(October 29, 2007)
Tournament teams and first-round pairings for the
2007 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Women's
and Men's Soccer Championships have now been
determined.
The women's playoffs begin with quarterfinal action
on Tuesday, October 30. In the Eastern Division,
third-seeded Bloomsburg will travel to
second-seeded East Stroudsburg for a 4 p.m. battle. The
Western Division match-up pits No. 3 IUP at
No. 2 Edinboro, which is slated for a 1 p.m.
start.
The semifinals will take place on Friday, Nov. 2
with the winner of the Eastern Division contest
advancing to play at top-seeded West Chester, while
in the Western Division, Slippery Rock hosts the
IUP-Edinboro winner at 4 p.m. The winners of
the semifinals will meet in the PSAC title game at
the site of the highest remaining seed in the
Eastern Division on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m.
For the men, semifinals take place Wednesday, Oct. 31
with fourth-seeded West Chester traveling to No.
1 East Stroudsburg, while third-ranked
Millersville heads to No. 2 Lock Haven.
The championship game will be held at the site
of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov.
3 at 1 p.m.
Women
Bloomsburg is looking for its first
conference title since 2002 when the Huskies
defeated Millersville for its third PSAC title
and is making its 10th overall playoff
appearance.
The third-seed Huskies (7-6-4, 5-4-3 PSAC East)
are led by freshman forward Meg Donlon, who owns
a team-best five goals. She leads an
offense that has seen 11 different players score
a goal this season, including the trio of Ashley
Brucker, Lauren Hess and Kelsey Stoka who each
recorded three goals. Eileen Alexander
will anchor a strong core of veterans on
defense.
E. Stroudsburg marks its second appearance in
the conference tournament since 1998 and its
sixth in the last 14 years as the Warriors fell
to Kutztown in the first round of the 2005
tourney, 3-1. E. Stroudsburg has won two
PSAC titles, with the last coming in 1997 and
the first in 1994. This year's squad
(11-6-1, 8-3-1 PSAC East) was picked to finish
fifth in the Eastern Division by the coaches
after posting a 7-11-2 overall record, 3-9-0
PSAC East a year ago. Leading the offense
is junior forward Lynda Hicks (11 goals, 2
assists). Teaming with Hicks on offense is
a trio of juniors in Dena Schleifer, Janel
Cleffi and Tara Takac, who each own seven goals.
Goalie Janine Turcio (0.90 GAA, 3 SHO) along
with back Brittany Staub, a three-time All-PSAC
East selection, will anchor the defense.
IUP returns to the PSAC tournament after falling
in last year's finals to West Chester, 2-1.
The Crimson Hawks then advanced to the Northeast
Region finals after posting the program's
first-ever NCAA tournament win with a 3-1
victory over New Haven, only to lose to the
Golden Rams for the third time in 2006.
IUP returns six starters from that squad and is
led by reigning PSAC West Player and Rookie of
the Year Sarah Romasco. The sophomore owns
20 goals and 11 assists while 15 different
Crimson Hawks have scored at least once this
season. Classmates Ray Schreiner and
Carina Honeygosky each are tied for second on
the team with freshman Melissa Kornock with
seven goals apiece.
Edinboro (12-4-3 overall, 6-2-2 PSAC West) is
back in the PSAC playoffs after a one-year
hiatus. This marks the first-ever home
playoff contest and fourth overall berth for
Edinboro soccer. The Fighting Scots get their
scoring punch from Angie de Almeida, who ranks
fifth in the league in both points (22 -
1.26/gm) and goals (9 - .67/gm). Also in
the mix is Heather Weismiller (5 goals, 3
assists) and Ashley Pulman (5 goals, 4 assists).
Lisa Bartolowits (0.93GAA) and Samantha Cairns
(1.15 GAA) share the goaltending duties.
The road team won both games in the series this
season - Edinboro claimed a 2-1 win at IUP and
IUP won a 3-2 double-overtime contest at
Edinboro.
Men
West Chester is making its second straight
appearance in the postseason, and last played in
the championship game in 2004. The Golden
Rams are still seeking their first conference
title. A convincing 8-1 win over
Bloomsburg on Saturday secured the final playoff
spot, as West Chester (11-9 overall, 9-7 PSAC)
nipped California and Slippery Rock by one
point. West Chester is led in scoring by
Frank DeMas (8 goals, 3 assists) and David
Miller (6 goals, 4 assists), as well as Zac
Tassone (7 goals, 3 assists) and Ricky
Williamson (7 goals, 1 assist). Garret
Santora and Justin Johnson have split the
goalkeeping duties
Millersville returns to the PSAC playoffs for
the first time since 2004 when it lost an
opening round game at Lock Haven. The
Marauders are looking for their first-ever PSAC
title in the sport. This year's group
enters the contest 11-7-1 overall and 10-5-1 in
the PSAC. Most of their scoring has come
from Sean McLaughlin (9 goals, 7 assists), Ryan
Kiley (7 goals, 2 assists) and Kyle Loughlin (4
goals, 4 assists). Matt Langione mans the
net, owning a 1.52 GAA.
Lock Haven hopes to return to the PSAC
Championship Game after falling to East
Stroudsburg, 1-0, in last year's title tilt.
The Bald Eagle program boasts a league-best 20
overall titles, including their most recent, in
2004. Lock Haven enters the postseason at
12-6 overall and 11-5 in PSAC play, which
includes a season sweep over Millersville (3-2
OT, 4-0). Ashely Rosindale leads the
conference with 1.76 points per game (10 goals,
10 assists), and gets support from Paul Huckett
(7 goals, 10 assists) and Martin Pletz (6 goals,
1 assist). LHU goalkeeper Chad Feerrar
carries a 1.20 GAA, fourth among league players.
East Stroudsburg will look to defend its PSAC
title from a year ago, its first since the 2003
season. The Warriors have 18 overall
crowns, and have won 12 of the last 15 title
games. This year they averaged 2.38 goals
per game in conference action, best among the
league, behind top scorers Roshane Ellison (10
goals, 2 assists) and Jason Shegda (9 goals, 3
assists). Kevin Holmes (8 goals), Jason
Rudder (6) and Danny Drago (5) are other top
threats. Goalkeeper Larry Pokrywa leads the PSAC with a 0.73 GAA. East Stroudsburg
defeated West Chester twice by counts of 2-1 and
1-0.