WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Pennsylvania College of Technology women's soccer heads into Saturday's United East Conference quarterfinal matches with one goal in mind — win and move on. The third-seeded Wildcats(14-2-2 overall, 7-1 in the UE) hosts sixth-seeded Penn State Abington (6-9-2, 4-4-0 UEC) at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday's winners advance to the conference semifinals, next Tuesday and the Championship match is set for a week from Saturday.
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.
"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."
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 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 quarterfinal field are top-seeded defending champion Penn State Harrisburg (12-5-3, 8-0-0 UEC), second-seed St. Mary's (Md.) College (11-5-2, 8-0-0 UEC), fourth-seed Lancaster Bible College (10-6, 5-3-0 UEC), fifth-seed Penn State Berks (7-8-2, 5-3-0 UEC).
seventh-seed Notre Dame (Md.) University (4-9-2, 3-3-2 UEC) defeated 10th-seed Penn State Brandywine, 5-3, and eighth-seed Wilson College (6-9-3, 2-5-1 UEC) took out ninth-seed Cairn University (2-10-2, 2-5-1 UEC), 2-1 in double overtime to reach Saturday's quarterfinal round.
