The Penn College men’s lacrosse team, with a record of 13-4, is entering the United East Conference playoffs for the sixth straight season under coach Jordan Williams, according to an Apr. 29 announcement.
This achievement matches the program’s most successful regular season set just last year and highlights the team’s consistency in recent years. The Wildcats compete in the United East Conference and participate in college athletics, as reported by the official website. Home games are hosted at UPMC Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
In previous seasons, Penn College finished second during their inaugural campaign in 2021 and reached conference semifinals or finals each subsequent year. This season included a milestone win over SUNY Morrisville—their first victory against that opponent after six meetings—and a close game against St. Mary’s (Md.) College, where they led after three quarters before ultimately losing by three goals.
Looking ahead to this year’s playoffs, Penn College is seeded second and will face third-seeded Pitt-Bradford at home on Wednesday night. The winner could potentially meet top-seeded St. Mary’s again if both teams advance to Saturday’s title match. During regular-season encounters, Penn College defeated Pitt-Bradford decisively while St. Mary’s won against Cairn University.
Coach Jordan Williams said: “Pitt-Bradford is a tough opponent that has a lot of skill. They play hard, and they are well coached. We found success against them, but if we walk in thinking the game is over, we are going to be in a battle.” He added: “The game plan and focus stay the same regardless of who we are playing — make them focus on what we do, not what they do… If that is the case, we go in with a second chance at St. Mary’s to get some redemption…and win our first conference championship.”
Off-field adversity has also shaped this year’s team following the death of former teammate Sam Nice earlier this month due to brain cancer. Williams said: “Our young men and program have been thrown a lot of adversity this year with the loss of a teammate…but they are coming together to play in honor of Sam…As a coach I am extremely proud of how emotionally tough and resilient they are…One of our major themes for this year has been ‘non sibi sed aliis,’ …meaning ‘not for oneself but for others.'”
Williams concluded: “While our conference unfortunately lost our automatic qualifier this year to the NCAA all of our original goals as a program are obtainable if we can continue to play our game….We are excited to compete for each other for Sam and for the opportunity to go where no PCT lacrosse team has gone before.”
