Maddi Buckham
Joe Mattis

Women's Soccer Will Nowadly, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Women’s Soccer Clinches PSAC Tournament Spot Despite Setback to Kutztown

Senior Maddi Buckham led the Lady Knights' offense with three shots in the team's 2-0 loss to Kutztown in the regular-season home finale
ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women's soccer team was unable to overcome two early goals, as the Lady Knights dropped their regular-season home finale to the Kutztown Golden Bears, 2-0, at Gannon University Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Golden Bears struck twice in the first six minutes of action en route to the win. The Lady Knights drop to 9-6-1 on the season and 9-5-1 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action and the Golden Bears improve to 11-5-0 overall and 10-5-0 in the conference.

However, Gannon was still able to clinch its third consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance with Slippery Rock's 2-0 victory against Millersville. The Lady Knights could enter the postseason anywhere between the third and eighth seed.

Senior Maddi Buckham (Copley, Ohio / Copley) led the Gannon offense with three shots. Four Lady Knights recorded two shots each including junior Justine Rodrigues (Georgetown, Ontario / Georgetown District), junior Michelle Genetin (Navarre, Ohio / Perry), senior Anna Colaizzo (Erie, Pa. / McDowell) and sophomore Kaitlyn Kissell (Erie, Pa. / Villa Maria Academy).  

Senior goalkeeper Sarah Geffel (Apollo, Pa. / Kiski Area) collected eight saves in the loss. Alina Rackiewicz finished with six saves for the Golden Bears in picking up her 11th win of the season.

On their second corner kick opportunity of the afternoon, Kutztown capitalized for a 1-0 lead in the third minute of play. After an unsuccessful first corner kick, Megan Frailer was able to connect with Diana Malanga on a header for Manlanga's second goal of the season.

With Gannon looking to regroup from the early deficit, Kutztown was able to take control of the match with a two-goal lead through the first six minutes of play. Coming down the field, Malanga managed to get a pass off with a Gannon defender on her. Sliding the ball over to Alaina Curry on the right side, Curry beat Geffel to the ball for the Kutztown 2-0 lead.

Despite the score, Gannon and Kutztown played a tight-offensive match. The Golden Bears finished with a 16-14 shot advantage over the Lady Knights along with a 10-6 edge in shots on goal.

The Golden Bears held an 11-5 lead in corner kick opportunities in the end. At one point, the Golden Bears held a heavy 9-1 lead in chances from the corner.

Entering the match, the Lady Knights were tied for fourth with Edinboro in the PSAC standings, while the Golden Bears were tied with West Chester for sixth. With five matches played today, there will be some movement among the teams fighting for a berth in the PSAC Tournament. California (Pa.), Slippery Rock and Shippensburg have already locked a spot in the conference post-season tournament.

Gannon will conclude the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Mansfield with the kickoff slated for 1:30 p.m. 




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