United East Final on Saturday: Harrisburg’s First Title Shot Against St. Mary’s Three-Peat Bid
Saturday’s United East final is a proper clash of stories. Top seeds Penn State Harrisburg, chasing the first conference title in program history, host two-time defending champions St. Mary’s College of Maryland, who are going for three in a row. One game, 1pm on Saturday 7 November in Middletown, Pennsylvania, and the winner takes the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III championship.
Harrisburg earned the home final the hard way, and then made it look easy. The Lions beat Wilson 5-2 in Saturday’s semi-final, with Victoria Castano Colman opening the scoring in the 10th minute and captain Moyer scoring twice in a five-point afternoon. Harrisburg finished conference play a perfect 6-0 and outscored their conference opponents 23-1 along the way. They were last season’s runners-up. This is the step they have been building towards.
St. Mary’s, though, know exactly how this weekend works. The Seahawks are into their third straight United East final after beating Lancaster Bible 5-1 in the other semi-final, breaking open a 1-1 half-time draw with four second-half goals. Olivia Schwendeman scored twice, including the opener in the 9th minute, and Emma Mastrangelo and Safi Stimely added late goals. St. Mary’s finished conference play 5-1 and have now won two straight titles. They do not give this trophy up easily.
The regular season says Harrisburg, just. The recent history says St. Mary’s, twice over. Harrisburg have home turf and the better conference record. St. Mary’s have the experience of winning this exact game, two years running. Something has to give on Saturday afternoon, and the winner goes dancing in the NCAA tournament.
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