ERIE, Pa. – Gannon's remaining fall athletic teams had plenty to be thankful last week, and the two winter teams that played also enjoyed a bountiful Thanksgiving break. 

The week began with the volleyball team receiving word that it was the number one seed in the Atlantic Region and would host the regional on Thursday, Dec. 4 to Saturday, Dec. 6.  

The week ended with the men's soccer team upsetting Franklin Pierce 2-1 in the Sweet 16. Up next another New England squad as Gannon plays at Southern New Hampshire in the Elite Eight. 

And while that was happening the men's basketball team was putting the finishing touches on a second straight Gary Miller Classic title. The Golden Knights handed Lake Erie its first loss by an impressive 105-75 score. 

While the other Gannon teams took a holiday break the women's basketball team spent Thanksgiving in Hawai'i, winning twice. 

Below is the schedule for the week ahead, along with a quick preview of each team. 
 
THIS WEEK IN GANNON ATHLETICS  

No. 14 Men's Soccer (15-2-4) 
Saturday, December 6 at Southern New Hampshire (NCAA Elite Eight) – 3:00 p.m.   

• Make that four straight wins by a 2-1 count. And each game the stakes get a little bigger. Unlike the previous three Sunday's 2-1 win at Franklin Pierce was not a come-from-behind victory.  

• Gannon opened the scoring as Sverre Orten scored his Division II-leading 17th goal of the year at 16:37. The Ravens knotted the score at 1-1 less than five minutes into the second half. The score remained that way until freshman Enzo Rekka skipped a long shot past the Franklin Pierce goalkeeper at 77:15 for the game-winner. 

• After upsetting the number two and three seeds head coach Billy Colton's sixth-seeded Golden Knights now move on to play at No. 1 seed Southern New Hampshire in the Elite Eight on Saturday, Dec. 6. It's the first Elite Eight appearance for the Golden Knights since 2023. 

• 1989, 1990, 1993 

Volleyball (24-7) 
Thursday, Dec. 4 vs. Fayetteville State (Atlantic Regional quarterfinals) -- 4:30 p.m.   

• Gannon will serve as the host of the Atlantic Regional for the fourth straight year and is in search of a second consecutive trip to the Elite Eight and fourth in the last five years. Head coach Matt Darling's team is the number one seed and will play No. 8 seed Fayetteville State on Thursday, Dec. 4. The regional champion will be decided on Saturday, Dec. 6.  

• Head coach Matt Darling has guided the Golden Knights to a 24-7 record and a runner-up finish in the PSAC Tournament. They face a Fayetteville State (21-5) team that is the No. 8 seed and qualified after winning the CIAA championship. 

• Thursday quarterfinals gets underway at 11:00 a.m. with Indiana (Pa.), the third seed with a record of 20-8, opposing No. 6 Fairmont State (23-10). No. 2 seed East Stroudsburg (26-5), the PSAC champion, will play No. 7 Charleston (WV) at 1:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles are 23-12 after winning the Mountain East Conference championship. The day concludes with No. 4 seed Pitt-Johnstown (17-11) squaring off against No. 5 Shepherd (19-10). 

• Friday's semifinals are set for 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. with the Atlantic Regional Championship decided at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.   

No. 9 Men's Basketball (5-1) 
Saturday, Dec. 6 at Shepherd – 3:00 p.m.   

• The week began with a disappointing loss in Michigan but ended with the Golden Knights claiming their second straight Gary Miller Classic title. Head coach Easton Bazzoli just recently added Lake Superior State to his schedule, a team that reached the Elite Eight a year ago. The Golden Knights led by five at the half but ended up dropping a 99-87 decision. 

• Gannon finally debuted at home facing two more strong opponents in the 40th Annual Gary Miller Classic. The Golden Knights opened up the tournament with a convincing 95-53 win over Virginia State in a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 as 12 players scored and no one played more than 21 minutes.  

• The Golden Knights faced Lake Erie in the championship game. The Storm was off to the best start in school history at 5-0 and in the opening round scored a Classic-record 126 points. Gannon jumped out to a double-digit lead only to see the Storm close to 28-27. The Golden Knights boosted the lead to nine at the half (42-33) then opened the second half with a 12-2 run. Lake Erie never pulled closer than 16 points the rest of the way. Final score – 105-75. 

