Four Teams Primed for Women's Soccer Postseason
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2021 PSUAC Women's Soccer Playoff tournament gets underway this weekend as a pair of semifinals matches will kick-off on Saturday, October 30th.
Four-time defending champions Penn State Brandywine find themselves in unfamiliar territory as the number four seed, set to take on top-seeded Penn State Mont Alto in the semis. Mont Alto went undefeated and untied in conference play, the only team to do that in any of the fall sports. They're joined by Penn State Schuylkill and Penn State Scranton, with all but Brandywine looking to win their first women's soccer championship.
The tournament will culminate with the PSUAC Championship game on Wednesday, November 3rd at 6:30 p.m. at the West Turf Fields on the University Park campus.
Championship Page
#1 Seed Penn State Mont Alto (11-2 overall; 8-0 PSUAC) vs. #4 Seed Penn State Brandywine (3-5 overall; 4-7 PSUAC)
Saturday, October 30th, 2:30 p.m.
Penn State Mont Alto was able to knock off all conference challengers during the regular season and gets a chance to end Penn State Brandywine's hopes for a fifth straight title in the first semifinal. Mont Alto had their best season on record, going 11-2 overall, including multiple wins over NCAA opponents. Mont Alto finished the season with four straight wins, part of a stretch in which they've won nine out of 10. During that stretch, Mont Alto has shutout five opponents and allowed only six goals. Meanwhile, Brandywine looks to find their footing after an up-and-down campaign. Brandywine is capable of putting up plenty of goals, but will need to shore up defensively to clip the regular season champs and advance to the championship game.
Players to watch: Mont Alto: Grace Banfe; Kara Newell; Erika Padilla; Avery Diehl; Jesime Freet; Nicole Jones
Brandywine: Jess James; Olivia Esposito; Meltem Ozdemir; Jolyn Walleekendeh; Barbara Munn
#2 Seed Penn State Schuylkill (6-5 overall; 5-3 PSUAC) vs. #3 Seed Penn State Scranton (3-6 overall; 3-5 PSUAC)
Saturday, October 30th, 12:00 p.m.
The second semifinal will pit two teams seeking their first conference title, with Schuylkill having played in the championship game in 2016 and 2017. Schuylkill won the only game the teams played during the regular season, with the other game unable to be played due to COVID protocols. Schuylkill has won their last four games, and only has two losses dating back to September 24th. Scranton has not been as consisten, but will look to cement a place in history by advancing to the championship.
Players to watch: Schuylkill: Kaely Walshaw; Nia Bronson; Zoe Gannon; Nancy Le; Ariana Trautz; Sam Palacz
Scranton: Kelly Velehoski; Lucy Adams; Rachel Lewis; Trinity Gammaitoni