A tough season for the Pennsylvania College of Technology women's soccer team ended with a 2-1 loss to Luzerne County Community College in the Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference championship game Thursday, but there is hope for the future.
"After a very trying season in the league with a lot of teams dropping out (the EPCC began with five teams and finished with two), the final game was extremely well played," said Mike Stanzione, Penn College athletic director. "The competition was there and the hope is that the league will become stronger next year so that we have at least four teams."
When the Lady Wildcats and Luzerne met earlier in the season, Luzerne won, 10-1. According to Stanzione, there were two key elements to the gap being narrowed between then and Thursday.
"One, the girls had more time to gel, to get used to playing soccer together. And, another big thing was that in the first match we didn't have our goalie Kim Carbaugh (Northern Lebanon), she was not out for the team at that point. Those two things made us a much more competitive team," he said.
Despite finishing with a 2-5-1 overall record, Stanzione said, "We ended up on a real positive note, which was really good for the women."