Jamie Seneca
Jeff Kirik

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

Match Preview: Golden Knights Host California (Pa.) on Homecoming to Start Three-Game Homestand

CALIFORNIA (PA) VULCANS (2-3-1, 1-2-1 PSAC West) at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (3-2-1, 3-1-0 PSAC West)
HOMECOMING
DATE/TIME: Saturday, September 23, 2023 | 6:00 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
 
 
THE GANNON-CALIFORNIA (PA) SERIES
Gannon leads 19-12-1
Gannon swept the season series in 2022 with a 2-1 at home and a 3-1 victory at Cal. The Golden Knights are 9-0-1 in the last ten meetings and have won the last four contests with the Vulcans.

Last Meeting: Oct. 22, 2022 – Gannon 3, at Cal (Pa.) 1 | RECAP
Gannon swept the season series with Cal for the second straight year thanks to a 3-1 win at Cal. Sarah Fails (Girard, Pa./Villa Maria) and Ella Fadale (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) scored first half goals as Gannon led 2-1 at the half. The Golden Knights finally put the Vulcans away with a Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler) goal in the 88th minute. Gannon held an 18-4 advantage in shots.
 
ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's soccer team has won three of its last four matches following a 4-1 win at Clarion on Wednesday. The Golden Knights now begin a three-game homestand while looking to celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, September 30. California (Pa.) provides the opposition beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The preseason favorite in the PSAC West, the Golden Knights are now 3-2-1 overall and 3-1-0 in divisional play while Cal, picked to finish sixth in the division, has a 2-3-1 record, including 1-2-1 in the PSAC West. While Gannon was recording a win on Wednesday the Vulcans dropped a 2-1 decision to Pitt-Johnstown.

Gannon now embarks on a stretch of three straight matches at McConnell Family Stadium. Following the Cal game, the Golden Knights host Slippery Rock on Wednesday, September 27 and Seton Hill on Saturday, September 30. SRU is currently tied for first with Mercyhurst in the PSAC West.

Head coach Colin Petersen welcomed back a veteran squad featuring three All-PSAC West performers, and a host of talented freshmen have energized his Golden Knights. They opened conference action with a 3-1 win over Edinboro after a tie and a loss in the season-opening Gannon Invitational. The Golden Knights faced two of the top teams out of the Mountain East Conference to start the season. The season got underway with a 2-2 tie against MEC Southern Division preseason favorite Concord, followed by a 4-1 loss to Charleston (WV).

Last Time Out
Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler) scored a pair of goals in the first 12 minutes as Gannon won a 4-1 decision at Clarion. It marked the 15th straight win for the Golden Knights against Clarion. Clarion cut the deficit in half at 2-1 early in the second half, but Logan Nicklas (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) scored her third goal in the last two matches and Leah Bemudez scored her first goal of the season as Gannon pulled away. Taylor Paige assisted on both goals. The Golden Knights outshot the Golden Eagles 18-2.

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 191 career coaching victories, holding more than 100 wins than the closest coach. Petersen owns an overall record of 191-159-37. Gannon has produced a .500 record or better during 14 of the last 15 seasons under Petersen. The Golden Knights have qualified for the PSAC Tournament 11 times in Petersen's tenure, with six NCAA Tournament appearances.

Boden, Nicklas Double Their Pleasure
With plenty of attention being garnered to an impressive freshman class, it has been a pair of upperclassmen who have stepped up as goal scorers the last two matches. Senior Logan Nicklas (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) scored both of Gannon's goals in the 4-2 loss to Mercyhurst. On Wednesday, junior Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler) scored the first two goals in the 4-1 win at Clarion. In addition, junior Paige Taylor (Robina, Australia/Emmanuel College) assisted on the last two goals.

Welcome Back Leah
Gannon recently welcomed back Leah Bermudez (Milton, Ontario/Jean Vanier Catholic) to the lineup. The graduate student is the heart and soul of the defense but missed the first four matches of the season due to an injury. Bermudez is a two-time all-conference honoree after earning first team accolades last year. She scored four goals last season. On Wednesday she registered her first goal of the season at Clarion.

Scouting California (Pa.)
Cal comes in with a 2-3-1 record and is 1-2-1 in the PSAC West following a 2-1 loss vs. Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday. The Vulcans own a 2-1 win over Lock Haven in a non-conference game and defeated Clarion 1-0 prior to the defeat to UPJ. Cal was picked to finish sixth in the Western Division after posting a 6-8-3 record in 2022, including 6-7-3 in league play. The Vulcans have scored five goals this season, with Lorina Romeis leading the way with a pair of goals. Reagan Bromiley, Christyana Sims and Veronica Warunek have each contributed a goal. Junior Emily Ouimet has played every minute in goal and owns a respectable 1.17 GAA.

Next for the Golden Knights
The California (Pa.) match begins a three-game homestand for the Golden Knights, with the middle game on Wednesday, September 27 when Slippery Rock visits McConnell Family Stadium. The match gets underway at 3:00 p.m. Seton Hill concludes the homestand on Saturday, September 30.
 
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Players Mentioned

Sarah Fails

#7 Sarah Fails

F
5' 4"
Senior
Early Childhood Education
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
Paige Taylor

#9 Paige Taylor

M
5' 5"
Junior
Health Science

Players Mentioned

Sarah Fails

#7 Sarah Fails

5' 4"
Senior
Early Childhood Education
F
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
Paige Taylor

#9 Paige Taylor

5' 5"
Junior
Health Science
M