06, while Kristen Erickson would give the Lakers a 4-2 lead with a tap in on the doorstep at 10:45

RMU countered the Laker goals with a pair of their own in the final three minutes of regulation. Junior Alissa Dorman (Madison, Wisc. / Madison Capitals) cut the lead to one when she bullied through a Mercyhurst defenseman for the net-crashing score at 17:04. Beikirch and sophomore Chelsea Walkland (Pittsford, N.Y. / Rochester Edge) set up a breakaway for Dorman with a couple of crafty passes through the neutral zone.

After a quick time-out following the ensuing face-off, Robert Morris pulled the goaltender in favor of an extra-attacker. Freshman Rossler gave the Colonials new life as she forced overtime with a sniper shot inside the far post just as the clock hit 1:00. Giambra and Stoa picked up their second assists on the goal.

Despite the late rally, RMU would fall in the overtime session as Meghan Agosta took the air out of the building with a top-shelf goal at the 3:10 mark.

Junior Brianne McLaughlin (Sheffield Village, Ohio / Ohio Flames) registered her second consecutive game of 40-plus saves, stopping 44 of 49 shots in 62:47 worth of work.

Mercyhurst outshot Robert Morris, 49-22. Both teams were 1-for-6 on the power-play.

Robert Morris finishes the regular season with an overall record of 12-21-1, while posting a mark of 2-10-0 in league play. The Colonials head into next week's College Hockey America Championship Tournament as the #4-seed, set to take on #1 Wayne State in game one of the semifinal round on Friday, March 7 at the Dwyer Arena in Niagara University, N.Y.