Lyco women’s soccer set to host first postseason game in program history
After a regular season in which the Lycoming College women’s soccer team won a school-record 14 games to earn the No. 2 seed in the Landmark Conference Championship, the team will host its first postseason game in program history, a conference semifinal against No. 6 Moravian, on Thursday at 7 p.m. at UPMC Field.
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 can be purchased online. Lycoming season passes will not be accepted for Landmark Conference Championship events.
The winner of the Thursday’s game at UPMC Field will face the winner of the other Landmark Conference semifinal between No. 1 Scranton and No. 4 Drew, which will occur at the same time as the Williamsport semifinal.
The Warriors (14-2-3 overall, 6-1-2 Landmark Conference) finished the regular season ranked second in the Landmark Conference in scoring (2.053) and saves (103). The Warriors led the conference with 123 corner kicks and finished fourth with a .842 save percentage.
Five players — sophomore Ella Magee (9), sophomore and Lewisburg grad Mikayla Long (9), junior Aubrey Williamson (6), junior Abigail Umhoefer (4), and sophomore Julia Bidelspach (4) — are amongst the conference’s top 15 goal-scorers. Magee and Umhoefer are also tied for third in the league with three game-winning goals a piece.
Williamson leads the conference with seven assists and four other Warriors also rank in the top 15 in the Landmark: sophomore Kaitlyn Born (6), senior Haley Schafer (5), Magee (3), and Long (3).
The duo of Long and Magee are the only pair in the conference from the same team with more than 20 points, while Williamson is just a point away from the mark, having posted six goals and seven assists.
Junior goalkeeper Riley Block leads the conference with a .904 save percentage and is fourth in goals against average (0.633) and shutouts per game (0.333). She is 10-1-2 this season.
Moravian beat No. 3 seed Elizabethtown, 1-0, in double overtime, when Carly Pyatt scored with 4:50 remaining in the period.
Moravian keeper Riley Spingler is second in the conference with a 0.511 goals against average and a .879 save percentage. Her 10 shutouts is third in the conference. Carly Pyatt is fifth in the conference with seven goals and sixth with 17 points.
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 two additional full 10-minute periods. If neither team is ahead at the end of 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.