Brooklyn Respecki

Women's Soccer Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Battle on Hand as Gannon Hosts Clarion on Wednesday

Game designated as Cancer Awareness Game

CLARION GOLDEN EAGLES (3-8-4, 3-7-3 PSAC West) at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (10-3-1, 9-2-0 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | 3:00 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
 
 
THE GANNON-CLARION SERIES
Clarion leads 22-3-2
Gannon swept the season series in 2022 with 2-0 and 2-1 wins and claimed a 4-1 in the first meeting at Clarion. The Golden Knights have won the last 15 meetings with Clarion dating back to 2013 and are 15-0-2 since Clarion's last win in the series in 2010. It should be noted that most of the matches have been very close, with nine decided by a goal or less.

Last Meeting: Sept. 20, 2023 – Gannon 4, at Clarion 1 | RECAP
Gannon jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead as Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler) scored twice in the first 11 minutes. Clarion cut the lead to 2-1 in the 60th minute, but Gannon scored a pair of insurance goals in the final 13 minutes. Logan Nicklas (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) accounted for the first goal and Leah Bermudez (Milton, Ontario/Jean Vanier Catholic) the second, with Paige Taylor (Robina, Australia/Emmanuel College) assisting on both goals. The Golden Knights finished with an 18-2 edge in shots.


ERIE, Pa. – Gannon saw its eight-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night with a 2-1 loss at No. 18 Mercyhurst. The Golden Knights have clinched a berth in the PSAC Tournament for the third straight year but now must hold off an onrushing Slippery Rock team for second place and a home quarterfinal game.
Gannon hosts Clarion on Wednesday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m. looking for a 16th straight win over the Golden Eagles. They claimed the first meeting by a 4-1 margin. Gannon moved up to fourth in last week's Atlantic Region rankings.

Wednesday's game has been designated as Cancer Awareness Day. Members of the Gannon team will be wearing pink jerseys and will devote the game to the memories of family members and friends who have been stricken with cancer. There will be a special period for a listing of the names.

The Golden Knights are 10-3-1 overall and 9-2-0 in the PSAC West while Clarion comes in at 3-8-4 and 3-7-3, respectively, following a 2-1 win at California (Pa.) on Saturday. The 10 wins have left head coach Colin Petersen two shy of his 200th career victory.

Mercyhurst's win on Saturday leaves the Lakers with a six-point lead over Gannon in the Western Division standings. The Lakers have 36 points while Gannon is next with 30 points. Slippery Rock has pulled to within a point of second place with 29 but SRU has played one more game than the Golden Knights. Gannon has four matches remaining, including a match at Slippery Rock on Halloween.

Gannon's youthful high-scoring attack ranks 22nd in Division II and second in the PSAC in goals with 40. The Golden Knights' defense hasn't been too shabby either, allowing just 14 goals with five shutouts.
 
Last Time Out
Gannon saw its eight-game winning streak snapped with a 2-1 loss at 18th-ranked Mercyhurst on Saturday night. After a scoreless 71 minutes the Lakers jumped ahead 2-0 with a pair of goals in a seven-minute period. Ella Fadale's (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) sixth goal of the season at 84:18 cut the deficit in half but the Golden Knights could not score the equalizer. Gannon lost despite outshooting Mercyhurst 21-5.

Head Coach: Former Gannon soccer great Colin Petersen is in his 24th season with the Gannon soccer program and 22nd as the head coach of the women's soccer program in 2023. Petersen, who has also spent time in a dual position as an assistant for the men's program, was hired as the seventh head coach in the history of the women's program on February 13, 2002. Petersen is the winningest and longest-tenured coach in the 36-year history of the Gannon women's soccer program. He was inducted into the Gannon Athletics Hall of Fame as a player in 2017. Petersen has a school-record 198 career coaching victories, holding more than 100 wins than the closest coach. Petersen owns an overall record of 198-160-37. Gannon has produced a .500 record or better during 14 of the last 15 seasons under Petersen and now has ten 10-win seasons. The Golden Knights have qualified for the PSAC Tournament 11 times in Petersen's tenure, with six NCAA Tournament appearances.

Golden Knights in PSAC Tournament for Third Straight Year
Gannon has already clinched a berth in the upcoming PSAC Tournament for the third straight year. The quarterfinals take place on Monday, November 6 at the highest seeds. The PSAC Final Four will be hosted by the highest remaining Eastern Division seed following the quarterfinals, with the semifinals on Friday, November 10 and the championship game set for Sunday, November 12. A year ago Gannon reached the championship game before losing to eventual national runner-up West Chester 3-0. 

Respecki Leads PSAC in Goals and Points
Brooklyn Respecki (McKean, Pa./General McLane) has accounted for a point in 12 of 14 matches this season. The two Mercyhurst contests are the only games this year that the freshman has not had either a goal or an assist. Respecki leads the PSAC in goals with nine and points with 25 while ranking fifth in assists with seven. Fellow first-year performer Grace Emanuel (Erie, Pa./McDowell) adds seven goals and two assists for 14 points, while Ella Fadale (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) has scored four goals in the last five matches to boost her totals to seven goals and an assist for 15 points. Fadale, a sophomore, was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year last season. All told freshmen have accounted for half of Gannon's goals (20 of 40) as head coach Colin Petersen continues to reap the benefits of a strong recruiting class.  

Scouting Clarion
Clarion comes in with a 3-8-4 record and is 3-7-3 in the PSAC West after snapping a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 win at California (Pa.) on Saturday. While the Golden Eagles don't have a winning record, they have been highly competitive with 11 of their 15 matches either ties or decided by a goal. They have struggled to score goals with 15 total. Ciara DiMauro leads the way with four goals while Kylee Cross has two goals and a team-high three assists.  Alex Velez and Sage Sherk have shared time in goal, with Velez owning a 1.90 GAA and Sherk at 3.00.

Next for the Golden Knights
Gannon has back-to-back contests on the road beginning with a Saturday, October 28 match at Seton Hill. Kickoff is set for 12 noon. The Golden Knights then play at Slippery Rock on Tuesday, October 31 before concluding the regular season with a home match vs. Indiana (Pa.) on Friday, November 3. 
 
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Players Mentioned

Leah Bermudez

#2 Leah Bermudez

D
5' 4"
Graduate Student
Psychology
Gabby Boden

#11 Gabby Boden

M/F
5' 7"
Junior
Ella Fadale

#17 Ella Fadale

M
5' 6"
Sophomore
Logan Nicklas

#29 Logan Nicklas

F
5' 7"
Senior
Applied Exercise Science
Brooklyn Respecki

#7 Brooklyn Respecki

F
5' 3"
Freshman
Exercise Science
Grace Emanuel

#24 Grace Emanuel

M
5' 3"
Freshman
Paige Taylor

#9 Paige Taylor

M
5' 5"
Junior
Health Science

Players Mentioned

Leah Bermudez

#2 Leah Bermudez

5' 4"
Graduate Student
Psychology
D
Gabby Boden

#11 Gabby Boden

5' 7"
Junior
M/F
Ella Fadale

#17 Ella Fadale

5' 6"
Sophomore
M
Logan Nicklas

#29 Logan Nicklas

5' 7"
Senior
Applied Exercise Science
F
Brooklyn Respecki

#7 Brooklyn Respecki

5' 3"
Freshman
Exercise Science
F
Grace Emanuel

#24 Grace Emanuel

5' 3"
Freshman
M
Paige Taylor

#9 Paige Taylor

5' 5"
Junior
Health Science
M