Coming off a 5-1 victory in Thursday's semifinals, The No. 1 seed University of Scranton women's soccer team will host No. 2 seed Catholic in the Landmark Conference Championship game on Saturday afternoon at Weiss Field in Scranton. Action is slated to get underway at 1 p.m.
The winner of Saturday's game will earn the Landmark's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division III Tournament with the field of 64 set to be announced in a live selection show on NCAA.com on Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
Admission to Saturday's championship game is $7 for adults and $4 for minors ages 10-17 and seniors 62 and older. Children ages nine and under are admitted free of charge, as are all Landmark Conference students, faculty and staff with their school ID.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here. Cash will also be accepted at the gate, but advance purchase through HomeTown ticketing at the link above is the preferred method.
As a reminder, there is no alcohol and no pets allowed at the Quinn Athletics Campus.
Scranton looks to capture a fourth straight Landmark Conference title after victories over Susquehanna (2019), Elizabethtown (2021) and Drew (2022).
Senior Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.Y./Tappan Zee) scored a pair of goals in the first half of Thursday's semifinal matchup as the Royals rolled to the 5-1 win over No. 5 seed Elizabethtown. The Royals built a 3-0 halftime lead with an early goal from junior Samantha Goffice (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) and Healy's pair before adding goals by sophomores Morgan Griffin (Sea Cliff, N.Y./North Shore) and Dani Orecchio (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) in the second half.
Catholic defeated No. 3 seed Drew by a score of 1-0 in Thursday's other semifinal as Isabel Doherty scored the game-winner in the 94th minute.
This marks the second consecutive year and the seventh all-time Landmark postseason meeting between the two teams. In the 2022 Landmark semifinals, junior Emily Bannon (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) scored the lone goal of the game in the first overtime period as the Royals captured a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals.
The Royals captured a 3-1 victory over Catholic in the regular season meeting between the two teams back on Sept. 30 behind goals by Healy, Goffice and sophomore Linda Daly (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland).
Healy leads the Landmark Conference in goals (17), points (36) and game-winning goals (six) and a total of eight players have scored multiple goals for head coach Colleen Pivirotto's team. Bannon is tied for the conference lead with nine assists and senior Mary Haggerty (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) ranks third with eight helpers.
As a team, Scranton has posted eight shutouts and junior goalie Nicole Olson (Stoughton, Mass./Ursuline Academy)Â ranks in the top five in the Landmark in both goals against average (0.85, second) and save percentage (.800, third).
Jordan Siok paces the Cardinals with 15 goals, while Peyton Coron has added 16 points on seven goals and two assists. In goal, Ava Rieger tops the conference in goals against average (0.56), save percentage (.822) and shutouts (nine).
Click the following links for live video and live stats of Saturday's game.
--ROYALS--