GREENSBURG- The top seeded Pitt-Greensburg women's soccer team begins its quest for its first-ever Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship Wednesday afternoon at Ridilla Field against the no. 4 seed D'Youville Spartans. Kickoff between D'Youville and Pitt-Greensburg is set for 2 pm.
Wednesday's winner advances to Saturday's (Nov. 9) AMCC Tournament Championship, where it will face the winner of no. 2 seed Penn State Behrend and no. 3 seed Mt. Aloysius.
Wednesday's match will be broadcast by Westmoreland Sports Network, starting with a special 30 minute pregame show which will feature a sit down interview with head coach Chuck Wigle at 1:30 pm.Â
Pitt-Greensburg enters Wednesday's semifinal matchup posting a 17-0-1 overall record and captured the program's first-ever AMCC regular season title with a 9-0-1 mark in conference play.
In the matchup earlier this season between the Bobcats and Spartans, it was Pitt-Greensburg that picked up a 2-0 victory with goals from Ashley Lucas and Tiffany Michalek. Lucas gave the Bobcats the 1-0 advantage with a strike in the ninth minute and Michalek sealed the win with her 13th of the year just over five minutes after halftime. Lauren Yoder stopped all six shots that came her way to earn the shutout and send the Bobcats to the win.
All-Time Series Against D'YouvilleÂ
Pitt-Greensburg holds an all-time record of 5-6-0 against D'Youville, including a 3-3-0 mark on its home field. Pitt-Greensburg's 2-0 victory in the match earlier during the 2019 season, snapped a two-match losing streak against the Spartans. The longest win streak for either team is two-wins, which D'Youville has done three different times, while the Bobcats have accomplished just once (2011 & 2012). Pitt-Greensburg captured a 2-1 victory at home in 2015 and followed with a 5-0 shutout the following season.
The two schools have never faced each other in the postseason and Wednesday's matchup will be the first time Pitt-Greensburg and D'Youville will face off in postseason play.
Pitt-Greensburg In AMCC Tournament
Pitt-Greensburg is making its fifth-consecutive and 12th appearance all-time in the AMCC Tournament, where it owns a 3-11-0 mark. 2019 marks the first time in program history that the Bobcats enter the postseason tournament as the top seed and home field advantage throughout the tournament.
Scouting D'Youville
D'Youville enters Wednesday's matchup with a 10-5-2 overall record and a 6-2-2 mark in AMCC play. As a team, D'Youville sits third in the conference with 40 goals and averages 2.35 goals per contest. The Spartans rank 10th out of 11th team with just 9.2 shots-per-game, but are first with a .255 shot-percentage.
Defensively, the Spartans have allowed 22 goals on the season, post a 1.25 goals-against-average and a .847 save percentage.
Makenna Magee leads the way with 11 goals on the season, followed by nine for Jordan Pachla, and six by Marina Campbell. Casandra Brooks has a team-best five assists on the season, while Britt Cristofanelli, Kaylee Heschke, and Pachla each have three helpers. The top three players in terms of point producers are; Magee (23), Pachla (21), and Campbell (13).
In goal, Laurie Poeller has played all 17 games for the Spartans, where she has made 122 saves and owns a .847 save-percentage.
Â
Scouting Pitt-Greensburg
Offensively, the Bobcats are tops in the conference in goals scored (54), shots (339), shots-per-game (18.8), shots-on-goal (192), assists (33), and corner kicks (133).
Defensively, the Bobcats have allowed just five goals on the season, post a 0.27 goals-against-average, and a .940 save percentage.
Offensively, the Bobcats feature the top two offensive threats in Ashley Lucas and Tiffany Michalek who rank 1-2 respectively in goals scored with 22 and 17. The duo also rank top-two in points (55 &41). Lucas sits a top the conference with 11 assists, while Michalek is third with seven. Lucas also leads the conference in shots (101) while Michalek is third with 75.
In goal, Lauren Yoder is top of the AMCC in wins (16), goals allowed (5), goals-against-average (0.29), save percentage (.938) and shutouts (13).
Â