• Mackenzie Morgan was named the Most Outstanding Player and twin brother Lucas Morgan was also named to the All-Tournament Team, as was Layne Sarver. 

• Gannon begins PSAC crossover action on Saturday at Shepherd. The Rams. The game is a rematch of last year's PSAC Championship game.    

Women's Wrestling (3-2) 
Saturday, Dec. 6 hosting Gannon Women's Duals 

• Gannon returns to action on Saturday hosting the six-team Gannon Women's Duals. The six teams will compete on to mats in the Recreation & Wellness Center. The wrestling gets underway at 9:00 a.m. 

• The field includes Gannon, King, Lehigh, Otterbein, Waynesburg, and West Liberty. Gannon had been previously ranked in the NWCA Women's Wrestling Poll but currently isn't. King comes in ranked seventh. Gannon opens with Otterbein, then wrestles West LIberty and Lehigh. 

• Seven nationally-ranked wrestlers are scheduled to compete, including Gannon's Bella Phillips, who is ranked ninth at 180 lbs.  

No. 7 Women's Basketball (7-1) 
Tuesday, Dec. 2 vs. D'Youville – 6:00 p.m. 

Saturday, Dec. 6 at Shepherd – 1:00 p.m. 

• Head coach Cleve Wright and the Golden Knights spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Hawai'i. It wasn't all palm trees and beaches for the Golden Knights as they played twice in the Big Island Holiday Classic in Hilo. On Tuesday Gannon picked up a hard-earned 58-53 win over Saginaw Valley State. The next day they turned in a dominant defensive showing to hand host Hawai'I Hilo a 54-31 defeat. The Vulcans shot just 18.8 percent from the floor (9-of-48).  

• The Hilo game saw Gannon score the first 11 points, with Hilo scoring the next 11 points. The Golden Knights answered with 10 straight points before the Vulcans scored the final seven points of the half. It was all Gannon in the second half holding a 33-13 advantage. 

• The Golden Knights return to the mainland for the rest of their schedule, beginning with a home game vs. D'Youville on Tuesday. That's followed by the start of the PSAC season on Saturday. The Golden Knights will play a crossover game at Shepherd.          

No. 5 Men's Wrestling 
Does not compete this week.   

Swimming 
Does not compete until Jan. 17. 

No. 9 Women's Soccer (16-3-2) 

Season concluded. 

• Head coach Colin Petersen's team splits a pair of games this past week while playing in the Atlantic Regional. Last Monday the Golden Knights were awarded the fourth seed in the NCAA Div. II Atlantic Regional. They picked up a hard-earned 2-0 win over No. 5 Bloomsburg on Friday thanks to a first-half goal by Jessie Watkins and another in the 75th minute by Olivia Dixon. 

• Top-seeded Shepherd ended Gannon's season on Sunday, pulling away for a 4-0 win on their home pitch. The score was just 1-0 at the half but the Rams scored three times in a 12-minute stretch midway through the second half. Gannon held a 14-7 advantage in shots.     

• Gannon ends the year at 16-3-2, tied for the third-most wins in team history.     

Cross Country 
Season concluded. 

• Emily Bowers became the first Gannon women's cross country runner to compete in the NCAA Div. II Women's Cross Country National Championships this past weekend. The sophomore made a steady climb up the standings to finish 91st out of 263 runners in her first time at the elite race. The PSAC champion and Atlantic Region runner-up, Bowers was the third runner to cross the finish line from the region and the second PSAC harrier.         

Men's Water Polo (14-10) 
Season concluded. 

• For the second time in three years the Gannon men's water polo team finished third in the WWPA Men's Championship. The Golden Knights entered the conference tournament as the number one seed from the East Region. They face No. 2W Biola in the semifinals. The Golden Knights were unable to overcome a slow start and dropped an 11-9 decision. 

• Gannon faced another West Region squad in Fresno Pacific in the third-place match. After the Sunbirds scored the first goal head coach Marko Sadikovic's squad ran off the next four goals and never trailed again, prevailing 17-12. 

• Three Golden Knights were named to the All-Tournament Team. Bator Mohacsi and Dillon Shaw earned spots on the first team and Rajmund Farsang landed on the second team.    

• Alexandros Kotskar saw his brilliant career end. The senior from Greece departs holding school records for career goals (322) and career points (427).