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November 4 , 2002
Lady Eagle Soccer To Host Millersville in PSAC Semifinal

(Lock Haven, Pa.) - The Lock Haven University women’s soccer team (16-1-1, 11-0 PSAC) earned the top seed in the 2002 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament and will host No. 4-seed Millersville University (11-4-3, 6-3-2 PSAC) in semifinal action on Tuesday, November 5, at 1 p.m. on McCollum Field. In the other semifinal game, No. 2 Shippensburg University (14-3-1, 8-2-1 PSAC) takes on No. 3 Bloomsburg University (11-5-2, 7-3-1 PSAC) at Shippensburg, Pa. The winners of both semifinal round contests will match-up on Saturday, November 9, at the site of the highest remaining seed with game time at 1 p.m. unless otherwise noted once teams have been determined.

Lock Haven: Lock Haven is 16-1-1 overall and posted the first undefeated conference season in school history at 11-0-0. The Lady Eagles are the three-time defending champions of the PSAC title, and make their seventh consecutive appearance in the conference tournament. LHU is currently ranked first in the Northeast Region and seventh in the nation.
The Lock Haven offense has outscored opponents by an average of 2.61 goals per game paced by a pair of New Zealanders in sophomore Brooke Rangi (Kawerau, New Zealand/Kawerau College) and junior Naomi Clarke (Cambridge, New Zealand/St. Peters School). Rangi has 12 goals and 11 assists for a team-best 35 points, and has also scored five game-winning goals this year including the last-minute score against Millersville in the regular season. Clarke leads LHU with 13 goals and has added eight assists over the course of the season.

Senior midfielder
Becky Nichols

A highly talented cast of supporting players includes senior forwards Katie Taylor (Hammonton, N.J./Edgewood) (6g, 4a) and Adria Vitale (Philadelphia/St. Maria Goretti) (5g, 2a) along with senior midfielder Becky Nichols (Wind Gap/Nazareth) (6g, 1a).
Defensively The Haven has registered shutout victories in 13 of their 16 wins and sophomore keeper Heather Ireland (Sarnia, ONT/Northern NCIVS) set a new school record with 12 of those shutouts. Ireland has a 0.51 goals against average and has stopped 60 shot attempts this season. Before the opponent offenses can even get a look on goal, however, they have to get by an unyielding LHU defensive unit led by seniors Erika Schneider (Mechanicsburg/Cumberland Valley) and Christa Cox (Ephrata/Ephrata) along with sophomore Danielle Smith (Johnson, N.Y./Minisink Valley).

Millersville:    Millersville makes its first-ever appearance in the PSAC Tournament with an 11-4-3 overall mark. The Marauders wrapped up the PSAC regular season competition with a 6-3-2 record, and are currently ranked fifth in the Northeast Region.
            Senior forward Stacy Brubaker (Ephrata/Ephrata) and senior midfielder Jen Yoder (Mountville/Lancaster Mennonite) lead the Millersville attack. Brubaker has 11 goals and three assists, while Yoder has pocketed 10 goals and four assists. Midfielders Steph McDonnell (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) (4g, 1a) and Emily Pumphrey (Sinking Spring/Wilson) (3g, 3a) are added Marauder scoring threats, while forwards Becky Podobnik (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) (3g, 2a) and Vanessa Robtison (Levittown/Neshaminy) (2g, 4a) have also been key fixtures in the MU offense.
            Junior goalie Liz Agro (Fawn Grove/Kennard-Dale) has 93 saves on the season and owns a 0.65 goals against average. Agro is also credited with all nine of Millersville’s shutouts. Joining her in the backfield are Jess Shaub (Willow Street/Lampeter-Strasburg) (1a), Kim Thomas (Langhorne/Neshaminy) (1g), and Marisa Ranieri (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) (2g).
            The Lady Eagles defeated Millersville, 1-0, in the regular season on a goal coming with 27 seconds remaining in regulation off the foot of Brooke Rangi. Both teams had come into the match-up with undefeated conference marks of 3-0-0.
            The winner of Tuesday’s semifinal game will take on either Bloomsburg or Shippensburg in the PSAC final on Saturday, Nov. 9.

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