PCT women’s soccer hopes to end a successful season with an EU title

After a record-breaking undefeated regular season, Pennsylvania College of Technology women’s soccer coach Ian Scheller is now focused on his team winning the ultimate prize: the United East Championship.

Seeded second in the 12-team single-elimination tournament after going 7-0-1 in EU and 14-0-4 overall, Penn College will face Wilson College in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday . Wilson will enter the match as the seventh seed with an overall record of 6-3 EU, 13-3-2 after defeating 10th-seeded Cedar Crest 1-0 in double overtime in their first-round game.

“Our regular season brought many surprises for me and our team. The team has done a great job, constantly working hard to maintain a high level from the first match until now. We are a team that is still very young, with many first and second year players making great strides to make a big impact this season, but we have found a way to find stability despite this inexperience. I believe we will always remember this season with fondness as a springboard for our program.” – Scheller said.

“We were successful in taking advantage of our chances and also limiting the chances of our opponents. We had 13 different goal scorers and managed to limit our opponents’ goals to just six. Our solid defensive performance allowed us to learn from important games, even if our offense wasn’t impressive. – Scheller said.

In UE games, the Wildcats outscored their opponents 40-2. They have an 80-6 advantage in all games.

The team’s statistical leaders include freshman Megan Kurian of Royersford, who scored 13 goals and six assists in UE games; senior Cassie Johnson of Richland with eight goals and six assists; and senior goaltender Nicole Lichtinger of Erie, who allowed just two goals, has a 0.25 goals-against average, 15 saves and an .882 save percentage in UE games.

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

In UE play, Wilson outscored his opponents 33-14, receiving 10 goals and two assists from Halley Shaffer and seven goals and two assists from Annie Smith. Madison Ebersole allowed three goals, had a 1.15 goals-against average, made 18 saves and had a save percentage of .857, while Rebecca Marakovitz allowed eight goals, scored a 2.29 goals-against average, made 20 saves and had a .714 save percentage.

In Tuesday’s playoff victory, Marakovitz played 86 minutes and made four saves, while Ebersole played 19 minutes and had two saves. Smith scored the only goal.

“We know our opponent in the quarterfinals very well, we played against them this year. Even though we played a good game, we know that Wilson can cause us problems because of his good defensive play. We will have to give everything we can to win, and I expect the home advantage will give us motivation on Saturday. – Scheller said.

I think if we continue to keep our goalie clean, we’ll have a chance in almost every game. There are many great teams in the Middle East and I’m 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 an extremely positive year with the emergence of young talent Kurian, Pottstown’s Ashley Gordon, Herndon’s Sierra Klinger and Bethlehem’s Lucy Kontir. These players entered the field as freshmen and made a ridiculous impact from minute one. – 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 are not seniors (yet) and have experience from previous years. this year’s triumphs.

“Our senior management at Johnson and Lichtinger have been the glue that holds the team together, with Nicole recording 11 clean sheets this year and Cass contributing 13 goals and 14 assists (total). This team is a perfect storm of great things and I can’t wait for the rest of the season.

“We finished the campaign undefeated (in the regular season), which is something this team can now claim for the rest of their lives. It was a special season for me as a coach because moments like this don’t come around very often.

“Also, being an alumna and being able to have the most wins of any women’s soccer coach, at least in the NCAA era, is something I’m incredibly proud of. I am proud of this school and the team we have built. Overall, this was an incredibly meaningful season for me and I can’t thank the girls enough for giving me this special season.

I hope we have a few weeks left to build on our achievements even further.”