Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s soccer team will rely on continued outstanding defensive play and opportunistic scoring on Wednesday when it hosts Keystone College in a United East Conference first-round playoff match.
Action gets underway under the lights at 7 p.m. on campus at UPMC Field.
“Our defense and goalkeeping play was really solid,” coach Tyler Mensch said. “Our goal is always to allow one goal or less per match and we ended the regular season statistically at 1.12 goals allowed per game. Offensively, we have received timely scoring and having taken advantage of good opportunities.”
After going 5-1-2 in the conference and 10-4-3 overall, Penn College is seeded sixth and Keystone, 2-4-2 in the UE and 3-11-2 overall, is seeded 11th in a 12-team field. The winner will travel to third-seeded Cairn University on Saturday for a quarterfinal match.
According to the conference website, soccer was played in an unbalanced schedule this season, with each program competing in eight conference contests. Using a points system (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss), the teams with the highest point total earned the top seeds in the tournament. All ties in points were broken using the tie-breaking procedures.
Although the Wildcats and Keystone didn’t meet in the regular season, they faced seven common opponents. Both teams beat Gallaudet University and Wilson College, tied Lancaster Bible College and lost to Penn State Abington and King’s College. They split against Rosemont College, with Penn College winning 4-1 and Keystone losing by the same score, and they split against Cairn, with Penn College tying 1-1 and Keystone losing 3-0.
In UE-only matches this season, Penn College has scored 20 goals and allowed nine, while Keystone has scored 12 and allowed 16.
Tommy DeGeyter of Long Valley, New Jersey, leads the Wildcats offensively with three goals and four assists in conference play and Logan Stapleton of Chambersburg has three goals and two assists. Four other players have two goals each.
Defensively in goal for Penn College, Cole Catherman of Selinsgrove has allowed five goals, owns a 1.07 goals-against average and 0.773 save percentage during UE play, and Justin Potts of Media has allowed four goals, has a 1.21 goals-against average and 0.733 save percentage.
Keystone’s UE leaders are Hernan Goday, with four UE goals and two assists, while goalie Landon Keller has allowed 14 goals, has a 2.04 goals-against average, and has a 0.759 save percentage.
“Keystone is a very well-coached team, and I know head coach Clint Caso will have a good game plan for us. He has a very tactical mind and has played at a high level, and it shows in his team’s preparation and play on the field,” Mensch said.
“We will hopefully use our athleticism and speed on the flanks to cause some problems in the final third. Playoff soccer is always about controlling your emotions and capitalizing on the smallest of mistakes. We will be up for the challenge and hopefully get a good result on Wednesday night,” Mensch said.
Playoff soccer is always about controlling your emotions and capitalizing on the smallest of mistakes. We will be up for the challenge and hopefully get a good result on Wednesday night.
Tyler Mensch
head coach, men's soccer
“We are excited to host Keystone in the program’s first-ever United East Conference home playoff match,” Mensch added, noting that the 10 wins thus far is an NCAA era (since 2014) program record.
In the teams’ series history, Keystone holds a 5-1-1 lead, although Penn College won their most recent encounter, 2-0, last season.
Other teams in the playoff field include top-seed St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 8-0-0 UE, 9-6-2 overall; second seed Penn State Abington, 7-0-1, 7-7-4; third seed Cairn, 7-0-1, 10-2-5; fourth seed Penn State Harrisburg, 6-1-1, 13-4-2; fifth seed St. Elizabeth University, 6-2, 9-6; seventh seed Rosemont College, 4-4, 7-7-3; eighth seed Penn State Brandywine, 4-4, 12-16; ninth seed Notre Dame (Md.) University, 3-5, 4-10; 10th seed Lancaster Bible College 2-4-2, 4-9-3; and 12th seed Wilson College 2-6, 6-11.
In UE matches only, Cairn has scored 29 goals and allowed 27. Jesse Brittain leads the offense with nine goals and three assists, Alijah Miller has seven goals and four assists, Moses Beers has two goals and 10 assists, and two others have three goals each. Goalie Xander Jakeway has allowed five goals and owns a 0.67 goals-against average and a 0.828 save percentage.
Besides playing each other, Cairn and Penn College have met five common foes. Both teams defeated Notre Dame (Md.) and Rosemont, lost to Rampo, and split against Centenary (Penn College losing 2-0 and Cairn tying 0-0) and Lancaster Bible (Penn College tying 1-1 and Cairn winning 4-1).
Record/Schedule/Series History
Overall: 10-4-3
UE: 5-1-2
Wednesday, Oct. 30 — host United East First Round vs. Keystone College, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2 — United East Quarterfinals, Penn College-Keystone College winner at Cairn University, TBA
Tuesday, Nov. 5 — United East Semifinals, TBA
Saturday, Nov. 9 — United East Championship, TBA
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.
For more about the United East, visit the conference website.