Pennsylvania College of Technology’s women’s soccer team is preparing for the United East Conference quarterfinals, scheduled for Saturday. The Wildcats, seeded third with a 14-2-2 overall record and 7-1 in conference play, will host sixth-seeded Penn State Abington at 1:30 p.m.
The format of the tournament means that Saturday’s victors will advance to the semifinals on Tuesday, with the championship match planned for the following Saturday. Penn College and Penn State Abington did not face each other during the regular season. However, when comparing results against shared conference opponents, Penn College was undefeated at 5-0 while Abington had three wins and two losses.
Throughout United East competition this season, Penn College has outscored its opponents by a margin of 43-3 and led in shots on goal 138 to 23. Leading scorer Sara Darlington has recorded 15 goals. Other contributors include Ella Garman with seven goals; Olivia Herman and Brooke Klinger with three each; and five players who have scored twice apiece. Sierra Klinger leads in assists with eight.
Coach Ian Scheller reflected on his team’s journey so far: “Our team battled hard, through a tough schedule, taking the opportunities to test ourselves along the way against some strong competition,” Scheller said. “Although we had some unfortunate injuries throughout the year, the other players on the team were able to step up and fill the voids, as needed, in order to allow us to have a successful year. This is our second consecutive 14-win regular season, so we are incredibly proud of our achievement and looking forward to the remaining games.”
Goalkeeper Morgan Solano has allowed just two goals in six conference starts and holds a save percentage of .905. Taylor Brownback has also contributed in goal with a .500 save percentage over two games.
Penn State Abington enters having outscored its conference opponents 18-10 and holding an edge in shots on goal at 66-36. Kaitlyn Frank leads her team with five goals and five assists.
Abington goalkeeper Kayla Kulp has started five times this season while allowing eight goals. Sam Ridler has started three matches with only two goals allowed.
Scheller commented further on his team’s approach: “Our biggest asset is our flexibility. We played many formations, used many combinations in our starting 11, and the team has done a great job adapting to the roles they were given each game. I think this will prepare us for the ever-changing moments of playoff soccer. We hope the experience gained over the course of a tough regular season will bear fruit as we get set to host the UEC quarterfinal,” he said.
He added: “Our goal is to compete. There are no ‘gimmes’ in playoff soccer. If we do not show up and compete, a team may find a way to eliminate us. We start by hosting a good PSU Abington side, which is more than capable of causing us issues. If we progress, we will find ourselves in a playoff semifinal, which is a hurdle we have yet to be able to overcome in my time here. Although we will take it one game at a time, I believe the sky is the limit for this squad and I am optimistic we can take the next step toward being a threat to make a conference final,” Scheller said.
Other teams competing in this round include top-seeded defending champion Penn State Harrisburg (12-5-3), second-seed St. Mary’s (Md.) College (11-5-2), fourth-seed Lancaster Bible College (10-6), fifth-seed Penn State Berks (7-8-2), seventh-seed Notre Dame (Md.) University—which defeated tenth-seed Penn State Brandywine—and eighth-seed Wilson College—which advanced past ninth-seed Cairn University after double overtime.
