Penn College women seek soccer gold

Coming off a record-breaking unbeaten regular season, Pennsylvania College of Technology women’s soccer coach Ian Scheller now has his team’s sights set on the biggest prize: a United East Conference Championship.

Seeded second in the 12-team single-elimination tournament after going 7-0-1 in the UE and 14-0-4 overall, Penn College will host Wilson College in a quarterfinal at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Wilson comes into the match as the seventh seed with a 6-3 UE, 13-3-2 overall record after edging 10th-seeded Cedar Crest 1-0 in double-overtime in a first-round match on Tuesday.

Entering the playoffs, Penn State Harrisburg, 7-0-1 UE and 8-5-4 overall, earned the top seed with Penn College second, St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 7-0-1, 15-1-3, third; Penn State Berks, 6-1-1, 7-8-2, fourth; Penn State Abington, 5-1-2, 10-5-2, fifth; Lancaster Bible College, 5-3, 6-5-4, sixth; Wilson, seventh; Cairn University, 5-3, 5-8-1, eighth; Bryn Athyn, 3-4-1, 6-8-1, ninth; Cedar Crest, 3-4-1, 5-7-2, 10th; Rosemont, 2-6, 6-10, 11th; and St. Elizabeth University, 2-6, 5-9-1, 12th.

This season in the UE, soccer was played in an unbalanced schedule, with each program competing in eight conference contests. Using a points system (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss), the teams with the highest point total earned the top seeds in the tournament. All ties in points were broken using tie-breaking procedures, according to the conference website.

In Tuesday’s other first-round matches, Penn State Abington blanked St. Elizabeth College 13-0, Lancaster Bible College defeated Rosemont 5-0 and Bryn Athyn defeated Cairn 2-0.

Saturday’s other quarterfinal matchups have Bryn Athyn at Penn State Harrisburg, Lancaster Bible College at St. Mary’s (Md.) College and Penn State Abington at Penn State Berks. The semifinals will be next Wednesday and the championship is on Nov. 9.

“Our regular season has been one that has offered many surprises for me and our team. The team has done a wonderful job, continuously working hard to keep the standard high from the first game all the way to now. We are a team that is still very young, with many freshmen and sophomores stepping up to make a big impact this season, but we have found a way to find stability despite this inexperience. This season is one that I believe we will always look back on fondly as a springboard for our program,” Scheller said.

“Soccer is very simple. You need to put the soccer ball in the net more times than your opponents. This season, we have done just that. We have found success in taking our chances and also limiting the opportunities for our opponents. We have had 13 different goal-scorers and managed to limit our opponents to just six goals. Our stout defensive record has allowed us to learn during big games, even when our offense hasn’t been clicking. Our defenders, goalkeepers and midfielders have played their roles well in our system, always doing what is required,” Scheller said.

In UE matches, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 40-2. In all matches, they hold an 80-6 advantage.

The team’s statistical leaders include freshman Megan Kurian of Royersford, with 13 goals and six assists in UE play; senior Cassie Johnson of Richland, with eight goals and six assists; and senior goalkeeper Nicole Lichtinger of Erie, who has allowed just two goals, owns a 0.25 goals-against average, made 15 saves and a 0.882 save percentage in conference matches.

When the two teams met during the regular season, the Wildcats won 6-0.

In UE play, Wilson has outscored its opponents 33-14, getting 10 goals and two assists from Halley Shaffer and seven goals and two assists from Annie Smith. In the goal, Madison Ebersole has allowed three goals, owns a 1.15 goals-against average, made 18 saves and has a 0.857 save percentage, while Rebecca Marakovitz has allowed eight goals, has 2.29 goals-against average, made 20 saves and has a 0.714 save percentage.

In its Tuesday playoff win, Marakovitz played 86 minutes and made four saves, while Ebersole played 19 minutes and had two saves. Smith scored the lone goal.

“Our opponent for the quarterfinals is one that we are very familiar with, having played them this year. Although we were able to put in a strong performance, we know Wilson is capable of causing us issues due to their ability to be stout defensively. We will need to be at our best to win, and I expect home-field advantage to give us a boost on Saturday,” Scheller said.

“I think if we can continue to keep our goalkeeper clean, we will have a chance in almost any match. There are many great teams in the United East, and I am excited to see how our young team handles the adversity that comes with a playoff atmosphere,” Scheller said.

“No matter what happens, the coaching staff and I believe this is a year that has been overwhelmingly positive, with the emergence of young talents Kurian, Ashley Gordon of Pottstown, Sierra Klinger of Herndon and Lucy Kontir of Bethlehem. These players have come in as freshmen and made a ridiculous impact from the first minute,” Scheller said.

The third-year coach continued, “We have also found stability in returning sophomores Wiley Egan of Northumberland, Brooke Klinger of Herndon, Sara Pecchia of Jersey Shore and Makayla Bucks of Lebanon, who aren’t seniors (yet) have experience from the previous year’s triumphs.

“Our senior leadership of Johnson and Lichtinger have been the glue that keeps the team together, with Nicole recording 11 clean sheets this year and Cass adding 13 goals and 14 assists (overall). This team is a perfect storm of great things and I am looking forward to the remainder of the season.

“We wrapped up an undefeated (regular-season) campaign, which is something that this team now can claim for the rest of their lives. This has been a special season for me as a coach because moments like this do not come around too often. Undefeated teams are remembered for a reason and being able to claim we competed day in and day out over an 18-game season, where 12 of our opponents have qualified for their conference playoffs, is a special achievement.

“Also, being an alumni and being able to achieve the most wins of any women’s soccer coach, at least in the NCAA era, is something I am incredibly proud of. I have immense pride for this school and the team we’ve built. It’s been an incredibly meaningful season for me overall, and I cannot thank the girls enough for giving me this special season, so far.

“Hopefully, we have a few weeks left to take our accomplishments even further.”

Record/Schedule/Series History
Overall: 14-0-4
UE: 7-0-1
Saturday, Nov. 2 — host United East Quarterfinal vs. Wilson College, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 6 — United East Semifinals, TBA 
Saturday, Nov. 9 — United East Championship, TBA

For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.
For more about the United East, visit the conference website.