Pennsylvania College of Technology soccer teams go into Saturday’s United East Conference quarterfinal matches with similar goals — win and move on.
The third-seeded women (14-2-2 overall and 7-1 in the UE) host sixth-seeded Penn State Abington (6-9-2/4-4) at 1:30 p.m., while the fifth-seeded men’s team (9-6-2/4-2-2) travels to fourth-seeded Notre Dame (Md.) University (4-6-4/4-2-2) for a noon encounter.
Saturday’s winners advance to the conference semifinals, next Tuesday for the women and Wednesday for the men. Championship matches for both the men and women are set for a week from Saturday.
MEN
When the Wildcats hosted Notre Dame on Sept. 4, the teams fought to a scoreless tie, with Penn College taking six shots on goal and Notre Dame taking four. Penn College goalkeeper Justin Crismale, of Glen Gardner, New Jersey, had four saves, and Notre Dame goalie David Von Mentlen had six.
“At the beginning of this year, we were in a bit of an unknown as we welcomed in so many new faces after graduating 13 seniors. As a team, we quickly jelled and were able to get a few key results early that helped build confidence and momentum. That confidence helped us start conference play on the front foot and put us in a good spot where we were able to finish fifth (losing out on the fourth seed) by tiebreaker,” Penn College coach Tyler Mensch said.
In conference matches, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 14-9 and led in shots on goal 69-34. Logan Pietrzak, of Philadelphia, leads the offense with four goals, while Garrett Gill, of Florida, New York, and Silas Miller, of Mechanicsburg, each have scored twice. Jimmy Friedman, of East Greenville; Sean McGroarty, of Yardley; and Elliott Rattiram, of Landisville, each have two assists.
In the goal, Crismale allowed nine goals, has a 1.20 goals-against average, and owns a 0.727 save percentage and a 4-2-2 record.
Notre Dame has been outscored 14-12 in its United East outings, with four players doing all of the scoring: Tassilo Lehmkuhl (five goals), Athanasios Ziliaskopoulos (three goals), and Martin Rasiwala and Cristo Sanchez Cabrera (two goals each).
In four starts, Von Mentlen has allowed 11 goals, has a 2.30 goals-against average, owns a 0.732 save percentage and is 2-2-1. Mateo Gularte started twice, didn’t allow a goal, has a 0.00 goals-against average, owns a 1.000 save percentage and is 2-0.
“We need to continue to be solid defensively. We have done a really good job of limiting teams to dangerous scoring chances, and if we can continue to play lockdown defense, we have an opportunity to advance. Playoff matches are usually tight and low scoring, so the longer we can hold teams scoreless, the chances of us being able to find a goal rise significantly,” Mensch said.
“Offensively, we have not been scoring a lot in the flow of play. We need to continue to draw fouls that lead to dangerous set pieces for us. We have been a really good set piece team and I'm hopeful that will continue during the playoffs,” Mensch said.
“I say it every year, playoff soccer is always about surviving and advancing. If we play sound defense and capitalize on our chances, we have the potential to go on a run,” the coach added.
Also in the field (overall/UE records entering playoffs in parentheses) are top-seeded two-time defending champion St. Mary’s (Md.) College (12-5-1/8-0), second-seed Penn State Harrisburg (9-6-2/7-0-1), third-seed Penn State Abington (8-6-4/6-1-1), sixth-seed Lancaster Bible College (8-6-3/4-3-1), seventh-seed Cairn University (12-12/3-4-1), eighth-seed Valley Forge (4-10-3/2-4-2), ninth-seed Penn State Berks (3-14-1/2-5-1) and 10th-seed Wilson College (3-9-5/1-4-3).
WOMEN
Penn College and Abington didn’t meet during the regular season, although against common UE opponents, the Wildcats were 5-0 and Abington was 3-2, with the differences being Penn College blanking Notre Dame 4-0 and Abington losing 2-1, and Penn College topping Lancaster Bible College 4-1 and Abington losing 5-2.
In United East matches, Penn College has outscored its opponents 43-3 and led in shots on goal 138-23. Sara Darlington, of West Chester, paces the offense with 15 goals, while Ella Garman, of Boiling Springs, has seven, Olivia Herman, of Barto, and Brooke Klinger, of Herndon, both have three, and five other players have two goals each. Sierra Klinger, of Herndon, leads with eight assists, while Ashley Gordon, of Pottstown, has five, and Mikayla Gordon, of Slatington, and Rylee Oliphant, of Red Lion, each have four assists.
Goalkeeper Morgan Solano, of Shavertown, in six UE starts, has allowed two goals, has a 0.38 goals-against average, owns a 0.905 save percentage and has a 5-1 record. Taylor Brownback, of Birdsboro, has allowed one goal, has a 0.50 goals-against average, owns a 0.500 save percentage and has a 2-0 record.
Abington has outscored its UE foes 18-10 and leads in shots on goal 66-36. Kaitlyn Frank leads the team with five goals, while Nayeska Ravelo and Meghan McGinley both have scored three. Frank also leads with five assists and Ravelo has four.
In the goal, Kayla Kulp has started five times, allowing eight goals, owns a 2.00 goals-against average, 0.692 save percentage and has a 2-3 record. Sam Ridler has three starts with two goals allowed, 0.53 goals-against average, 0.800 save percentage and has a 2-1 record.
“Our team battled hard, through a tough schedule, taking the opportunities to test ourselves along the way against some strong competition,” coach Ian 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,” the coach said.
“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,” Scheller said.
“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.
Also in the field (overall/UE records entering playoffs in parentheses) are top-seeded defending champion Penn State Harrisburg (12-5-3/8-0), second-seed St. Mary’s (Md.) College (11-5-2/8-0), fourth-seed Lancaster Bible College (10-6/5-3), fifth-seed Penn State Berks (7-8-2/5-3), seventh-seed Notre Dame (Md.) University (4-9-2/3-3-2), eighth-seed Wilson College (6-9-3/2-5-1), ninth-seed Cairn University (2-10-2/2-5-1) and 10th-seed Penn State Brandywine (6-7-1/2-6).
For additional information about Wildcat Athletics, visit pctwildcats.com. For more about the United East, visit gounitedeast.com.