Last season: 15-1-4 overall, 8-1-1 all United East Conference, 7-0-1 UE regular season.
Coach: Ian Scheller, fourth season. Career record: 35-12-12.
Top returnees: (last season stats) Senior forward Sara Darlington, of West Chester (8 goals, 2 assists in 2023); junior defender Makayla Bucks, of Palmyra (2 assists); sophomore forward Megan Kurian, of Royersford (26 goals, 15 assists, 67 points); sophomore defender Ashley Gordon, of Pottstown (4 assists).
Key losses: Cassie Johnson (14 goals, 15 assists); Nicole Lichtinger (W-L-T 11-1-4, 6 goals allowed, 0.38 goals-against average, 37 saves).
Top newcomers: (both freshmen) Forward Ella Garman, of Boiling Springs; midfielder Mikayla Gordon, of Slatington.
Projected starters: Forwards – Kurian, Darlington, and senior Olivia Casella, of South Williamsport. Midfielders – senior Brooke Klinger, of Herndon; senior Wiley Egan, of Northumberland; senior Sara Pecchia, of Jersey Shore; senior Riley Reed, of Elysburg. Defenders – sophomore Sierra Klinger, of Herndon; Ashley Gordon; Bucks. Goalkeeper – Morgan Solano of Shavertown (W-L 4-0, 3 goals allowed, 0.75 goals-against average, 19 saves).
Key players off the bench: Junior midfielder Holly Herbert, of Mount Joy; sophomore midfielder Ava Gamble, of Selinsgrove; Mikayla Gordon; Garman.
Outlook: The Wildcats, led by Kurian, who was a UE first-teamer, Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, are coming off a record-setting year that included the first unbeaten regular season in program history (14-0-1). The squad also returns UE first-teamers in Bucks and Ashley Gordon from a year ago, along with Darlington, who was a UE first-teamer and All-Region second-teamer in 2023.
“We return a strong core, with our first senior-heavy team of my career at Penn College. We have a great group of seven seniors who all started this journey with me back in 2022 and are ready to make an impact this season. We have a solid team from 1-31, with numerous players that can provide energy off the bench, and we have a great group of sophomores who received a lot of minutes last season. Gordon and Kurian are two key players for us, both scooping all-region honors as freshmen, so I am excited to see what they have in store for their sophomore campaigns. We come in with a goal of maintaining our position as a team that is fighting for top-four seeding in our conference playoffs. We want to keep our identity of scoring loads of goals and being stout at the back. We have a very challenging slate of nonconference games this year, so I am excited to be pushed before we begin conference play in late September. Our captains, Klinger, Bucks and Egan, will be tasked with helping us keep this ship on course as we stake a claim at reaching the latter stages of the United East playoffs,” Scheller said.
Inside the UE: Penn State Harrisburg is the defending champion and is favored to repeat according to a preseason poll. (Penn College was picked third.) Fourteen teams will vie for 10 playoff positions. First-round playoffs Oct. 29, quarterfinals Nov. 1, semifinals Nov. 4, championship Nov. 8. NCAA first round begins Nov. 14.
UPCOMING MATCHES/RECORD
Overall: 0-0
UE: 0-0
Friday, Aug. 29 – at Alfred University, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 31 – at Alfred State College, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 3 – at Mount Aloysius College, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 6 – at Elmira College, noon
For additional information about Wildcat Athletics, visit pctwildcats.com .
For more about the United East Conference, visit gounitedeast.com .