GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 5 seed IUP Crimson Hawks (12-5, 11-5 PSAC)
at No. 4 seed Gannon Golden Knights (12-3-2, 11-3-2 PSAC)
Tuesday, October 31, 2017 | 1 p.m.
Erie, Pa. | McConnell Family Stadium
RELATED |
2017 PSAC Women's Soccer Championship Field Set
Live Stats: GannonSports.com |
Sidearm Stats
Live Updates: Twitter |
@IUPsoccer
GAME AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks begin postseason play this Tuesday when they travel to Erie to take on Gannon in the quarterfinals of the 2017 PSAC Women's Soccer Championships. Kickoff at McConnell Family Stadium comes at 1 p.m. Gannon earned the right to host a quarterfinal match as the No. 4 seed in the tournament while IUP is the No. 5 seed.
STORYLINES/WHAT TO WATCH FOR
*This is a rematch of IUP's 3-2 double overtime Senior Day victory back on Oct. 21 at South Campus Field; The match included four yellow cards before
Mya Hilliard (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) scored the game-winner in the 108th minute
*The winner of this match advances to the semifinals to play the winner of the No. 1/8 matchup (West Chester vs. Bloomsburg);
*If West Chester serves as the host for the semifinals and championship weekend, usual dates and times of those rounds will be altered due to WCU's men's soccer team also serving as the final four host
*The Crimson Hawks are making the program's 13th all-time PSAC tournament appearance, including the second straight; IUP will be seeking its fourth PSAC championship, winning its previous in 1995, 2004, and 2006
*IUP has not advanced past the quarterfinal round since 2009, dropping five straight PSAC tournament opening games; In 2009, IUP defeated Mercyhurst 1-0 in the quarterfinals before falling to West Chester 1-0 in the semifinals
*IUP head coach
Adel Heder has a 7-12 all-time record in the PSAC tournament, with championships in 2004 and 2006
*The Crimson Hawks will be looking to improve their NCAA Atlantic Region ranking, which decides Division II playoff participants; Last week's rankings had IUP at No. 7 and at No. 6 -- the top six teams will earn NCAA berths
*Sr. F
Lexie Palluconi (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) is IUP's leading scorer with seven goals, four assists and 18 points; Fr. GK
Madeline Smakulski (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg Area High School) is expected to start in the net, boasting six shutouts, a PSAC-leading .844 save percentage, and a .544 goals against average
*Gannon's Taylor Lewis is second in the PSAC with 1.94 points per game, tallying 13 goals and seven assists
