WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — After finishing a school-record 7-1-1 in conference play to earn a first-round bye for the second straight year, the Lycoming College women's soccer team will open the Landmark Conference Championship in a semifinal as the No. 2 seed, welcoming No. 3 seed Catholic University of America to UPMC Field on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the game cost $10 for adults (18+) and $5 for both minors (ages 10-17). Landmark Conference students, faculty and staff can enter free with their campus ID. Tickets may be purchased online through Hometown Ticketing (Online tickets include a $1 processing fee). Tickets are also available at the gate with cash accepted.
The winner of that matchup will move on to the championship final to take on the winner of No. 5 seed Susquehanna University and No. 1 seed University of Scranton, a match that will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Warriors are looking to reach the conference finals for the second straight year after making it for the first time in program history last season.
The Warriors enter the postseason following a record-breaking 17-1-1 regular season that featured a school record for wins, a program-best second-place finish in Landmark Conference play, and a 12-0 start. Lycoming also obliterated the program record with 76 goals, nearly double that of any other Landmark program.
More records were set by sophomore Ella Magee (Selinsgrove, Pa. / Selinsgrove Area), who set school records and led the Landmark with 13 assists and 45 points, while adding 16 goals, which ranks second in program history and also led the conference. Junior Mikayla Long (Lewisburg, Pa. / Lewisburg Area) and first year Gabriella Rabinowitz (Sewell, N.J. / Washington Township) each scored ten goals, tying for second in the conference, while seniors Norah Mosley (Robbinsville, N.J. / Allentown) and Aubrey Williamson (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) were second and third in the league in assists with eight and six, respectively. On the back end, senior keeper Riley Block (Hopatcong, N.J. / Morris Catholic) led the conference with an .832 save percentage and finished third in saves per game (4.65), while posting five shutouts.
Catholic enters the contest coming off a convincing 3-0 win over Drew on Saturday, Nov. 1. The Cardinals scored the third-most goals (35), while surrendering the second-fewest scores (13) in the conference on their way to a 10-6-3 mark. Individually, Caroline Aponte scored six goals and added four assists, finishing tied for eighth in the conference with 16 points. Keeper Ava Reiger allowed just .688 goals per match, second-best in the league, while tying for the league high with eight shutouts.
In the teams' regular-season meeting, the Warriors were outshot by the Cardinals, 27-7, including 12-3 on shots on goal. However, Block stopped all 12 of those shots and junior Julia Bidelspach (Myerstown, Pa. / ELCO) scored less than two minutes before halftime as the Warriors grinded out a 1-0 victory.
NCAA soccer rules change for postseason play with the addition of overtime and penalty kick shootouts. If the teams are tied at the end of a regulation, 90-minute game, then the teams will play up to two 10-minute periods of golden goal overtime, with any goal ending the match. If neither team scores in the overtime periods, the teams will advance to a shootout. Each team takes five shots, which must be taken by different players, and the team that makes more successful kicks is declared the victor. Shoot-outs finish as soon as one team posts an insurmountable lead. After five rounds, additional rounds are added until there is a winner.
