WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Having played in a program-record 76 games, senior Madison Maihle (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) will get the chance to play in one more on Saturday, as her second-half goal helped lift the second-seeded Lycoming College women's soccer team to a 2-1 win over sixth-seeded Moravian University in a Landmark Conference Championship semifinal at UPMC Field on Thursday evening, Nov. 7.
The Warriors, playing in the first home postseason game in program history, improved to 15-2-3 overall and will head to No. 1-seeded Scranton for the Landmark Conference Championship final at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. Scranton, ranked 14th in the nation, beat No. 4-seed Drew, 5-0, in the other conference semifinal Thursday.
After Moravian (9-5-6 overall) tied the game in the second half, the Warriors were able to counter in the 66th minute when Williamson corralled the ball just the top of the 18 and quickly pushed a pass to Maihle on the right side, who pushed the Warriors into the lead as the ball sailed into the back of the net.
The Lycoming defense did the job from there, allowing just one Moravian shot in the final 24 minutes of the game.
Moravian's Sydney DeFranco secured a goal in the 51st minute, assisted by Colby Roach. The game remained tied for almost 15 minutes before the Warriors pulled ahead again.
In the 20th minute, junior Aubrey Williamson (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) snagged the ball off a corner and snapped it to sophomore Kaitlyn Born (Hamilton, N.J. / South Brunswick), who kicked it across the net into the lower left corner for the Warriors' first goal.
Williamson, who leads the conference with nine assists, also broke the program record for career assists, garnering her 19th on the give to Born and her 20th on the pass to Maihle, as she broke the mark of 18 set by Jess Forliano in 1998.
Before the semifinal game, sophomores Mikayla Long (Lewisburg, Pa. / Lewisburg Area) and Ella Magee (Selinsgrove, Pa. / Selinsgrove Area) served as the only athletes in the conference from the same team with more than 20 points, but Williamson now joined her teammates to give the team a trio of 20-point scorers with six goals and nine assists.
In net for the Warriors, junior goalkeeper Riley Block (Hopatcong, N.J. / Morris Catholic) saved four shots launched by the Greyhounds. Moravian goalkeeper Riley Springler claimed nine saves in return.
Lycoming notched 15 shots to Moravian's nine. Magee, Long, and junior Claudia Green (South Williamsport, Pa. / South Williamsport Area) all led the Warriors with three shot attempts each. The Warriors also posted 12 corners, while Moravian recorded three.
