Coming off a season that coach Ian Scheller called “one of the best in program history” with an 11-2-7 record, the Pennsylvania College of Technology women’s soccer team looks to keep it going this year.

The Wildcats open at 6 p.m. on Friday in a nonconference match at Penn State Altoona.

“Our 2024 preseason has been a massive success so far. We have a group of 13 freshmen, along with 19 returners, who have come in and brought a lot of energy to the training ground this season,” the third-year coach said. “There is a hunger and a desire to continue our progress and show a level of consistency as a team. Competition for positions has been fierce and has given our coaching staff a lot of headaches as we begin to creep closer toward our first scrimmages of the season. We have a challenging nonconference schedule, before we begin conference play in late September, so we have a lot of chances to improve and test ourselves against strong opposition.”

Returning players who had big roles in the success of last year’s team are senior midfielder Cassie Johnson of Richland, senior goalkeeper Nicole Lichtinger of Erie and sophomore defender Makayla Bucks of Lebanon.

“Cassie had two goals and nine assists during our 2023 campaign, and she also holds the records for both assists in a season and career assists. Cass is one of the best players I have had the privilege to coach. Her flexibility has been massively impactful over the past few seasons, and I expect nothing less in 2024,” Scheller said.

The coach continued, “Nicole returns off the back of collecting all-conference honors. Nicole had six clean sheets last year, tying her for the NCAA era (since 2014) program record for career shutouts. She will be key to helping us reach our goals for the season.

“Makayla returns for her sophomore year, having been named to the United East Volt Division second team in 2023. Bucks started every game last season and was massively important to our team’s success, which only allowed 13 goals the entire season, also helping to keep nine clean sheets on the year. Bucks will hopefully use this experience to help us maintain one of the conference’s best defensive records.”

Freshmen who are expected to contribute from the get-go this year include forward Megan Kurian of Royersford, defender Ashley Gordon of Pottstown and defender Sierra Klinger of Herndon.

“Meg was selected to both the Mercury All-Area and Liberty All-Division first team in 2023. Meg is someone that we were really excited about during the last off-season when she committed. Kaelynn Sheetz graduating last year will be a massive loss for our team, but we believe Meg can help ease our transition period. She has all the tools to be a great player for us and has a great nose for the goal. We are excited to see what she can do,” Scheller said.

“Ash’s commitment was an important one for the 2024 class because we graduated our two-time all-conference center back, BillieGean Hennessy. Billie not only brought our team composure but an elite level of leadership during my first two seasons, so finding a center-back who could come in and be ready to make an impact immediately was paramount. Ashley has great physical ability but also showcases a strong soccer IQ,” Scheller said.

“Sierra is a two-time, first-team all-conference selection in high school. Sierra brings an elite level of pace and power, as well as a very coachable personality,” Scheller said.

Looking ahead, the coach said, “We are a team that has a lot of talent in many areas on the field. We believe we could play upwards of 22 players on any given matchday. We have a core of players who will be returning from last season’s semifinal run, along with a great group of freshmen who we believe could be immediate impact players. We will likely make some youthful mistakes at times, but I am hoping this is something we can work out by conference play.

“Our team’s biggest strength is our attitude. We are a team that has made the conference semifinal the past two seasons, but we understand that is not a given. The top of our conference is one that is very crowded with good opponents and can provide us with a lot of competition when we reach conference play. We are motivated to continue to work hard and try to continue progressing, proving we belong amongst the playoff qualifying teams.

“One of the biggest stumbling blocks I could see for our team early on is finding our cohesion right away. With a team made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, there is always a concern of lacking a little bit of experience. Fortunately, our sophomores saw a lot of game time in 2023. We will hopefully use our scrimmages and early season matches to find out the best combination of players to help us find success. Our young players are always working hard to make sure they can contribute both on the training ground and on matchday, while our returners are setting a very high standard to avoid a slow start, leading by example.

“Last year, although we scored goals, defense was a major reason for our success. Our team only allowed 13 goals in 20 matches and kept nine clean sheets, which was a program record. This year, we want to try to maintain a similar solidity at the back, despite some new faces, but be a little more clinical in the attacking third. We have lost a lot of firepower, with Sheetz graduating and Sara Darlington missing 2024 with a season-ending injury, but we believe we have the talent to step up and put the ball in the back of the net in the biggest moments. Goals win games, so that is our focus.

“I said something similar last year, but the most important thing for any team is making our team a consistent fixture in the United East playoff picture. We have done well the past few years, making it to the conference semifinal, but we need to continue our progress in making sure we have a seat at the dinner table when it comes to being toward the top of the United East.

“With top-three finishes the past few seasons, we want to see ourselves among the top four seeds again to help ourselves with positioning when it comes to late-stage playoff games. We would also like to host a playoff game for the second consecutive year. There is nothing like having a playoff game on your home field. Finally, we want to hit 10-plus wins again. Double-digit wins are the goal for us every season going forward. It will be tough with our schedule having some tough games, but we think we have a good chance to do just that.

“This year, we have tried to test ourselves in our nonconference matches. Although the only thing that matters is conference play, our nonconference games give us a chance to try some things out while also trying to test ourselves against teams we do not usually see. We have 11 nonconference matches, so getting at least six victories would be viewed as a success. We will face some familiar foes (Altoona, Mount Aloysius, Elmira and St. Vincent) and we will test ourselves against some new opponents (Utica, Carlow and LaRoche).”

In the United East Conference, Penn College will face eight opponents this season, six of them new to its schedule this year as they were members of the former Colonial States Athletic Conference, which joined the UE a year ago.

The top 12 of 16 UE teams will participate in the single-elimination postseason playoffs Oct. 29-Nov. 9. Penn State Berks and Bryn Athyn College were last season’s divisional champions, with Penn State Berks claiming the overall title.”

“The merger of divisions in the United East has left me with a feeling of uncertainty,” Scheller said. “This is a format many of us are unfamiliar with (unbalanced schedule model), so I am not entirely sure how things will shape up. Not playing every team will also change playoffs slightly because you could either have a rematch with a team you have already played or play someone entirely different. It is hard to tell how this will all work out, but I am eager to see how it goes this year. Our only concern is ourselves and doing everything in our power to win games.”

Record/Schedule/Series History

Overall: 0-0

UE: 0-0

Friday, Aug. 30 — at Penn State Altoona, 6 p.m. (tied 2-2-1)

Wednesday, Sept. 4 — at Utica University, 4 p.m. (first-time opponent)

Saturday, Sept. 7 — host Elmira College, 4 p.m. (Elmira leads 1-0)

OTHER FALL OPENERS

Friday, Aug. 30

Men’s soccer at Centenary University, 2 p.m.

Women’s volleyball at Lycoming College, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 3

Men’s/women’s cross-country host Lycoming College, 3:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 6

Men’s tennis at Lycoming College, 4 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 7

Women’s tennis at King’s Invitational Day One, 9 a.m.

Monday, Sept. 9

Men’s golf at Albright College Fall Invitational at Olde Homestead Golf Club, 10:30 a.m.

For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.

For more about the United East, visit the conference website.