EDINBORO, Pa. – The 23rd-ranked Edinboro women's soccer team will host Gannon on Tuesday, November 1 in a PSAC Quarterfinal playoff game in a matchup of Erie County rivals. The match is scheduled to get underway at 1:30 p.m. at Sox Harrison Stadium.
Edinboro comes in as the number three seed in the PSAC after finishing the regular season on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Mansfield to improve to 13-3-1 overall and finish at 12-3-1 in league play. Gannon is the number six seed after suffering a 4-1 loss to fourth-seeded East Stroudsburg on Saturday. The Lady Knights come in at 9-5-3 overall and were 9-5-2 in PSAC action.
Long-time head coach
Gary Kagiavas has now guided his Fighting Scots to seven straight PSAC playoff appearances. A team which has battled injuries all season is hoping it can duplicate last year's playoff run, when the Fighting Scots upset fifth-ranked Gannon, 3-1, in the PSAC semifinals, to reach the PSAC Championship game for the first time in school history.
Edinboro would go on to reach the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 following an overtime shootout win over Charleston(WV) and a 2-1 triumph over then seventh-ranked Gannon in overtime. The Fighting Scots would fall to East Stroudsburg in the Atlantic Regional final.
Edinboro and Gannon played to a scoreless tie on October 11 at Edinboro. The matchup again features former Golden Knight players and coaches Kagiavas and Colin
Peterson. Kagiavas is wrapping up his 21st season at Edinboro, while Peterson is in his 15th year as the women's soccer coach at Gannon.
Edinboro is led by junior
Ashley Mutkus and senior
Alex Brown. The duo has combined for 19 of Edinboro's 34 goals, with Mutkus leading the way with 10 goals and 3 assists for 23 points, while Brown has 9 goals and 4 assists for 22 points.
Sarah Baskey will be in goal. The junior has tied her own school record for wins with a 13-3-1 record. She has a 0.64 GAA with seven shutouts.
Gannon's leading scorer is Taylor Lewis with11 goals and 2 assists for 24 points. Shannon Differ will likely be in goal. She has an 8-4-2 record with a 1.49 GAA and three shutouts.
The winner of Tuesday's match will move on to face the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 2 seed Kutztown and No. 7 seed Bloomsburg on Friday, November 4 at 1:30 p.m. The highest remaining seed will host the PSAC Final Four. The PSAC Championship game will be played on Sunday, November 6 at 1 p.m.
West Chester comes in as the number one seed and will host No. 8 Indiana(Pa.), while the other quarterfinal features No. 4 seed East Stroudsburg and No. 5 seed Slippery Rock. Those winners will meet in the other semifinal at 11 a.m. on Friday.
