Season of change for Penn College athletes

Falling outdoor temperatures and daylight saving time ending are reminders of seasons changing for Pennsylvania College of Technology athletes.

With the close of the fall soccer, tennis, golf and volleyball seasons – and final preparations underway for cross-country runners – the Wildcats’ wrestling season has begun, and openers for the men’s and women’s basketball teams are just days away.

FLASHBACK:
WOMEN’S SOCCER
In United East Volt Division semifinal action last Tuesday at second-seeded Penn State Harrisburg, the only team to beat them during the regular season, the third-seeded Wildcats lost by 1-0 for the second time to close out an 11-2-7 overall campaign, 4-2-2 in all UE matches. It also marked the second time in two years that PS Harrisburg ended its season with a one-goal loss.

Throughout the defensive match, Penn State Harrisburg controlled the attack with eight shots on goal to Penn College’s three and four corner kicks to none for the Wildcats. Harrisburg capitalized with the lone goal in the 61st minute when Katie Brown sent a free kick from the right corner to running teammate Abigail Frew, who drilled it into the back of the net.

“Harrisburg is a team that does the little things really well. They dictate tempo of games with their possession and ability to score set pieces makes them a tough opponent,” Wildcats coach Ian Scheller said.

“We worked really hard in the buildup to the game, but an unlucky deflection off our player was enough to direct the ball away from our goalkeeper. We had the best clear chance of the game, but were unable to capitalize on it and that’s the name of the game. It’s the reason we love the sport, for moments like that,” the second-year coach said.

“Harrisburg is a very good team and we are fortunate to test ourselves regularly against them as a regionally ranked opponent. For us to compete with them is a testament to our team and the direction our program is going. We have lost to them by one goal on the past three occasions and we are working to better ourselves as a team to eventually get a result against them, but hats off to their coaching staff and players for getting the result in the semifinal,” Scheller added.

Penn College’s 11 wins tie the second-most in a season, eclipsed only by a 12-win campaign in 2018 and equaling the 11-win mark in 2016. Since the program began in 2001, only the 2006 team finished with a better record, at 9-1, while teams in 2001 and 2002 both posted 8-2 records. The Wildcats’ seven ties this year were the most ever in a season, topping for previous high of five in 2017.

“The season has been an incredible ride. Our ability to find a second successive third-place finish in this conference is one that needs to be applauded. The team has shown an amazing amount of resilience, because this season was a perfect example of why being a consistent program is so difficult. No team in our league completed the season with a perfect record in conference play. That speaks to just how competitive the Volt Division was this year,” Scheller said.

“It also shows that this season as a whole needs to be regarded as one of the best in program history, winning 11 games in a schedule that had 13 playoff-qualifying teams and three contests against regionally ranked opponents. The team worked so hard from day one until the final whistle (Tuesday) night. We have been very fortunate that, the last two seasons, we haven't lost many players to graduation, but at least the seniors from this season will have an opportunity to look back on this season with incredible pride. There are definitely bright things ahead for this program,” Scheller said.

Record/Schedule/Results
Final overall: 11-2-7
Final UE: 4-2-2 (3-1-2 regular season)
Tuesday, Oct. 31 – Volt Division semifinal, Penn College (3) at Penn State Harrisburg (2), L, 1-0

WRESTLING
Opening the season Friday and Saturday at the Ithaca Bomber Invitational, Penn College finished sixth in a 12-team field and had an individual champion in 184-pounder Isaac Cory, along with two sixth-place finishers.

Cory, of Montoursville, went 4-0 in his matches. Landing sixth for the Wildcats were 165-pounder Travis Green, of Manchester, Maryland, who finished 5-3 overall, and Noah Hunt, of Muncy, at 141, who went 2-3. Also for Penn College, TJ Martin, of Honesdale, and Cullen Van Rooyen, of Dresden, Ohio, both went 3-2 at 149, while Brice Hall, of Rockridge Bath, Virginia, went 3-2 at 184.

Castleton claimed the team crown with 187 points and was followed by Baldwin Wallace, 150.5; Springfield, 127.5; host Ithaca, 116; SUNY Oswego, 88; Penn College, 64; Norwich, 60.5; New England College, 60; Greensboro, 38; American International, 26; Muskingum, 14; and Elmira College, 10.5.

“Cory is ranked No. 4 and Wilkins is ranked No. 3 at the weight class. Cory comfortably controlled the third-ranked wrestler in the country at his weight class,” Penn College coach Pankil Chander said.

“Our sixth-place team finish was within a field that had five out of the top six teams being ranked within the national (NCAA Division III) top 25,” Chander said.

Schedule
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 3-4 – at Ithaca Bomber Invitational, 6 of 12
Saturday, Nov. 11 – at SUNY Brockport Quad vs. Niagara County Community College, noon;
vs. SUNY Brockport, 1:30 p.m.; vs. SUNY Oswego, 3 p.m.

ESPORTS
Record/Schedule/Results
(All events at Wildcat Den)
iRacing
Monday, Oct. 30 – CIL College Cup Series: Southern 200-Darlington Raceway, 11, 24, 25
Tuesday, Nov. 7 – ENASCAR: Dover Motor Speedway, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 8 – Formula World Championship: Italy-Imola, 9 p.m.
Rocket League
Overall: 4-1
Monday, Oct. 30 – vs. SUNY Stony Brook, W, 3-1 (0-3, 4-2, 7-2, 4-3)
Monday, Nov. 6 – vs. Fanshawe College, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 7 – vs. Missouri Western State, 7 p.m.
Overwatch 2
Overall: 2-4
Tuesday, Oct. 31 – vs. Virginia Wesleyan, W, 3-1 (2-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-0)
Tuesday, Nov. 7 – vs. RIT, 7 p.m.
League of Legends
Overall: 3-4
Tuesday, Oct. 31 – vs. Keiser University-Sarasota, L, 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
Valorant
Overall: 3-3
Wednesday, Nov. 1 – Messiah University, L, 2-0 (13-8, 13-11)
Wednesday, Nov. 8 – Transylvania University, 7 p.m.
CS:GO
Overall: 0-4
Friday, Nov. 3 – vs. Durham College, L, 2-0
Friday, Nov. 10 – vs. SUNY Farmingdale, 7 p.m.

ON THE HORIZON:
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Schedule/Series History
Wednesday, Nov. 8 – host Centenary (N.J.) University (Penn College leads 1-0), 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 10 – Crosstown Challenge host Penn State Mont Alto (Mont Alto leads 1-0), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 11 – Crosstown Challenge host Montclair State (Montclair State leads 1-0), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 15 – at William Patterson University (first-time opponent), 5 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Schedule/Series History
Wednesday, Nov. 8 – host Penn State Altoona (PS Altoona leads 3-0), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 11 – at Elmira College Tip-Off Tournament vs. Curry College (first-time opponent), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 12 – at Elmira College Tip-Off Tournament, TBA
Saturday, Nov. 18 – at Susquehanna University Tournament vs. Susquehanna (Susquehanna leads 1-0), 6 p.m.

MEN’S/WOMEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY
Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 11 – NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Championships, men’s 8K race 11 a.m., women’s 6K race noon (hosted by Susquehanna University at Lock Haven University’s West Branch Cross-Country Course)

For more about the United East, visit the conference website .
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website .

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