ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Elizabethtown College men's and women's soccer teams will open Commonwealth Conference playoff action this week as both squads will play at Arcadia University in semifinal action.
Both games will be played at the Kuch Center Field on the campus of Arcadia, with the women's game on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. and the men's contest on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Admission will be free of charge for both matches.
The Blue Jay women (9-9 overall, 4-3 Commonwealth) earned the third seed in the conference playoffs when Albright College played to a scoreless tie with Widener University on Saturday night to lock up the fourth seed, while the Knights (14-1-3 overall, 6-1 Commonwealth) are the second seed.
The teams met in the regular season at Arcadia on Oct. 24, and the host Knights came away with a 3-2 overtime win after overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the final 22 minutes of the match.
Elizabethtown is led on offense by
Laura Wingert, who scored a team-high six goals and added a pair of assists for 14 points, while
Kelsey Boehmer added three goals including a pair of game-winners.
Kristen Kelly and
Jess Manchak each made nine starts in goal for the Blue Jays, with Kelly compiling two shutouts and a 0.94 goals against average and Manchak tallying five shutouts and a 1.50 goals against average.
Arcadia features a balanced attack, led by Janelle Jablonski and Stephanie Welch who have seven goals apiece. Katie O'Malley has added five goals and nine assists, and scored the game-winner against the Blue Jays in double overtime. In goal, Jacki Law has a 0.57 goals against average and 10 shutouts in 18 games, while making 101 saves.
The winner of Tuesday's match will play in Saturday's championship game between the winner of Tuesday's other semifinal contest between Albright and top-seeded Messiah College.
Elizabethtown's men (14-3-1 overall, 4-2-1 Commonwealth) finished as the third seed in the Commonwealth Conference, and will travel to face the second-seeded Knights (11-5-3 overall, 4-1-2 Commonwealth) on their home field for the second time this season. Arcadia won the regular-season battle 1-0 on Oct. 24 on a first-half penalty kick by Joe Clementi.
The Blue Jay attack is led by the duo of
Dan Featherer and
Javeim Blanchette. Featherer leads the team with 10 goals and 25 points, while Blanchette has added seven goals and six assists for 20 points.
Taylor Helsel has been a clutch performer for the Blue Jays as well, scoring eight goals and 21 points, with four of his goals standing as game-winners.
Eric Carr has seen the majority of action in goal for the Blue Jays over the last few weeks, finishing the season with a 6-3-1 record and a 1.00 goals against average.
Andy Barnes has also been solid in goal for Elizabethtown, carrying a perfect 8-0 record and a 0.95 goals against average.
Clementi leads the Knights with seven goals and 17 points on the season, while Anthony Procopio has chipped in with five goals. Zachary Todd and Tim Svitak have each added four goals for the Knights. In goal, Jeff Kratohwill has 10 shutouts in 17 starts with a 0.86 goals against average.
The winner of the contest on Wednesday will advance to the Commonwealth Conference championship match on Saturday, facing the winner of the other semifinal match between fourth-seeded Lebanon Valley College and top-seeded Messiah College.